Black Pepper Beef

Cut 300 g trimmed beef tenderloin across the grain into strips about 5 cm long, 8 mm wide and 3 mm thick, shortening the long muscle fibers. Place loosely in a bowl.

Mix the beef with 5 ml light soy sauce. Add 15 ml water in two additions, mixing until absorbed with no liquid pooling. Mix in 6 g cornstarch, then 5 ml oil. Marinate in the refrigerator for 15 minutes until evenly coated with no dry starch. Complete Steps 3–4 during the wait.

Weigh 100 g peeled onion and 80 g each stemmed, deseeded green and red bell pepper; cut into 1 cm wide strips. Thinly slice 2 garlic cloves. Wash the knife and board after raw beef before preparing vegetables, and keep them separate.

In a small bowl, mix the remaining 15 ml light soy sauce, 15 g oyster sauce, remaining 2 g cornstarch, 2 g black pepper, 2 g sugar and remaining 30 ml water until lump-free. Reserve the last 1 g black pepper for Step 8.

Heat the wok over medium-high heat and coat with 10 ml oil. Spread the marinated beef in one layer. Leave for about 15–20 seconds, then separate the strips; cook for about 60–90 seconds in total, until the surfaces turn opaque. Transfer immediately to a clean bowl. Work in batches if crowded; finish cooking after returning it.

Add the remaining 5 ml oil to the same wok. Fry all the garlic for about 10 seconds until fragrant without browning. Add all the onion and cook for about 30 seconds, then add all the peppers and stir-fry for about 40–60 seconds, until onion edges are translucent and peppers are bright and crisp-tender.

Re-stir the sauce and pour it all into the vegetables. Toss and cook for about 10–20 seconds until bubbling and lightly coating them, with no cloudy raw-starch appearance. If thin, let it reach this stage before returning the beef; avoid a thick, gluey reduction.

Return all the beef and its juices. Toss over medium-high heat for about 30–60 seconds, until the thickest strip is cooked through with no raw center and the glaze coats evenly. Add the remaining 1 g black pepper, toss and plate immediately. Continue briefly if the beef still needs cooking.