Beef with Green Peppers

For supper tonight, the hubby and I tried a modified version of a recipe that we tasted during a Chinese cooking class last fall. It’s a pretty simple and mild beef stir-fry with green peppers, nice and light.

This is an excellent weeknight recipe because it comes together quickly. It cooks very fast, however, so as with most stir-fry recipes, you want to prepare all your ingredients before you start cooking. (You’ll only have about five minutes from start to finish with the cooking time.)

The flavor of the garlic, ginger, and sesame oil really pop out in this stir-fry. Use the dark sesame oil, because the flavor and fragrance is so much more intense. As I was preparing my ingredients, I told the hubby how much I love the smell of sesame oil. About a half-hour later, he leaned over to talk to me, and I noticed he’d slathered some on.

I do love a man in dark sesame oil.

Beef with Green Peppers
Serves 4

Marinade
2 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking soda
2 Tbsp. soy sauce

1¼ lb. steak, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp. oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. grated ginger
2 large green bell peppers, seeded and cubed
1 Tbsp. oyster sauce
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. white pepper
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
¼ c. water

1. Combine marinade ingredients. Add to beef and marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes.

2. Heat oil in a wok over high heat. Add beef and stir-fry until brown.

3. Reduce heat to medium-high. Push beef to sides of wok and add garlic and ginger. Stir-fry until brown, about 30 seconds.

4. Add peppers and stir-fry 2-3 minutes, or until peppers are crisp-tender.

5. Meanwhile, combine oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, and pepper. Add to wok and cook about 1 minute.

6. Combine cornstarch and water. Add to wok and cook until sauce thickens (which should be almost right away).

7. Remove from heat, and serve stir-fry with rice.