Black Pepper Beef (糊椒牛肉)

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Looking for something that literally takes less than 10 minutes to make and is loaded with flavor and nutrition? Look no further. This may look like a simple pile of meat with some random vegetable on top of rice, but it’s so much more than that, and the secret lies in the black pepper. The recipe I based this on called for what I thought to be an obscene amount of black pepper, and which I assumed would completely overpower everything else in the dish, but I was, as usual, extremely wrong. The shocking amount of black pepper is mellowed out by sugar and ginger, so in the end it just arrives at your mouth party as a friendly, floral background guest, but despite its polite timidity, it is no doubt the backbone of the festivities.

Butter Count: It’s Chinese

INGREDIENTS:

1 Tbsp dark soy sauce

1 Tbsp all purpose soy sauce

1 Tbsp vegan oyster sauce (since I’m allergic to seafood, but regular oyster sauce also works)

1 Tbsp Shaoxing wine

1 1/2 Tbsp sugar

2 tsp black pepper (powder, not whole peppercorns)

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 inch ginger, peeled and minced

1 onion, diced

3 green onions, whites and greens separated, all cut into 1-inch segments

1 lb ground beef

Cucumbers for serving, julienned

Green onions for serving, sliced however

Cooked rice for serving

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Use a chopstick or fork to stir the dark soy sauce, all purpose soy sauce, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, sugar, and black pepper together in a bowl.

  2. Heat a wok or pan over high heat with the vegetable oil. Add the garlic, ginger, onion, and the white parts of the green onion. Cook about one minute until softened but not browning.

  3. Add the beef and cook, breaking apart with a wooden spoon. Cook about 5 minutes, until it is uniformly brown and beginning to caramelize.

  4. Add the sauce and continue cooking. Stir every so often, but allow it to sit in contact with the pan for several seconds at a time so it has a chance to caramelize and thicken. When stirring, the goal is to coat the beef, but also expose new sauce to the pan so it can thicken.

  5. Add the green parts of the green onions and toss continually until they are wilted.

  6. Remove from heat and serve over rice, topped with the cucumbers and fresh green onions.