Pepper steak

Name: Pepper steak
Total time: 900 s
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 400 g flank steak; 1/2 cup oyster sauce; 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar; 1/4 cup light soy sauce; 1/4 cup brown sugar; 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil; 1 medium onion, sliced thinly; 3 cloves garlic, sliced thinly; 1 thumb-sized nub ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks; 1 cup bean sprouts; 1 red pepper, chopped; 1 green pepper, chopped; 1-227 ml can water chestnuts, cut into matchsticks

Robert Gonzal @robert

Vancouver BC

What's your earliest favourite food memory? Mine is pepper steak, specifically the old Chun King brand pepper steak. The stuff available now is basically a seasoning packet. Back in my day, Chun King came in a can, and already included everything (except for the beef, maybe, I'm not sure). Kind of like Campbell chunky soup. Anyway, I was crazy for the stuff, and hopped for joy whenever my mom pulled a can out for dinner. This recipe is my homage to that memory. I can't say for certain how close it is, because honestly I only vaguely remember how the stuff tasted. I mainly remember how much I loved it. The best part about this recreation was my daughter's reaction. She had three servings. So our family's love for pepper steak will live on.

Robert Gonzal @robert

Saved

Ingredients

15 minutes

4 servings

400 gflank steak
1/2 cupoyster sauce
1/4 cuprice wine vinegar
1/4 cuplight soy sauce
1/4 cupbrown sugar
2 tbsptoasted sesame oil
1medium onion, sliced thinly
3 clovesgarlic, sliced thinly
1thumb-sized nub ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1 cupbean sprouts
1red pepper, chopped
1green pepper, chopped
1-227 mlcan water chestnuts, cut into matchsticks

Saved

Steps

15 minutes

1

Prepare the steak well in advance. First put the meat into the freezer for an hour or so, until it's mostly frozen. Then, slice it as thinly as you can. Be sure to cut against the grain for maximum tenderness. Put the meat into a bowl.
2

In a bowl, whisk together the next 5 ingredients, along with several grinds of black pepper, until the sugar is fully dissolved. Pour about a third of this sauce over the sliced beef. Cover the meat and let marinate in the fridge for 3 hours, or up to overnight.
3

Put a wok on high heat. Remove the meat from the fridge and toss it with a few tbsp veg oil. Sear the meat just until it's no longer pink, no more than 3 or 4 minutes. Transfer the meat and any juices given off to a bowl and set aside.
4

Pour a splash of veg oil into the wok and add the onion. Let it sweat for 1 minute, then add the garlic and ginger. Fry another minute, then stir in the sprouts, both peppers, and water chestnuts. Season with a pinch of salt, and let fry another 2 to 3 minutes, just until the veg softens slightly.
5

Return the beef and its juices to the wok and pour in the remaining sauce. Make a slurry with 1 heap tsp cornstarch and a few tbsp water and stir it into the wok. Let the sauce simmer and thicken for about 2 minutes to finish. Serve with freshly steamed rice.