Slow Cooked Pepper Steak

Serves 6 to 8

Fun-fact

Pepper steak is typically a stir-fried Chinese dish featuring sliced beef steak (flank, sirloin, or round) and cooked with rich bell peppers, bamboo shoots, onions, and other flavorful ingredients and seasonings. Enjoy this family-friendly recipe!

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons canola oil
• 3 lbs. boneless beef top sirloin steak, cut into strips
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• ½ cup soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 3 green bell peppers, cut into strips
• ¼ cup cold water
• 1 Tablespoon cornstarch

Also:

• Hot, cooked rice (for serving)

Directions:

On the stove, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Brown steak strips on the outside. (Note that it’s not necessary to fully cook the meat as it will continue to cook in the slow cooker.) Turn the stove down to medium-low. Add the garlic to the pan and cook and stir for 2 more minutes. Transfer browned steak strips, garlic, and pan juices to the slow cooker.  Add the onion, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, and black pepper to the slow cooker. Stir and cover. Cook on low for about 6 hours. Add the bell pepper strips to the slow cooker and cook, covered, for approximately one hour more, until the green peppers are tender. Mix the water and cornstarch to use as a thickening agent. Slowly stir the cornstarch mixture into the juices to make a gravy. Turn the slow cooker to high. Cover and cook for about 15 minutes longer, until food is heated through, and the gravy slightly thickens. Serve immediately over hot rice.

Recipe note: Cornstarch is often preferred over flour as a thickening agent for soups, gravies, and custards. Not only is the almost pure starch a more efficient thickener than flour, but it is also translucent rather than opaque – which is more desirable in most recipes.