Learn how to make black pepper beef stir fry with tender, juicy beef and a bold, flavorful sauce. A reader favorite that’s quick enough for weeknight dinners.
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This was one of the first recipes I published on Red House Spice nearly ten years ago. Over the years, it has become one of the most popular beef recipes on the blog and has been cooked successfully by countless readers. I’ve noticed three themes come up again and again in reader feedback:
- The beef turns out exceptionally tender and juicy.
- The black pepper sauce is rich, savory, and full of flavor.
- The dish comes together surprisingly quickly.
Many readers have told me it rivals, or even surpasses, the version from their favorite Chinese restaurant.
“Amazing! Beats any takeout and so quick.”
“I loooved how the meat turned out even when I had a cheaper cut, awesome trick!”
About the dish
Black pepper beef (黑椒牛柳, hēi jiāo niú liǔ) is a stir fry particularly associated with Cantonese cooking in Hong Kong, where Western ingredients and flavors were adapted into Chinese dishes. Growing up in China, I was always intrigued by how dishes like this blended Chinese cooking techniques with ingredients such as black pepper that weren’t traditionally Chinese.
Rather than sitting quietly in the background, black pepper dominates the flavor. It brings a warm, fragrant, lingering heat that tastes quite different from chilli peppers and gives the dish its distinctive character.
I remember a non-Chinese friend joking that this stir-fry was easier to enjoy than a steak with pepper sauce because the cook had already done all the cutting. It’s a small detail, but one that reflects a common feature of Chinese cooking: the knife work is usually done in the kitchen, not at the table.
Ingredients
Here are a list of ingredients you need for this stir-fry:
- Beef: For tips on choosing and preparing the beef, see the section below. If you enjoy other proteins, check out my recipe for Black Pepper Chicken.
- Vegetables: Onion and bell peppers are the classic choice. They add sweetness, color, and crunch. You can also use celery, carrot, bok choy, or other crispy vegetables.
- Black pepper: The star ingredient of this dish. Freshly ground, coarse black pepper provides the best flavor and aroma.
- Other ingredients: You’ll also need garlic, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, Shaoxing rice wine, cornstarch, and sesame oil. Together, they create the aromatic, umami-rich, and glossy sauce.
Secrets to tender beef
One of the most common compliments I receive about this recipe is how tender the beef turns out. If you’ve ever wondered why beef in Chinese restaurants often seems softer and juicier than homemade versions, these four tips make all the difference.
- Choose a suitable cut: When shopping for beef for this dish, I usually look for flank, skirt, sirloin, rump, flat iron, Denver, or ribeye steak. Any of these cuts can produce tender, flavorful results. If you’re using a tougher or less expensive cut, see the extra tip below.
- Slice against the grain. Look closely at the direction of the muscle fibers and slice across them rather than alongside them. This shortens the fibers and makes the beef much less chewy.
- Marinate with cornstarch. Cornstarch creates a light coating around the beef, helping it retain moisture during cooking. It’s a simple technique widely used in Chinese stir fries and one of the keys to achieving that silky texture.
- Cook over very high heat. The beef should hit a very hot wok and cook quickly. High heat sears the surface while keeping the inside juicy. If the wok isn’t hot enough, the beef tends to release liquid and can become tough.
Wei’s Pro Tip
Using a tougher cut?
Tougher cuts can still work very well for this dish, but benefit from an extra tenderizing step before marination.
- Mix the sliced beef with a small amount of baking soda and leave to rest.
- Rinse in water mixed with a little vinegar, then rinse again under running water.
Baking soda raises the pH of the meat, helping the muscle fibers stay more tender during cooking. The vinegar rinse removes any residual baking soda and its alkaline taste, leaving the beef tender without affecting its flavor.
Cooking Procedure
Marinate the beef, prepare the vegetables and aromatics, then mix the sauce.
Sear the beef in a hot wok until nearly cooked through, then transfer it to a plate.
Stir fry the vegetables until slightly softened but still crisp.
Return the beef to the wok, pour in the seasoning mixture, and toss briefly until the sauce starts to thicken.
Wei’s Pro Tip
Tips for the best result
- Have all the ingredients prepared before you start cooking. Like most Chinese stir fries, this dish comes together very quickly.
- If your stove isn’t very powerful, sear the beef in batches. This prevents the wok from cooling down and helps the beef sear rather than steam.
- For an extra kick, grind a little more black pepper over the finished dish just before serving.
FAQs
Yes. As with many Chinese stir fries, you can easily make this dish in a skillet (frying pan). Choose one with taller sides if possible, as it makes tossing and stirring easier.
First, massage the marinade into the beef until it is fully absorbed. Second, make sure the wok is properly heated before adding the beef. If your stove isn’t very powerful, sear the beef in batches so the temperature doesn’t drop too much.
Yes. Replace it with water. The difference in flavor is negligible.
Stir fries are best served immediately. However, you can slice and marinate the beef up to 24 hours ahead.
