Black Pepper Beef

Some pairings work so well together that they span generations and even continents. Romeo and Juliet, Bert and Ernie, and Michael Jordan and Nike are some that come to mind. In the world of food, there are few combinations as fabled as pepper and steak.

In France pan-seared filet mignon is doused in a peppery pan sauce to make Steak au Poivre, while in the US, we like to give our T-bones a generous sprinkling of black pepper before throwing them on the grill. In China, they take the combo to new heights with hei jiao niu liu li (?????) which translates to black pepper beef cubes.

Black Pepper Beef

As the name suggests, the beef is cut into cubes and marinated in a black pepper sauce before being stir-fried with a few vegetables. I love this dish because black pepper is often just an afterthought, or supplementary seasoning at best. In this dish, the beef and black pepper are the stars, while the sweet onions and bell peppers help take some of the edge off the spicy pepper.

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