Don’t have any idea what to make for dinner tonight?
Thinking of getting the Chinese take-out?
You should get the take-out if you absolutely have no energy whatsoever. But if you can drag yourself to the kitchen and slice a couple of peppers, here is one quick and easy stir-fry recipe that can be made faster than going to pick up your take-out in the evening traffic. And it is far healthier and tastier.
I had a beautiful piece of beef ribeye steak, and a couple of sweet peppers, I was in the mood of making this beef and peppers stir-fry in black bean sauce.
I used to make this often with actual fermented black beans but I couldn’t find it, so I used the black bean sauce in a jar. If you can find the fermented black beans, all you need to do is to soak them in water to soften and smash them. Otherwise a bottled black bean sauce will come handy for this recipe.
Make sure you get all the prep work done and ready to go before starting the stir-fry. The cooking time itself is very quick and you will get your dinner ready in no time.
I don’t have my handy-dandy Chinese wok with me these days, so I used a large cast iron skillet
and it worked just as good.
Shall we start?
Here is my beef ribeye. I trimmed some fat around.
Then slice the beef thinly across the grain. I can tell they will be very tender by looking at their marbling.
Marinade them with a little soy sauce, rice wine (if you have), and corn starch. Toss them together and set aside while you are getting the rest of crew ready to go.
Slice the beautiful peppers or yours, about 1/2″ strips.
And the same goes to onion. Set aside.
Mince a little garlic and ginger. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine soy sauce, chicken stock, teeny-tiny bit of sugar, sesame oil, and corn starch.
Add in some black bean sauce and mix the whole thing together. Set it aside.
Heat up your wok or a heavy duty skillet on a high heat until the smoke appears.
Stir-fry the beef slices quickly, about 1-2 minutes. Don’t overcook the beef. Transfer them onto a plate.
Stir-fry the peppers, onions and ginger until crisp tender, about 2-3 minutes.
Add the minced garlic and continue to stir-fry.
Return your beef to the skillet. We are almost there. Hold your drool, folks!
Pour the sauce and let the whole thing to thicken, which takes no time at all.
And here is your lovely beef and peppers stir-fry ready to enter into your mouth.
How do you like to come to the dinner table with piping hot beef stir-fry waiting for you? Just grab a bowl of rice and dig in. Your stomach will appreciate you.
If you can make a tasty and good for your body Chinese stir-fry at home easily and quickly with just a few ingredients, why bothered for a take-out?
Enjoy!
Beef and Peppers Stir-fry in Black Bean Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 lb 450g beef (ribeye or sirloin), thinly sliced
- 1-1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice wine optional
- 2 teaspoon corn starch
- 2 tablespoon peanut oil
- 1 medium green pepper sliced into 1/2" strips
- 1 medium red pepper sliced into 1/2"strips
- 1 onion sliced
- 1 tablespoon ginger minced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
For the sauce:
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 3 tablespoon black bean sauce
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
- In a shallow bowl, combine beef with soy sauce, rice wine (if using), and corn starch and toss together, set aside.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine all the sauce ingredients.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok or a heavy duty skillet over high heat until smoke comes up. Add the beef and stir-fry quickly, about 1-2 minutes until the center of beef slices is slightly pink. Transfer to another plate and set aside.
- Add the remaining oil in a wok and stir-fry peppers, onion, and ginger until crisp tender, about 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and stir-fry.
- Return the beef to the wok and toss. Pour the sauce over and toss everything together until the sauce thickens. Serve hot with rice.
I love this dish! I usually make it with pork instead of beef, but beef is wonderful too. I always have the fermented black beans on hand – one of my staples. Great post – thanks.
That looks great!
I was about to go to bed and your email came in… of course I had to jump over to see what you cooked. OMG now I’m so hungry I can’t sleep… 😀 Look at the steam! Perfect shot Holly! I feel like I need to make this this week! YUM!
This looks tasty. Yum.
Could one use the black bean paste for jajjangmyeon as a substitute?
Give it a try. I think it will work.
I had the same question as the black bean paste for jajjangmyeon… is the black bean sauce that you picture, liquidy? i’m guessing we would need to use less black bean paste than the 3 tablespoons of black bean sauce and maybe more liquid? Black bean paste is super thick and concentrated? Will have to play with it and see…. sounds delicious!
Luvin’ this recipe! Could never get it right.
I love this recipe! I have varied the protein and veggies to whatever I have on hand and it always turns out delicious! Such a keeper!
Hi……tried this recipe last week………it is AWESOME. By far the best one we have tried. Thank you soooo much for posting it.
You’ve inspired me! I am going to make this for my husband when he comes back next week. He is going to love it! You are a genius!
I wonder, what do you think about the fermented black beans, with ginger? (see this: http://preview.tinyurl.com/p9k8hbn)
If you can get the fermented black beans, it would be even better. Soak the beans in the water to soften, then add to the stir-fry. Yum~!
Thanks for this!!! The cornstarch, shaoxing rice wine and sesame oil and sugar combo on the side was genius- makes it really authentic! Thanks Hols!
I made this tonight using just Costco stir fry veggies and the taste was great, but just a bit too salty. I think I either need to add more veggies next time (to spread out the sauce more) or maybe reduce the shoyu or black bean sauce a tad. Very helpful recipe though!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious, although a bit salty, probably because of the broth I used. All in all, a great, easy recipe. Thanks!
Great to hear that you liked it. Yes, you will need to use low-sodium stock for this stir-fry since black bean sauce in a bottle is quite salty. Hope you can try again.
Thank You Holly,
this has become a standard in my kitchen. It’s so easy and fast to make, doesn’t need any fancy ingredients and is so delicious. I do use whole fermented black beans however instead of the sauce.
Just to get a little more control over the amount of sugar and msg this contains 🙂
That’s great, Andreas. Fermented black beans will make so much better in taste and health. So happy to hear that you liked this dish.
White or sweet onion?
Either one works fine
This is the second thing I’ve made from your recipes, and wowza that was delicious. Thanks!