Learn all the tips and tricks to making a Puerto Rican Pepper Steak just like it is served in the chinos on the island!
One of the recipes that I missed the most when I left Puerto Rico was a good Puerto Rican Pepper Steak with a delicious fried rice Puerto Rican style.
When I moved to the north of the United States, of course, they sold Chinese food but to be honest, the rice was terrible and the meat like the Chinese fried chicken wings didn’t have that oriental-Caribbean flavor that I was looking for.
So today I share this recipe with everyone who wants to eat a good pepper steak but also with the Puerto Rican diaspora in mind and heart.
Follow the recipe and you will see how easy it is to make! Don’t forget to make a simple tostones recipe and make it with garlic!
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Taste just like is made in the Chinese restaurants in Puerto Rico!
- It is a great saucy beef recipe that will go well over any side just like the Puerto Rican bistec.
- It is a great recipe to prepare ahead of time, freeze, and finish it in 10 minutes or less!
Recipe Ingredients
- Beef- I used the beef that comes already finely cut, called beef top round. You can also use the meat that is available as minute steak or beef milanese. Any beef for pepper steak but the thiner the better.
- Baking soda- This here is the real secret to making that meat super soft. It makes the meat easily break down when you bite into it and it doesn’t end up chewy.
- Seasonings- I added a little salt, sugar, black pepper, chicken bouillon, and msg. All these flavors are important for it to have the flavor we are looking for.
- Liquids- You need white cooking wine that you can replace with white vinegar which is used to marinate the meat. Soy sauce, sesame oil, and water are used to make the sauce.
- Cornstarch- Cornstarch is used for two things. The first is to act as a super fine breading to give texture to the meat and to better absorb the sauce. The cornstarch is also used to thicken the sauce.
- Onion, green pepper & garlic- I used the typical vegetables that are included in the recipe but of course, you can use any onion and peppers you want.
How to Make Puerto Rican Pepper Steak
- Photo 1: First we cut the vegetables. Here the purpose is to chop them into smaller pieces but they don’t have to be the same size or perfect.
- Photo 2: We chop the meat to approximately two inches in size and as finely as possible. The purpose of cutting them thin is so that they cook quickly and help the meat not to be chewy.
- Photo 3: Then we put the meat in a large container with ¼ cup of water and baking soda. Mix and let the meat rest for 15 minutes. This is the secret to making that meat very soft.
- Photo 4: Before seasoning it is very important to rinse the meat to remove the baking soda because otherwise it leaves a strange and metallic taste to the meat. Then season the meat, add the cornstarch, and mix well. This step is called velveting the meat.
- Photo 5: In a large pot add 2 cups of oil and fry the meat for 3 minutes. Be sure to separate the meat as it cooks because the cornstarch causes it to stick.
- Photo 6: In a large frying pan, add 1 tablespoon of oil and sauté the onion and green pepper. Then dissolve 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in the soy sauce and add it to the pan along with the garlic, water, and meat. Cook it for approximately 6 minutes over medium-high heat or until the broth is the way you like it.
Recipe Tips
- Make sure not to let the meat soften for too long. This is because more time will not soften the meat more but rather it will change the texture and leave a strong metallic taste.
- You can store leftover meat in the refrigerator for no more than 4 days. It always tastes better the next day!
Recipe Questions
You don’t have to fry the pepper steak in a lot of oil. You can skip it and just pan-fry it in a little bit of oil but it makes the texture different. Frying the meat offers the benefit of a crispy texture that helps absorb more sauce.
Of course! Actually you can add any vegetable you want. If you are going to add hard vegetables like broccoli or carrots, it is better to boil these vegetables a little before adding them.
Recipes To Serve With The Pepper Steak
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Puerto Rican Pepper Steak
Ingredients
To tenderize
- 1 pound beef top steak
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ cup water
To season
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoon chicken bouillon
- 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ tablespoon msg
- ¼ cup corn starch
- 2 tablespoons water
For sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 12 ounces water
- 1 teaspoons garlic paste
Rest of ingredients
- 2 cups oil for frying beef
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 green pepper
- 1 tablespoon oil to saute vegetables
Instructions
- Roughly chop the onion and pepper to about 1-inch pieces. Cut your beef into thin slices that are about 2 inches in size.
- Add the beef, baking soda, and ¼ cup of water to a large bowl. Mix everything well and let the meat tenderize for 15 minutes. Then rinse your meat until it no longer feels slippery and you remove the baking soda.
- Season the beef by adding salt, sugar, black pepper, chicken bouillon, cooking wine, sesame oil, MSG, water, and cornstarch. Add 2 cups of oil to a big pan over medium-high heat. Fry the beef for 3 minutes. Make sure to stir while frying because the meat tends to stick together. You might have to fry in 2 batches depending on how big your pan is.
- Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a Chinese wok or a big pan over medium-high heat and saute the onion and peppers for 1 minute. Then mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch into the soy sauce. Add the soy sauce mixture, water, garlic, and beef to the pan. Cook for 6 minutes so the sauce can thicken. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Make sure to cut the meat finely. This helps it soften better and to cook very quickly.
- When tenderizing the meat, do not leave it in the baking soda for too long. If you leave it for too long it will become chewy and have a strong metallic taste.
- If you don’t have white wine vinegar, just use half of distilled white vinegar
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