Stir-fried beef with green peppers (青椒牛柳)

Last Updated on February 25, 2021 by Simon Fan

Ever wonder how your favorite Chinese restaurant gets their stir-fried beef so tender and moist? Could you make the same at home?

The truth is, a good stir-fried beef dish is deceptively simple to make. Skipping certain important steps before or during cooking, you’re more likely to end up with chewy or dry meat at the dinner table.

Now, the good news: by following the steps outlined below, and with some practice, you’ll achieve the desired tenderness and juiciness in your stir-fried beef.

Step 1: cut the beef properly. Cut the meat against the grain to get the most tender bite, and into bite-size slices or strips to maximize their contact with the marinade.

Step 2: marinate the beef properly. This is an important step before cooking. By using a mixture of egg and potato starch (or cornstarch), you create a coating that protects the meat from drying out while cooking. This Chinese technique is called velveting. It ensures that moisture is trapped inside the meat by the egg-starch coating and stays there during the subsequent cooking. Adding a little baking soda helps tenderize the meat. For best results, marinate the meat for last least 2 hours, so plan ahead.

Step 3: cook the beef properly. Precook the marinated beef in hot oil or boiling water before stir-frying it with other ingredients.

The recipe below will show you how to apply these steps to create an elegant stir-fried beef dish that will impress your guests. While tender cuts of beef such as tenderloin and top lion would be excellent for the recipe, a less tender cut such as flank would work well too.

If you like, you can swap the bell peppers for another pepper variety, such as shishito, Anaheim (aka New Mexico peppers), or longhorn peppers (if you like to make the dish spicy). Cut them diagonally into ⅓-inch (8 mm) strips.

Stir-fried beef with green peppers (青椒牛柳)

Serves 2

Ingredients

5 oz (140 g) green bell peppers (tops, seeds, and ribs removed)
10 oz (285 g) lean beef (tenderloin, top loin, or sirloin is great; a less tender cut such as flank works well too)

Velveting marinade
½ teaspoon light soy sauce
½ teaspoon dark soy sauce
½ teaspoon baking soda
⅛ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon sugar
¼ cup (60 ml) water
½ large egg, beaten
1 teaspoon potato starch or cornstarch

Sauce
1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
¼ teaspoon Zhenjiang (aka Chinkiang) vinegar
¼ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1-inch (2.5 cm) piece of ginger, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced

Directions

1. Cut the bell peppers into strips about 2 inches (5 cm) long and ⅓ inch (8 mm) wide.
2. Trim the beef as needed. Cut the beef along the grain into 2-inch-wide (5 cm) strips, then cut each strip against the grain into ⅓-inch-thick (8 mm) slices. Next, cut each slice into ⅓-inch-thick (8 mm) matchsticks.
3. To velvet the beef, mix the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a bowl. Add the beef, and stir with your hand or a pair of chopsticks while gradually adding the water, until the beef has absorbed the water, about two minutes. Add the egg and starch, and mix until well coated. Marinate the beef, giving it a stir from time to time, for 2 to 3 hours in the refrigerator. Remove the beef from the refrigerator 15 minutes before cooking.
4. In a small bowl, combine all the sauce ingredients.
5. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a wok or skillet over medium heat. When the oil starts to shimmer, add the beef and stir quickly until they turn opaque, about 1 minute. Transfer the beef to a plate lined with paper towels to drain, and wipe out the wok. Alternatively, you can cook the beef in gently boiling water until they turn opaque, then drain well.
6. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil (or heat 2 tablespoons oil if you’ve cooked the beef in boiling water) in the wok over high heat. Add the scallion, ginger, and garlic, and stir-fry until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add the peppers and continue to stir-fry for 30 seconds. Return the beef to the wok and add the sauce mixture. Stir and toss until the beef is just cooked through, about 2 minutes. Adjust the seasoning as needed, and serve right away.