I’m not sure if I subconsciously selected my friends based on their willingness to share bites of whatever they ordered for dinner with me, but THANK GOODNESS a good girlfriend let me taste her Chinese pepper steak when we went out for Asian last week. Were it not for her generosity, this Crock Pot Pepper Steak might never have come to be, and our lives would be worse off without it.
Pepper steak is a classic Chinese American dish that’s named for its two primary ingredients: peppers (bell peppers, specifically) and strips of steak (often sirloin, flank, or round). It’s in a thick, almost gravy-like sauce made with ginger and soy sauce; the sauce coats every morsel with its rich, savory flavor. No dry grains of rice here!
Pepper steak is typically served as a fast, stir-fry style dish, but I wanted to see if I could adapt it for the slow cooker.
Ingredients:
1 pound beef round steak, cut into bite-size pieces
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
¼ teaspoon salt
1 large onion, sliced thinly into half-moons
1 red or green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 can (14 to 15 ounces) diced tomatoes with juices
1 can (4 ounces) sliced, mushrooms, drained
3 tablespoons soy sauce
Cooked rice, if desired, for serving
Directions:
Place the pieces of beef in your slow cooker. Sprinkle with the flour, salt and pepper. Toss with your hands to coat the meat with the flour. (For extra flavor I used a couple of teaspoons of Montreal Steak Seasoning, instead of salt and pepper.)
Add the onion, pepper, tomatoes, mushrooms and soy sauce.
Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours, until the beef and vegetables are tender.
Serve over cooked rice, if desired.