This Chinese pepper steak recipe is done in minutes, with seared peppers and thin strips of steak stir fried in a flavorful sauce. It's easy to make and better than any restaurant!
Pepper Steak Recipe
One of my favorite cuts of meat is flank steak. Flank steak is a leaner cut of meat that is huge on flavor. It isn't quite as tender as a cut like ribeye or tenderloin, but it's hard to beat the taste.
It's perfect for marinating and cooking up quickly either in a hot pan or on the grill. Because it is so thin, it cooks up in minutes, making it perfect for quick and easy weeknight meals.
Like this particular recipe - pepper steak. I love a good Chinese pepper steak. You may have enjoyed this recipe at your local Chinese restaurant or take out.
It's essentially a classic steak stir fry made with sautéed steak, lots of cooked bell peppers, all tossed together in a simple yet highly flavorful sweet and savory brown sauce.
Sometimes it is called pepper steak and rice, as it's a Chinese-American dish popularly served over white rice or sometimes brown rice. This homemade version is so much better.
You'll never want to order take out again.
Pepper Steak Ingredients
- Flank Steak - You can use other cuts of beef for this recipe, though flank steak is more traditional.
For the marinade:
- Soy Sauce - Low sodium soy sauce is good.
- Rice Vinegar
- Sesame Oil - Or vegetable oil.
For the veggies and seasoning:
- Vegetable Oil - Olive oil is good, though I prefer a more neutral oil like canola oil or peanut oil.
- Sesame Oil - I love the flavor of sesame oil.
- Green Bell Pepper
- Red Bell Pepper - You can use other color bell peppers, too, like orange or striped.
- Jalapeño Peppers - Optional - use serrano peppers for even spicier pepper steak!
- White Onion
- Garlic Powder - Or fresh garlic.
- Fresh Ginger
For the pepper steak sauce:
- Soy Sauce
- Rice Vinegar
- Cornstarch
- Brown Sugar - Or use honey.
- Paprika - Or use cayenne for more heat.
- Ground Black Pepper - To taste.
How to Make Pepper Steak
Prepare the steak. Thinly slice the steak against the grain to bite sized pieces and add them to a bowl with the soy sauce, rice vinegar and oil. Toss to coat and cover.
Marinate. Marinate in the refrigerator at least 10 minutes. You can marinate longer if you'd like, even overnight. I usually start my marinade in the morning, if I've planned ahead.
Sauté the peppers and onions. Heat the sesame oil and vegetable oil in a large skillet to medium-high heat and add the peppers and onions. Cook them for 5 minutes to soften. Use other chili peppers as desired. I toss in jalapeños or serranos for extra heat for me.
Garlic and ginger. Add the garlic and ginger and cook another minute, stirring, until you can smell that gorgeous garlic. Remove from heat and set the vegetables into a bowl. Save the oil in the pan.
Cook the steak. Heat the same pan to high heat. Add the beef to the skillet and cook for 1-2 minutes per side, until cooked to your liking. Cook time can vary.
Return the vegetables. Add the cooked vegetables into the pan and stir.
Make the sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together the sauce ingredients until well combined.
Stir in the sauce. Stir the sauce into the pepper steak and heat, stirring, until it thickens in the pan, about 1 minute. Cook and stir. Be sure to keep stirring lightly, as this will help thicken the sauce more evenly, and also helps to coat everything nicely. Big flavor here!
Serve! I serve mine over white rice with chili flakes and scallions, maybe some sesame seeds. Pepper steak and rice is so good.
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Use the right meat. Flank steak is traditionally used to make Chinese pepper steak, though you can use other cuts of beef. Skirt steak is just as good, or top sirloin. It's not quite as tender as flank steak, but it has a more intense flavor. I've also made this with sliced ribeye and LOVED it, though it is more costly. It's really hard to go wrong with sirloin steak and all those wonderfully flavorful cuts.
- Pick the right peppers. Bell peppers are the most commonly used peppers for most pepper steak recipes. Red and green bell peppers have no heat but a lot of substance, and they're ideal for making stir fries. I like to add in a couple jalapeno peppers for more heat and flavor, and sometimes a serrano pepper or two. You can use other sweet peppers to your preference, and toss in a hotter pepper as you'd like for that extra blast of heat.
