Use a skillet to create real-deal black pepper steak that is tender, juicy and rich, with crisp veggies and a scrumptious sauce that goes perfectly with steamed rice. {Gluten Free Adaptable}
Making authentic tasting stir fried black pepper steak might look intimidating, but it is easier than you think. I used to think dealing with beef in a stir fry was one of the most difficult things to do in Chinese cooking. Different from chicken or pork, beef can get really tough and chewy if you accidentally overcook it. However, once you know a few tricks, you will able to make restaurant-style black pepper steak in your own kitchen in no time.
Best black pepper steak
1. Use a nonstick skillet instead of a wok
Even though every single Chinese cookbook insists on using a wok for stir fry, I found that a nonstick skillet works perfectly for this dish. Not only can you make beautifully charred steak with a great flavor, but you will also need less oil and the steak will not cause any sticking problems.
If you’re curious about the pros and cons of a wok, read my previous post on 10 reasons not to use a wok. And if you want to know about the perfect stir fry setup, read wok vs. stir fry pan.
2. The key for tender juicy steak
- Choose the correct cut: I’ve tried flank steak, plate steak, boneless short ribs, sirloin, and tenderloin. All have yielded great results. If you cannot find these cuts, try to use a cut that has a finer grain and contains some fat.
- Always cut the beef against the grain. Try to maintain the same thickness and size for each slice.
- Always marinate the beef. The whole process will help soften the beef and add flavor. Plus the soy sauce will give the beef a beautiful char.
- Grill the beef instead of constantly stirring. One of the reasons we use a flat skillet; if you heat up the pan really hot, it only takes 30 seconds or so to sear each side, while the inside is a little pink. Roasting the beef instead of stirring will brown the steak better.
3. Why you need to remove the steak once
Transferring the half-cooked steak to a plate before adding the rest of the ingredients is crucial. When you add the sauce and veggies, the pan temperature will drop significantly. So the veggies won’t be seared properly, and the sauce will reduce very slowly. Both result in a soupy dish with overcooked meat.
4. Get used to the pace of stir frying
I found that Chinese stir fry has a much faster pace than most Western cooking. When I start cooking a dish, it takes me about 5 minutes (or maybe less) to finish. This means you have less than a minute between adding ingredients. So do read through the recipe before cooking, and move quickly when you start.
One last word
Although this black pepper steak is scrumptious enough to serve by itself, I highly recommend adding a sunny side up egg to your rice bowl. I learned this pairing from Chinese diners that cater lunch for office workers. Not only does the egg add volume to your bowl, but the runny egg yolk also goes perfectly with the spicy beef. Try it once and I guarantee you’ll be hooked 🙂
More Chinese stir fry recipes
- Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Beef Chow Fun
- Beef and Broccoli
- General Tso Tofu
- Orange Chicken
- Shrimp Chow Mein
Happy cooking!
If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and take a picture and tag it @omnivorescookbook on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with.
Black Pepper Steak (黑椒牛柳)
Ingredients
- 1 lb (450 g) flank steak , sliced against the grain into 1/4-inch (5-mm) thick pieces (or plate, or boneless short ribs, or sirloin)
Marinade
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Sauce
- 1/2 cup beef broth (or chicken broth)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce (or tamari for gluten free)
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry for gluten free)
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce (Optional) (omit for gluten free)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Stir fry
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 2 teaspoons minced ginger
- 1/2 white onion , chopped
- 2 bell peppers , chopped
Instructions
- Combine steak, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, and cornstarch in a medium-size bowl. Gently mix by hand until the beef is coated with a thin layer of the mixture. Marinate for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Combine all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Mix well and set aside.
- Cut the aromatics and vegetables. Add the ginger and garlic to a small bowl. Add the onion and all the chopped pepper to another bowl.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a nonstick skillet (or a wok) over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add the steak. Immediately spread the beef into a single layer using a pair of tongs or chopsticks. Sear for 30 seconds or so, until the bottom is lightly browned. Flip the beef with a spatula, until both sides are browned but still a bit pink inside. Turn to the lowest heat and remove the skillet from the stove. Transfer the beef to a plate and set aside.
- Add the remaining tablespoon of oil into the same skillet and turn to medium heat. Add the ginger and garlic. Give it a quick stir until fragrant. Add the white onion and peppers. Stir and cook for 20 seconds.
- Stir the sauce mixture until the cornstarch is dissolved completely, and pour it into the skillet. Stir with a spatula immediately and cook until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, a few seconds. Add back the cooked beef. Quickly stir a few times to coat everything with the sauce. Turn off heat and remove the skillet from the stove. Immediately transfer everything to a big plate so the ingredients won’t keep cooking in the hot skillet.
- Serve hot with steamed rice or on top of boiled noodles.
Nutrition
The post was originally published on Aug 18, 2014, and updated by Nov. 15, 2017. The current recipe contains more sauce and it’s more suitable serve over rice.
Hi Maggie,
Thank you for your Weekly email… I really enjoy all your recipes and Instructions… Excellent Job…
I do have a question:
I still have difficultly keeping my Beef very tender(Like Restaurants) when Stir Frying… I always use my best Wok that is seasoned really well…
I have tried the method you suggest and also “Velvetizing” the beef ( Egg whites, Sake and corn starch – Marinate 1 Hr. – Then boil beef for seconds (No Salt in Marinade or Water)… I usually use Top Sirloin as the cut of meat… My finished product just is not as soft and tender as the Restaurant I eat at… Have you ever tried “Velvetizing” protein…? I do get the Wok very hot… The only change I can think of is to buy a really good “Dragon’s Breath” gas burner for the outside… Then I know the Wok will be Restaurant “HOT”…
Any Suggestions…? Or am I doing something wrong…? Should I use a different cut of beef…?
