Sanctuary from The Mad World
Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what's for lunch. - Orson Welles

This week, for some reasons, I was craving for black-pepper beef with tons of red, green, and yellow peppers. This dish, a staple in Chinese fast-food all over the world, has never been my favourite. They always appear sweet and gunky. But I recently fell in love with black-pepper crab in Singapore where, instead of gunky sauce, it was fried in a sea of cracked black pepper. I decide to try the black-pepper beef with generous amount of pepper for that fruity yet steamy, peppery flavour.

This recipe is rather detailed than usual. A friend must cook on her own these days and she’s been asking for recipes which meet her utensil and seasoning restrictions. The dishes must also keep well so that making dinner equals to reheating. I think this fits the bill.

I hope this is helpful, Leony. No need to be exact with the measurement but just taste and have fun!

Ingredients:
400 g beef, sliced thinly
2 tbsp cornstarch
1+2 tbsp frying oil
2 tsp of cracked black peppers, or more to taste
6 peppers, green, red and yellow, cut into pieces
2 onions, halved, then thickly sliced
2 tbsp shao xing wine (optional and can be replaced with water)
2 tbsp Soy sauce
1 tsp vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil (optional)
Salt and more pepper to taste



Directions:
Mix the cornstarch with salt and pepper to taste in a large bowl. Add the beef slices and mix well until the beef pieces are coated with the starch. Fingers are the best for this job. Set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp of frying oil in a pan. Bring the heat to maximum and, when the oil is really hot, add the cut peppers and stir fry for about 15 minutes or until the peppers are slightly charred, glossy, limp and shrinking (but still juicy). Season with salt and pepper (or not, because the meat sauce will add more flavour), then set aside on a plate.

Add 2 tbsp of oil into the pan on high heat. When the oil is hot, add the cracked pepper. A word about this cracked pepper. It’s best to use whole peppers and crack them with mortar and pestle but if it is not available, grind them coarsely from your pepper mills. That will do.

When the cracked pepper is added, the oil with sizzle. Lower the heat to medium and stir continuously for about 1 minute. Watch carefully for the signs (and smell) of burning: we want the pepper to be properly fried so that it’s fragrant and sweet but pepper burns easily.

When you’re happy with the pepper, add the onion. Stir-fry until the onions are soft. Bring the heat back to high and add the beef slices. Stir once and then try to put them in one layer (don’t worry if they don’t). Let them fry for about 3 minutes to brown. Then stir the pieces to fry the other side, creating a layer again. Let them fry undisturbed for another 3 minutes. It’s important to maintain high heat so that the meat sears properly and do not steam and leak out juices. (If that happens, quickly move to the next step so that the meat doesn’t turn tough but with the cornstarch coating, that shouldn’t be too much of a problem).

When the meat looks 3/4 cooked, add the wine if using, or water. Deglaze the pan (that’s the fancy way of saying loosen the brown bits from the pan using the liquid. Imagine washing pan). The mixture will thicken immediately due to the cornstarch on the beef. Do not worry. Season with soy sauce and vinegar. The proportion is just a guide but adjust to your individual taste accordingly (it should be salty and rich, the vinegar is there just to ‘brighten’ the flavour). Stir well.

Add the cooked peppers and stir again to combine. Switch off the stove and finish off the dish by drizzling sesame oil, if using, and correct the seasoning. Serve with steamed rice.

PS: if for some reason the sauce is still to thick, add more water by tablespoons to loosen it.