- The very best sauce. The sauce for the pepper steak is super easy to whip together and customize. I like to include cayenne for extra heat. Other optional add ons are oyster sauce, sesame oil, sherry, and other soy sauce alternatives. Try mixing in fresh scallions or chopped herbs.
Storage and Reheating
Once fully cooled to room temperature, you can store any leftover Chinese pepper steak you have in an airtight container. Properly stored in the fridge, it should stay fresh for 2-3 days.
Reheat for 30 seconds at a time in the microwave, stirring each time it stops, until warmed all the way through.
Try Some of My Other Popular Beef Recipes
- Mongolian Beef
- Beef Bulgogi
- Carne Asada
- Beef Barbacoa
- Szechuan Beef
- Grilled Tri Tip Steak Fajitas
- Grilled London Broil
- Chimichurri Steak
- Churrasco (Grilled Skirt Steak)
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.
Pepper Steak Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pound flank steak or use skirt steak
FOR THE MARINADE
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil or vegetable oil
FOR THE VEGETABLES and SEASONING
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 large green bell pepper sliced
- 1 large red bell pepper sliced
- 1-2 jalapeno peppers sliced (optional)
- 1 medium white onion sliced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
FOR THE PEPPER STEAK SAUCE
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar or use honey
- 1 teaspoon paprika or use cayenne for more heat
- Ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Thinly slice the steak against the grain to bite sized pieces and add them to a bowl with the soy sauce, rice vinegar and oil. Toss to coat and cover. Marinate in the refrigerator at least 10 minutes. You can marinate longer if you'd like, even overnight.
- Heat the sesame oil and vegetable oil in a large pan and add the peppers and onions. Cook them down for 5 minutes to soften.
- Add the garlic and ginger and cook another minute, stirring, until you can smell that gorgeous garlic. Remove from heat and set the vegetables into a bowl. Save the oil in the pan.
- Heat the same pan to high heat and add the steak. Cook for 1-2 minutes per side, until cooked to your liking.
- Add the cooked vegetables into the pan and stir.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sauce ingredients (soy sauce, vinegar, corn starch, brown sugar or honey, paprika and black pepper) until well combined. Stir the sauce into the pepper steak and heat, stirring, until it thickens in the pan, about 1 minute.
- Serve! I serve mine over rice with chili flakes and scallions.
Video
Nutrition Information
Bozena says
I made this exactly How recipe and was big success.I know already when I see you recipe and I always want more and food is perfect tasty and exactly spicy what we love it .Thanks for sharing and I big fun of you.
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it! I appreciate it.
Gloria says
Dude!!!! This was delicious! I loved it. My husband especially loved it. Just so flavorful. My husband now wants it every other Saturday (Saturday is out MEAT night). He buys the flank steak, I buy the veggies, I make the recipe, he makes the rice - a little vino - and Voila! The perfect Saturday dinner.
Thanks, Mike. Absolutely delicious 🙂
Mike Hultquist says
Perfect! Glad you both enjoyed it, Gloria! I love it! Thanks for sharing this.
stacy says
Mike
Made this last night, delicious! Maybe add a little more spice next time.
Mike Hultquist says
Wonderful! Glad you enjoyed it, Stacy!
Stacy says
This was delicious. Added 2 jalapeños, perfect heat.
This will be a repeater!
Mike Hultquist says
Excellent! Glad you enjoyed it, Stacy!
Kt says
So good, couldn’t stop stealing pieces of the meat. Thank you!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Nice!!!
Melinda says
Can you use beef sirloin tips instead of flank? Didn't know if they would come out tender enough. I've got two 1lb. packages I'm looking for something different to make that isn't beef tips with gravy.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Hi, Melinda. Yes, you can make this with sirloin. Slice it nice and thin and it should be great! Let me know how it goes for you. Enjoy!
LHeld says
I made this tonight for the first time. Easy and delicious! This will be on the menu often here!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Wonderful! Glad you enjoyed it!
