This deeply savory, easy beef stir-fry recipe is your glossy, saucy excuse to head to the farmers market for high-season peppers. (Yes. Fresh peppers have a season.) We love the piquant heat finger hot peppers or cayenne chiles bring to this weeknight dinner, but if you’re averse, feel free to swap in sweet red bell peppers instead.
Adding cornstarch to the marinade encourages the liquid sauce ingredients to cling to the steak and promotes browning when you’re ready to cook. But you may be asking, “Do I really need two kinds of soy sauce?” Chinese-style dark soy sauce is aged longer than lighter styles, giving it a sweeter, more robust edge and a thicker viscosity that also aids in giving the beef its crispy edges. Meanwhile, regular soy sauce brings the salty punch most people associate with the condiment. You’ll use both bottles a second time for the savory stir-fry sauce, which is cut with rice vinegar and a generous dose of black pepper for balance.
For best results, it’s imperative you sear the sliced beef in a single layer. If your skillet isn’t big enough, cook it in batches before turning to the veggies and finishing the dish. A boneless rib eye makes for an exceptionally tender beef stir-fry, but it’s not a cheap cut of beef; you can swap it for flank, skirt, or sirloin steak if you’d like. Outside of pepper season, trade the veg for green beans, snow peas, bok choy, matchsticks of zucchini, or even canned water chestnuts, plus a dash of crushed red pepper flakes for heat. Serve with steamed jasmine rice for a complete meal that comes together faster than you can say, “Let’s order takeout.”
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What you’ll need
Carbon Steel Wok
$60 At Amazon
Recipe information
Total Time
30 minutes
Yield
4 servings
Ingredients
1½
2
1
2
2
1
2
1
8
1
5
Preparation
Step 1
Place 1½ lb. boneless rib-eye steak, cut into 1" cubes, 2 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. cornstarch, 1 Tbsp. dark soy sauce, 1 Tbsp. soy sauce, and 1 Tbsp. unseasoned rice vinegar in a medium bowl; toss to coat.
Step 2
Stir 1 tsp. freshly ground pepper, remaining 4 tsp. dark soy sauce, remaining 1 Tbsp. soy sauce, remaining 1 Tbsp. unseasoned rice vinegar, and ½ cup water in another medium bowl to combine; set dressing aside.
Step 3
Warm 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Place steak with marinade in pan, arranging in a single layer as much as possible. Cook, undisturbed, until browned underneath, about 2 minutes. Turn over and cook until browned on other side, about 2 minutes. Transfer steak to bowl with reserved dressing and toss to coat. Wipe out skillet.
Step 4
Heat remaining 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil in same skillet over high. Cook 1 medium onion, thinly sliced, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add 8 finger hot peppers or cayenne chiles (about 8 oz.), sliced 1" thick, one 2" piece fresh ginger, peeled, finely chopped, and 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped, and cook, stirring often, until softened and starting to char, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, add steak with dressing, and toss to combine. Stir in up to ¼ cup water to loosen sauce if needed. Taste stir-fry and season with kosher salt if needed.
Step 5
Transfer steak mixture to a shallow bowl; serve with steamed white rice.
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Reviews (4)
Back to TopWe made this tonight, and we loved it! We couldn't find the peppers the recipe calls for and subbed in 8 Fresno peppers, which ended up making it quite a spicy dish. Then again, we are Midwesterners so we don't have the highest tolerance.Despite our burning mouths, though, the great flavor of this recipe shone through. We definitely will make it again (albeit with fewer peppers). We also subbed thin sliced sirloin steak instead of ribeye, and it was still amazing and for a third of the cost.
Sarah K
Minneapolis, MN
7/14/2024