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Pepper Steak

A stir‑fry of sliced round steak with onions, peppers, tomatoes, and a savory sauce of soy, ginger, and sugar.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Pepper Steak

Time15 minutes simmer

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot.

  2. Add the meat and brown for 5 minutes.

  3. Stir in the water, onion, garlic salt, and ginger.

  4. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.

  5. After 10 minutes, add the peppers.

Thicken and finish

  1. Stir together the soy sauce, sugar, and cornstarch.

  2. Pour this into the pot and stir until the liquid thickens.

  3. Place tomato wedges on top of the meat and bring to a boil.

  4. Simmer for 5 minutes longer.

  5. Serve over rice.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

995Calories
44 gProtein
31 gFat
133 gCarbs

Counts 12 of 13 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 12 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Beef100g cooked250
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Green Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Garlic + tomatotop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,076 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  3. Garlic + gingertop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,402 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  4. Pepper + tomatotop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,923 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Garlic + peppertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,090 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Round steak
Provides the main protein; browning it first builds savory flavour in the pot.
Cornstarch
Thickens the cooking liquid into a glossy sauce when heated.
Soy sauce
Adds salty, savory depth that seasons the sauce and the meat.
Green bell peppers
Add crisp-tender texture and a fresh, grassy bitterness to the stew.
Tomatoes
Add moisture and acidity that brightens the sauce.
Yellow onion
Adds sweetness and aroma as it softens in the simmering liquid.

The step that matters

Adding the cornstarch mixture. Cornstarch must be stirred into liquid and brought to a simmer to swell and thicken. Lumps form if it is dropped in dry or added to hot liquid without first being stirred into cold liquid, so mix it smoothly before pouring it in.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (garlic, ginger, pepper, sauce, sugar, tomato):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Eggplantfits better
  3. Broccolifits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against garlic, ginger, pepper, sauce, sugar, tomato. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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