Debbie Zambos says
This is fantastic! Tastes better than our local Chinese restaurant! I did double the sauce for the steak cause we like a lot, but besides that I followed it to a T and it’s delicious!! Thanks!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Excellent! Thanks for sharing, Debbie. I'm glad you liked it!
Jane says
Thank you for this recipe. This is one of my favourite food but I don't know how to prepare this. Glad I found this and will save it for my future menu.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Jane!
tom orlando says
So I tried another of your recipes, one I been dying to cook. I love a good clean tasting pepper steak with lots of fresh flavor. Mike, your recipe nailed it! I taken my time and followed exactly how you lay it all out. I purchased fresh Flank from my butcher and picked up all the other produce from a fresh market. I prepared everything in separate plates and small bowls for the vegetables, steak marinade and sauce. It was easy once I got my head around it (fairly simple) and then cooking was under 15 minutes. I used one small jalapeno pepper for heat and everything else identical to your perfectly balanced recipe. Well I did add one extra clove of garlic since I sliced it, couldn't hurt anything. I added sesame seeds and scallion at the end. Wow, yes indeed the ultimate and best pepper steak I and my girls every eaten. I mean it look great, smelled delicious and the desired fresh clean flavor was over the top. THANK YOU! Hooked on chili-pepper-madness for life. Thank you Mike for your dedication and for sharing such wonderful mouth watering recipes. Tom
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Tom! Great to hear it and happy to receive this comment. I'm glad you and your girls enjoyed it, and I hope you find loads more recipes here. All the best.
Jason says
Mine,
You won't regret getting into doubanjiang at all! The fermented beans and Chinese chili pepper mix adds some heat but tons of funky umami flavor. Honestly, just cooking a tsp or 2 in some sesame oil and then stir frying some noodles or rice in the reddish, spicy, funky oil makes a great dish but add in some dry fried and crushed Sichuan peppercorns and a Thai chili pepper or 3 and some onion and chopped bell pepper... Meat or meatless... is devine. The only issue is finding a really good doubanjiang. The best comes from Pixian in the Sichuan province.
Can you tell I've dove in head first into Sichuan cooking? LOL!
If you haven't tried Mapo Tofu you will love it. It's one of those dishes that some people just love and others become obsessed with. Also fried Tofu is awesome and takes on a bacon like flavor.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Yes, sounds wonderful!
Jason says
Excellent as usually Mike. Pepper steak is an all time favorite. It's so easy to make and just as easy too either spice up or tone down depending on who is joining you at the table.
Personally, I would add snow peas pods to this and use some doubanjiang (my new favorite ingredient). Even a dab in some eggs with bacon is game changing. Just make sure it's from Pixian, Sichuan, China.
Just a long shot but do you have a recipe for Mapo Tofu? If do, I would LOVE to have that. In fact, any Asian dishes would be welcome... Especially ramen! Although I'm doing for a great, spicy Mapo Tofu recipe.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Sounds awesome, Jason. Love it. I do not have a recipe for Mapo Tofu, but something I must look into! Definitely loving ramen. Check out this recipe for Spicy Ramen Noodles: https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/recipes/spicy-ramen-noodles/
Mary Kay says
I hunted everywhere in my recipe box for a circa 1970s recipe but couldn't find it so turned to the web and found this GEM. It was absolutely fabulous! I used a few peppers from the farm market (ancho? long green ones) plus some fresh bell peppers and a jalapeno. It was magnificent. I remembered that my vintage recipe called for two tomatoes cut in 8 wedges added just before the sauce and they really brightened it up (otherwise I followed the directions explicitly). I also added black sesame seed garnish to the Japanese rice (Hinode) I served it with and it really added a nice little crunch. Thank you for such a detailed and magnificent recipe. One caveat--it takes a whole lot longer for the typical home cook to prep all these veg so 10 minutes is a bit ridiculous...
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Mary Kay. Glad you enjoyed it. Prep times are always a bugaboo in recipe writing. Everyone works a little differently. I'm actually very slow in the kitchen. Guess I chop pretty fast?
Gina says
Looks gorgeous, looking for the amount of ginger the directions yet not the ingredients mention. Did I miss it?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Gina. Use 1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger. It's listed under garlic. Just add it when you add the garlic. Let me know how it turns out for you! Enjoy.