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Chinese Pepper Steak with Onions

Chinese pepper steak with onions features tender beef and colorful bell peppers in a glossy soy-oyster sauce stir fry. Marinated beef stays juicy, then cooks fast in a hot wok for a quick, takeout-style dinner over steamed rice.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
marinating 20 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Chinese-American
Calories: 650
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Beef
  • 1.5 lb ground beef (or thinly sliced flank steak) Use ground beef for fastest prep, or use thinly sliced flank steak for a more classic bite.
Vegetables and aromatics
  • 2 bell peppers (red and green), sliced
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 4 garlic, minced
  • 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
Marinade
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
Sauce
  • 0.25 cup soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tbsp hoisin
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 0.5 cup beef broth
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
Stir-fry
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 1 steamed rice for serving

Equipment

  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Marinate the beef
  1. Mix the soy sauce, cornstarch, and sesame oil with the beef and let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. The mixture should look slightly thick and cling to the beef.
Make the sauce
  1. Whisk together the soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin, brown sugar, beef broth, and cornstarch until smooth, then set aside. It should appear evenly combined with no visible cornstarch lumps.
Stir-fry
  1. Heat the oil in a wok over high heat until shimmering, then cook the beef, breaking it apart, until browned and cooked through, about 5–7 minutes. You should see browned bits on the meat and no pink remaining.
  2. Stir-fry the bell peppers and onion in the same wok over high heat for 3–4 minutes until slightly charred and crisp-tender. The edges should look browned while the centers stay bright.
  3. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. The aroma should turn fragrant quickly without burning.
  4. Return the beef to the wok, then pour the sauce over everything and toss to coat. The beef and vegetables should be fully lacquered in the sauce.
  5. Cook for 2 minutes over high heat, tossing, until the sauce thickens and looks glossy. The sauce should cling to the bell peppers and beef when you stir.
  6. Serve the pepper steak over steamed rice right away. The sauce should pool slightly on the rice instead of staying runny.

Notes

For best stir-fry results, slice the bell peppers and onion uniformly so they char at the same pace, and keep everything prepped before heating the wok. Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days; reheat until hot, adding a splash of broth if needed. Freezing is not recommended because bell peppers soften on thawing. For a gluten-free option, use tamari instead of soy sauce and confirm your oyster sauce hoisin are gluten-free.