Steak Stir-fry with Colorful Bell Peppers 黑胡椒風味彩椒骰子牛

Language can be confusing sometimes. I was trying to come up with a title for this recipe using quality steak. Since I slice the steak to big cubes prior cooking, I was about to put the title as "cubed steak." Glad that I Googled first and found out cubed steak actually means something else!

Cubed steak or minute steak, is actually a less expensive cut of beef that has been tenderized first, and at a glance, cubed steak might actually look like ground beef instead of actual steak as a whole or square-cut chunky beef. Isn't that confusing to you as well?

Steak stir-fry with colorful bell peppers 黑胡椒風味彩椒骰子牛 - 

Ingredients?

• 500 grams steak-grade beef (prefer thicker cut)
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1/2 onion
• 4 garlic clove
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Tiny pinch salt
• Some corn starch and water mixture

Sauce - 

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

How?

Cut the steak to large cubes, but do trim-off excess fat first if any.

Peel and dice the onion. Destem and pitted all the bell peppers, cut into larger cube-shape pieces. Peel and chop the garlic cloves.

Mix together all the ingredients under the "sauce" section.

Take a non-stick pan, drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil and turn to medium high heat. Once warmed up, transfer beef over and sear till the sides colored. The meat doesn't have to be fully cooked through, just want to give the surface a nice sear first. Once ready, scoop out and set aside for later use.

Still using the same pan, use a paper towel to wipe out excess fat, only leave enough to coat the bottom.

Add in onion along with tiny pinch of salt. Give it a quick mix and continue to cook till slightly golden brown on some edges.

Add in garlic and continue to cook for 30 more seconds.

Transfer all the bell pepper over and give it a quick mix. Cook for a minute or so. Pour in the sauce mixture. Mix till blended and cook for one more minute.

Switch to low heat and wait a little bit till the temperature drops. Prep some corn starch and water mixture. Pour some corn starch and water mixture while stirring the ingredients at the same time to prevent clumping. We are aiming for slightly thickened texture but not gooey at all.

Once achieved the right consistency, put the beef back to the pan. Toss till evenly blended, also make sure the beef is about fully cooked through. Taste and adjust if needed. Plate and serve as it is.

I insist on using chunky steak-grade beef here. The flavor and texture are hard to replace with other cuts of meat. Sirloin would be my top choice, but it doesn't come cheap. Fingers crossed that the steak is on sale when we go grocery shopping. 

Which reminds me that I used to stock up steaks when it's on sale. Usually I'll store unused ones in the freezer for future use. Even though frozen ones might not be as good as fresh meat, but it's not bad at all when cooked and seasoned right, and for sure my wallet is happier that way.