Again, I think your work is exceptional…
Thank You,
Keith
Hi Keith, but boiling, do you mean boil the beef in the water? The velveting process can be achieved either by cooking the beef in the water or oil. My recipe marinates the beef first, then briefly cook them in the oil. So it has contained the velveting process.
If you want the beef extra tender, you can use baking soda during the marinating process. I explained the process in this post: https://omnivorescookbook.com/orange-beef/
Hope this is helpful!
great recipe i cook this all the time and im 12! great job! delicious! thanks so much maggie…ur the best
Happy with the result! First time making it without being too soupy as used to be 😀
Thank you for the good recipe and cooking/prep method! 😘👍
I noticed in other beef dishes you drain the marinade sauce from the marinaded beef and mix in cornstarch using hands just before cooking marinaded beef. In this recipe it says to mix soya,wine and cornstarch together before marinating. I’m wondering why the difference. Thanks. Love your recipies.
Peter
Hi Peter, the “drain and add cornstarch” approach is closer to traditional cooking and it’s the best way to minimize splatter.
Although I did change into the “mixing all together” method in my recent recipes, to simplify the recipe. I usually try to find the good liquid ingredient and cornstarch ratio, so it won’t produce extra liquid once the marinating process is done. You can follow the method. And when you notice there’s liquid in the bowl once the marinating is done, you should always drain it before the cooking to it won’t cause splatter.
Hi Maggie,
Is it possible to make this dish without the wine?
Hi Shirin, yes, you can replace the wine with a bit stock. Happy cooking!
I made this meal exactly as directed. This was the best ever! It lasted for about 10 Min’s! ALL GONE!!!!! Wonderful!!!!
Maggie,
In step 5, your recipe calls for ginger (it is not listed)–fresh? ground? how much?
I re-read the recipe several times—did I miss something? And someone else mentioned green onions—where do these go and when and how much?
I just bought a WOK and had such a wonderful dining experience with this dish at local Chinese restaurant (they have a really great market attached too!). I am anxious to try in my home kitchen, but am too insecure to “wing it “without knowing what to do with these omitted ingredients. I am sure that you are so accustomed to cooking these dishes that sometimes you overlook some things because they are so second nature to your cuisine but some of us need “specifics”. Thank you!
Hi Sashe, I just updated the recipe so now it has all the info and correct format.
Sorry about the confusion! I moved all my recipes from another template and the format got messed up during the process. I’m fixing things little by little but it takes a long time. Thanks for letting me know about the missing ingredient.
Re green onion, I eliminated green onions when I updated the recipe. So you don’t need them in this recipe.
Happy cooking and can’t wait to hear your feedback on this!
Great recipe, Maggie! I followed your instructions, even right down to having the sunny side up egg on top of the serving of rice and it turned out really well. I browned the sirloin steak in 2 batches so the pieces had a nice colour to them. The family truly loved this dish and this is one of many from your repertoire of excellent dishes which will be repeated often. I chanced upon your website only recently and am really happy that I did as your dishes are not difficult to perfect since your instructions are quite clear and most helpful. You’d be pleased to know that because I have had so many opportunities trying your recipes, my husband has now declared that he doesn’t think he wants to have any more Chinese meals at restaurants as they aren’t as good as my home cooking!
Thanks for the tips on cooking the beef this is always tricky, I made this and everyone loved it! :))) thank you Maggie!
Thank you for this recipe Maggie, this was fantastic! I chose yours over others online for two reasons – it has onions, and detailed step-by-step directions. I had everything called for except the Shaoxing wine, so I substituted Extra Dry Vermouth, which seemed to work fine. I not very experienced at cooking Asian dishes – I usually let my Asian girlfriend make those 🙂 so I followed your directions to the letter and was amazed how well it came out. Served it over white rice with a sprinkling of sesame seeds – looks just like the photos! Will fry an egg to go with the leftovers. And I’ll be back to try more of your recipes…
This was delicious! We just used vegetables in the dish (peppers, onions, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower) and served it over rice. It will be added to the rotation. Thanks!!
Other than doubling the black pepper (since we love it spicy), I kept everything the same. I made it for a Lunar New Year’s feast and it was a hit.
Taste really good👍
Does the sherry wine have to be dry? I’m only finding dry sherry dessert wine
Yes it has to be dry otherwise the dish will end up too sweet. The dessert wine also has a very different taste.
Could you find Japnaese sake? It is a good alternative if you cannot find dry sherry.
Your recipes are superb we all loved this one!
Super delicious! I added 1/8 tsp ground white pepper to the sauce because my family really loves the flavor.
This recipe was perfect! I increased the sauce a bit because I added some extra vegetables. So easy to make!! I’ll be making this a lot!
My husband and I really enjoyed this recipe! We moved and lack serious Chinese/Cantonese cuisine. This was quite similar to the one I always order at one of my favorite Cantonese restaurant.
CAN YOU USE ANY RED WINE?
I’ve never tried but I think it should work! The flavor will be different but it should taste nice.
Worked perfectly as written. Looking forward to making this again soon!