Beef with Bamboo Shoots & Peppers

This stir-fry of beef with bamboo shoots & peppers was inspired by a favorite dish we used to eat at a restaurant that we frequented a lot as a family in my childhood. It’s savory, tasty, and quick to make—delicious with rice or pao fan (porridge).

Remembering That Restaurant

In our never-ending hunt for hidden-gem Chinese restaurants that specialize in regional cuisines, we’ve had several favorites over the years, including a Shanghainese restaurant on Route 46 in Jersey (long since closed) incongruously named, “Hunan Cottage.”

It wasn’t until I fully understood the nuances of Chinese regional cooking that I questioned why the restaurant was labeled, “Hunan,” a province whose spicy, chili-laden cuisine couldn’t be more different from the sweet and otherwise mild character of the Shanghainese specialties that constituted 99% of their menu.

This stir-fried beef with peppers and bamboo shoots was perhaps their one dish that could claim to be in the style of Hunan cooking. It was delicious enough to warrant the “Hunan” label on its own!

When we all declared that this recipe took us back to “the Cottage,” as we called it, we knew we’d gotten it right.

Chinese stir-fried beef with peppers and bamboo shoots — Beef with Bamboo Shoots & Peppers 44

On Bamboo Shoots

In this recipe, I’m using canned julienned bamboo shoots, which you can find in Chinese grocery stores. If all you can find are the canned bamboo shoots that are in the shapes of little rectangles, those will work too! You can just stack them a few high and julienne them to get the shape we’re looking for in this recipe.

julienned bamboo shoots in can — Beef with Bamboo Shoots & Peppers 45

This dish is a great example of how in a Chinese stir-fry, you often cut ingredients in similar shapes so that you can get all of said ingredients in one grab of your chopsticks, as well as all those textures in one bite.

What About Fresh Bamboo Shoots?

Fresh bamboo shoots are a seasonal ingredient. (We’re using winter bamboo shoots here.) So if you’re lucky enough to find them, you should certainly use them instead of canned bamboo.

Just note that they must be julienned, blanched for a few minutes in boiling water, and rinsed under cold water before stir-frying. The blanching neutralizes a potentially poisonous compound and removes the bitterness from the bamboo. (Canned and frozen bamboo have already been boiled, so there’s no need for additional preparation.

On Peppers

We’re using long hot green peppers here, which can be found in most grocery stores (at least where we live). They are long, thin-skinned, and range in spiciness from mild to hot (it really depends on the batch you get. Sometimes, they’re labeled “Italian sweet peppers.”

can of bamboo shoots and long hot green peppers — Beef with Bamboo Shoots & Peppers 46

If you want to make this dish milder, you could use cubanelles or a mix of cubanelles and long hots.

Tip!

Wondering whether or not your knife skills are up to slicing those thin strips of beef? Not to worry! The secret is freezing the meat for 30 minutes or so to make it easier to thinly slice. (Or if the meat is already frozen, don’t defrost it all the way. Just wait until it’s only partially frozen, so it’s just firm enough to slice.)

While waiting on it, prep out your other ingredients. Once you start cooking, this dish comes together really fast!

Recipe Instructions

Thinly slice the flank steak against the grain, and then cut those slices lengthwise into thin strips. (This is easier to do when the meat is partially frozen.)

cutting beef flank steak into strips — Beef with Bamboo Shoots & Peppers 47

In a medium bowl, add the strips of flank steak, water, cornstarch, oil, oyster sauce, and light soy sauce. Set aside for 20 minutes to marinate at room temperature.

adding marinade ingredients to beef strips — Beef with Bamboo Shoots & Peppers 48

marinating beef strips in glass bowl — Beef with Bamboo Shoots & Peppers 48

Place your wok over high heat until it’s almost smoking. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and tilt the wok to spread it evenly around its perimeter. Add the beef in 1 layer, and let it sear for 30 to 40 seconds without moving, then stir- fry for another 30 to 40 seconds, until the beef is browned but still a bit rare. Remove the beef from the wok and set aside.

searing beef in wok — Beef with Bamboo Shoots & Peppers 50

Let the empty wok heat again over high heat, and add the remaining tablespoon of oil, along with the garlic and peppers.

julienned green pepper in wok — Beef with Bamboo Shoots & Peppers 51

Stir-fry for 20 seconds, then add the Shaoxing wine to deglaze the wok. After another 20 seconds, add the bamboo shoots.

bamboo shoots and peppers — Beef with Bamboo Shoots & Peppers 52

Add the beef back to the wok, along with any residual beef juices.

adding beef back to wok with bamboo shoots and peppers — Beef with Bamboo Shoots & Peppers 53

Add the salt, sugar, light soy sauce, and dark soy sauce. Increase the heat to high, and stir-fry for another minute.

beef with bamboo shoots and peppers in wok — Beef with Bamboo Shoots & Peppers 54

Serve with steamed rice.