Szechuan Beef With Tender Flank Steak and Tingly Peppercorn Sauce
By Isabella Quinn
Cook
10 min
Total
10 min
Servings
4
Level
Easy
Pre-cook beef and sauces and other ingredients on different days or at different times to save time when preparing this weeknight meal. The Szechuan beef recipe uses sliced flank steak with a sweet and spicy sauce flavored with powdered Szechuan peppercorns.
Flank steak is cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices and marinated in soy sauce, rice wine, cornstarch, Asian chili sauce, toasted sesame oil, garlic powder, and ginger. Cornstarch helps coat the meat. Sauce ingredients include oyster sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, rice wine, peppercorns, Chinese five spice, Asian chili sauce, and red pepper flakes.
Prepare the sauce and meat components ahead of time. Cook the meat quickly in batches. Preheat the pan over high heat to brown, but not cook through, the meat for added flavor and color. The main challenge will be avoiding overcrowding the pan to promote proper contact between the pan and meat.
For meal planning, refrigerate leftover cooked beef and other sauce ingredients after cooling. Other fresh side dishes and foods should be served separately. Reheat leftover cooked dishes carefully to prevent overcooking the thin-stake beef. Cornstarch in the sauce thickens during refrigeration. Be sure to mix the sauce well when reheating.
Why we keep this one around
- Beef, marinade, and sauce ingredients can be prepped in advance. Stir-frying the beef and sauce together in a hot pan will take about 10 minutes.
- Thin flank steak is economical for producing large quantities of meat. Soy sauce, rice wine, and cornstarch in the marinade help tenderize the flank steak.
- Portioning cooked meat can make quick weeknight dinners possible because the shiny sauce on the meat helps slices of cooked beef stay juicy.
- Sauce ingredients are prepared ahead of time, such as brown sugar, oyster sauce, pepper, and other spicy ingredients, to be used later.
- Cooking the steaks in batches makes them more likely to retain their seared texture when reheated and reduces the risk of overcrowding the pan when reheating leftover steak.
- Heat can be adjusted before serving by adding Asian chili sauce and red pepper flakes to a larger batch of food that can be served in smaller portions.
Ingredients
- •flank steak (thinly sliced no thicker than 1/4 inch across the grain)
- •soy sauce (for marinade and sauce)
- •rice wine (for marinade and sauce; Shaoxing cooking wine or sweet cooking rice seasoning mentioned)
- •cornstarch (for marinade and sauce)
- •Asian chili sauce (for marinade and sauce; adjust to taste)
- •toasted sesame seed oil (for marinade)
- •garlic powder (for marinade)
- •ground ginger (for marinade)
- •oyster sauce (for sauce)
- •water (for sauce)
- •brown sugar (for sauce; adjust to taste)
- •ground Szechuan peppercorns (for sauce)
- •red pepper flakes (for sauce; adjust to preference)
- •Chinese five spice (for sauce)
- •garlic (aromatic)
- •ginger (aromatic)
- •onion (aromatic)
- •1 Tbsp peanut or vegetable oil (1-2 tablespoons)
Instructions
- 1
Thinly slice the beef into slices no thicker than 1/4 inch. Freeze the steak for about 60 minutes first if needed to keep it from sliding while cutting.
- 2
Slice the beef across the grain, cutting perpendicular to the visible muscle fibers.
- 3
Marinate the beef with soy sauce, rice wine, cornstarch, Asian chili sauce, toasted sesame seed oil, garlic powder, and ground ginger. Let it sit at room temperature for 30-60 minutes, or refrigerate for up to 8 hours and bring to room temperature for about 30 minutes before cooking.
- 4
Whisk together the sauce ingredients: oyster sauce, soy sauce, water, brown sugar, Asian chili sauce, rice wine, ground Szechuan peppercorns, red pepper flakes, Chinese five spice, and cornstarch.
- 5
Heat 1-2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil in a large skillet over high heat until very hot and sizzling.
- 6
Working in 2-3 batches, add the beef in a single layer and sear for 1 minute.
- 7
Flip the beef and sear the other side. Do not worry if the beef is not cooked through completely, because it will finish cooking in the sauce.
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