Black Pepper Steak and Shrimp Stir Fry

Serves 6 – 8

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound beef tenderloin, flank steak or flap meat, cut into pieces. I used tenderloin and it was expensive but it was SO tender and amazing.
  • 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 3 tablespoons cooking oil. I used coconut and sesame.
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • One 1 in (2.5 cm) piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
  • ½ small green bell pepper, deseeded and cut into pieces
  • ½ small red bell pepper, deseeded and cut into pieces
  • 1 onion, cut into strips
  • 6 ounces shiitake mushrooms
  • a bunch of snow peas or snap beans
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • Salt, to taste
  • sriracha, of course
  • feel free to add in any vegetable you like – thinly sliced carrot or broccoli would work well in this!

For the Marinade

2 teaspoons soy sauce or coconut aminos
2 teaspoons oyster sauce
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine or sherry
1 teaspoon fish sauce (Red boat brand is awesome)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
½ teaspoon cornstarch (I did not use cornstarch but you can. It makes the sauce stick to the ingredients.)

Directions:

  1. Marinate the beef with all the Marinade ingredients, about 15 minutes.
  2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a wok or skillet over high heat. Stir-fry the beef until the beef is browned on the outside but still pink inside. A good method for this is to layer the meat in a single layer and do not overcrowd – leave space between each piece. Do not touch for at least 2 minutes, let it brown. Then flip over and let cook for 2 more minutes. It should still be pink on the inside but browned on the outside. Dish out and set aside. Stir fry the shrimp in a similar manner and set aside. Shrimp cook much faster so limit it to 2 minutes total in the skillet.
  3. Heat the remaining oil in a wok or skillet over high heat. Stir-fry the garlic and the ginger briefly until aromatic, and then add the green bell pepper, red bell pepper, onion, and black pepper. Stir-fry until you smell the aroma from the ingredients in the wok.
  4. Transfer the beef back into the wok or skillet. Add a squirt of sriracha. Stir-fry until the beef is cooked through and the center of the meat is no longer pink, about 1-2 minutes. Dish out and serve immediately.

You could pair this with rice if you wish, but we just eat it like it is. If it needs more salt you can add a few dashes of soy sauce or fish sauce.