Other beef recipes
Looking for more beef-centric classics? Check out these popular recipes:
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Black Pepper Beef Stir-Fry (黑椒牛柳)
Video
Ingredients
For the beef
- 11 oz beef, see notes below for cut choices
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing rice wine
- 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon water
- 1 teaspoon neutral cooking oil
For the sauce
- 3 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- 4 tablespoon water
You also need
- 2 tablespoon neutral cooking oil, divided
- 4 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1 onion, sliced
- ½ red bell pepper, sliced
Instructions
- Slice the beef against its grain into strips. Mix with Shaoxing rice wine, light soy sauce, cornstarch, and water until the liquid is well absorbed. Then coat with cooking oil and leave to rest for 10 minutes.
- In a small bowl, prepare the sauce by mixing oyster sauce, light soy sauce, cornstarch, black pepper, sesame oil, sugar, and water. Set aside.
- Heat a wok over high heat until lightly smoking, then pour in 1½ tablespoon cooking oil. Add the marinated beef and sear until the surface browns (should still be pink inside). Transfer out to a plate.
- Add the remaining ½ tablespoon oil, then stir in garlic, onion and pepper. Toss for about a minute.
- Return the beef and stir fry for another 1 minute or so until fully cooked.
- Pour in the sauce. Toss well and dish out as soon as the sauce becomes just thick enough to coat the spatula.
- For a more intense flavor, sprinkle extra ground black pepper. Serve warm.
Notes
- Mix ½ teaspoon of baking soda with sliced beef then leave for at least 30 mins
- Rinse the beef in 2 cups (500ml) of water with 4 teaspoons of vinegar. Then rinse again under running water
- Drain well before adding to the marinade mixture
Your Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Note: This blog post was originally published in 2017. It has been revised with more cooking tips, new images and minor recipe alteration.
Hi, tried your black pepper beef recipe at home after tasting it out and I must admit it tastes the same ,yummm! thanks for sharing the recipe, it was simply awesome!!!!!!
Hi Dalreen! So happy to know you’ve produced what you love to eat in your own kitchen following my recipe. It’s my great pleasure to share!
If I’ve velveted the beef first do I need to change anything in the recipe?
You don’t need to change anything. Just follow the steps as usual. Happy cooking!
Thanks! I made your recipe with 1 pound of skirt steak, 2 onions and 2 green peppers. It turned out great and we enjoyed it.
That’s great news Kris! Thank you for trying out my recipe!
Thanks a lot , the tip for tenderizing the meat using baking soda yielded succulent and juicy meat , I tried beef stir fry multiple times , the main problem was hard and dry meat after cooking, I added steamed carrots with a bit crunchiness , it kind of added balance for the saltiness of the meal , the only difference between this recipe and the one I get on the restaurants is the translucency of the sauce , mine was turbid , I wonder why?
Hi Reham! Very happy to know you’ve enjoyed the dish. If you’d like the sauce glossier, replace the cornstarch with tapioca starch.
Hello, this looks amazing! I love black pepper stir fry but I tend to eat chicken as I don’t like beef. How would the recipe differ when using chicken?
Thank you 🙂
Hi, it’s fine to use chicken. I would cut the chicken into cubes (Like in classic dish Kung Pao chicken) instead of thin stripes to ensure its tenderness in stir fry. In this case, I would cut onion and pepper in similar shape to go with the chicken. Hope this is helpful! Happy cooking!
Hi I made this for my husband last week using a single tender sirloin and he liked it so this week I made it for the whole family and we have empty plates all round really tasty and quick to cook. Please add more recipes I am going to try the 3 cup chicken next x
Hi Correen! Very happy to know that your family liked this dish. Thank you for trying out my recipes. Happy cooking!
Hi! This looks great. One question- do you marinade the meat for only 10 minutes or can you have it sit for longer period of time? Thank you!
Hi Jessica! You can surely marinade the meat for longer (eg. overnight). The flavour would be even better.
So yummy we just made it for today’s dinner. Well, it disappeared from a table within 10 minutes…
Really delicious! Tomorrow we are going to taste Zha Jiang Mian from your recipe, let’s see whether the taste will bring us back to hutongs of Qian Men in Beijing. Toady’s Black pepper beef stir-fry definitely brought us to China with the delicious taste.
Wow! Very happy to know that you enjoyed my version of Black pepper beef stir-fry. I just came back from my Culinary Tour of China and my tour members really liked Zha Jiang Mian that we had in Beijing. Hope my recipe will remind you of some happy memories.
Yum! This might be one of my favorite beef dishes in Chinese cooking. Look at that glossy sauce! You totally nailed it 😉
Thank you Maggie!! My favourite beef stir-fry too. I love the nice kick of black pepper. Yes, the sauce! Best to stir into plain rice. Yum!
Thank you Karly! Yes! Home cooking is so much healthier and cheaper. Many Chinese take-away dishes can be made at home easily. When you know how, it’s just a matter of 5-minute stir frying. Happy cooking!
Hello delicious, goodbye takeout! This looks so much better (and healthier) than what I usually pay double for– can’t wait to try it!