Beef Stir-Fry with Onion & Bell Pepper

Quick weeknight stir-fry: marinate the beef while you prep the veg, sear the meat hot in two batches so it browns instead of steams, then deglaze the pan with the marinade’s cornstarch still clinging to the beef — that’s what turns the pan juices into a glossy sauce.

Steps

1. Mix 5 tbsp soy sauce, the minced garlic clove and 1 tsp cornstarch. Add the 350 g beef strips, coat well, and marinate for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, roughly chop the bell pepper and onion (and mushrooms, if using).
3. Start cooking your rice or noodles.
4. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Stir-fry the vegetables until they pick up some colour, then remove from the pan.
5. Add another 1 tbsp oil to the same pan and sear half the beef on high heat until browned, about 45 sec–1 min per side. Remove and set aside.
6. Sear the second half of the beef the same way.
7. Return all the beef to the pan, add 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, then add the vegetables back in.
8. Pour in 50 ml water or stock to deglaze — scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. The cornstarch from the marinade will thicken this into a sauce as it bubbles.
9. Serve over rice or noodles.

Flow

Follow the steps top to bottom. Green = in the pan. Orange = a side task you do at the same time (marinating, chopping, cooking rice). The arrows tell you when to move on.

Notes

• No mushrooms on hand? Fine to skip — they’re optional here.
• Searing the beef in two batches (not all at once) keeps the pan hot enough to brown instead of steam the meat.
• Stock instead of water for deglazing gives a slightly deeper sauce.
• Sauce still too thin? Mix a little extra cornstarch with water and stir it in until it’s thick enough.