Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Pepper Steak

The mother of a former sweetheart of mine used to boil her steak, regardless of the cut, until it was grey, slice it and serve it. It was chewy and unappealing.  I grew up in a household where steak was fried.  The first time I ever had a roast beef, I was 18.  I can still remember my husband and I taking my mother and two younger brothers out to dinner in a nice middle class restaurant.  My oldest brother saw roast beef on the menu and his eyes lit up; roast beef sounded so fancy.  He proudly placed his order and when the waitress asked him how he'd like it done, he stumbled, looking confused and abashed,  and said, "Fried, I guess." 

I needed a recipe for beef tips and when I found this recipe I was prepared not to like this, mostly because of the way the beef is prepared ...simmered  until tender, even if it was with other delicious flavors.   However, I needed something quick and easy, something a little different than I normally serve, with items I had on hand.  Gosh, this was good.  Ole Sweetie-Pi, the beef lover, gave it two hearty thumbs up.

This is a good recipe if you're trying to cut back on meat.  With one pound of beef, you can serve four people. You're going to have to like the flavor of green peppers, though.  It's a predominate flavor along with the stewed tomatoes.  The recipe calls for cutting the peppers into rings, which makes for a nice presentation, but not so easy to eat. I'd be inclined to save a couple of rings for decorative purposes and cut the peppers into large chunks.  Same with the stewed tomatoes.  I threw the can in whole, but next time will cut the tomatoes into at least halves if not fourths.

Leftovers were very good.  The noddles had a chance to absorb some of the broth and I think I liked this even more the second day.

Pepper Steak with Stewed Tomatoes

1 pound sirloin tips cut in serving-sized pieces
2 tablespoons oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, diced finely
1 teaspoon salt
dash pepper
1 cup beef broth
1 14.5 ounce can stewed tomatoes, tomatoes broken up
1 large green bell pepper, cut into chunks
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
pinch sugar

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium low heat.  Add the beef and brown, about 15 minutes.  Add the onion and garlic and season with the salt and pepper.  Add beef broth to the meat and cover and simmer over low heat, about 25 minutes, or until meat is tender.  Add the tomatoes and green pepper; cook 10 minutes longer. 

In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the cornstarch, water, and soy sauce.  Stir well to make a slurry.  Add to the meat mixture, stirring constantly, about five minutes to thicken the sauce.  Add a pinch of sugar if desired.  Adjust seasoning.

If sauce is too thick for your liking, add a small splash of water and stir.  If it's not thick enough, make another batch of slurry (just water and cornstarch) and add in small amounts, allowing it to cook in between before adding more  to determine how thick the sauce is going to be. 

 

11 comments:

  1. What a beautiful post!! Steamy, colorful, beautiful china....just perfect.

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  2. Thank you Katy, I like this pepper steak recipe, cutting back on meat is a good thing. Looks very tasty.

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  3. Katy,
    Made this the other day and loved it! Had another recipe but liked this one better. Thanks for sharing.

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  4. Hi Katy, the first shot is awesome! Green pepper always pairs well with tomato sauce and garlic! This looks really good for me. Have a great day my friend.
    Cheers
    Mamatkamal

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  5. Katy, I've been making pepper steak for years. I have always sliced the green peppers into julienne-sized strips and I serve this over rice, but I bet it's just as yummy over noodles!

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  6. I am sure this is delicious but I want to comment on your presentation. That is a lovely photo with that pretty bowl. It makes one feel completely welcome to join you.

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  7. looks so good Katy! I made pepper steak years ago with rice-had forgotten that until I saw your post.
    I enjoyed your story about your brother. :)

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  8. Ah! What a delicious looking pepper steak! It's make me so hungry! i can't wait to eat this :) Thanks Katy for sharing.

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  9. Thanks for the sweet comments, dear ones!

    To the lady who emailed me about whether or not the tomatoes are drained, I did not drain them.

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  10. This looks like a great recipe. When I think about steak and peppers it did not occur to me that stewed tomatoes would be a good addition too-I like it!

    Cheers.
    Velva

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  11. mmmm, i LOVE pepper steak, so much flavor. it especially looks good on that bed of pasta.

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