This is really tasty and the texture of the flank steak is wonderul. The one I bought was a 'rancher's special' at the grocer's, their high-priced beef, but it was the only flank steak they had and it sure produced great results.
No additional salt and pepper or other seasoning is called for in this because the browned beef and onions, the beef broth, soy sauce and ginger make a deliciously-flavored recipe.
Crockpot Chinese Pepper Steak
Canola oil
1 1/2 lb flank steak, thinly sliced, diagonally across the grain into 1/2” slices
1 sweet onion, sliced
1 green pepper, cut in strips
1 red pepper, cut in strips
10.5-oz can beef broth or consommé
1/4 c soy sauce
1 T grated fresh ginger
2 T cornstarch
2 T water
Heat skillet over medium-high heat and lightly cover bottom with Canola oil. Brown flank steak strips on medium-high heat in two batches, in large skillet – NOT non-stick. (These two things, cooking small batches of meat and using a regular skillet, not non-stick, make sure that the meat is brown, not steamed, and that there is plenty of fond in the pan to be used in the recipe.) Remove each batch of browned steak strips to the Crockpot. (I made it in a 6-qt Crockpot.) Add onions to the same skillet along with a little bit of oil. Cook onions until lightly browned, scraping bottom of pan well to bring up the browned bits. Add this to the Crockpot along with beef broth or consommé, soy sauce and ginger. Cover and cook over HIGH for about 3 hours or until tender.
Mix cornstarch and water together in a small bowl and add to Crockpot. Cook on HIGH 10-15 minutes longer, or until juices are thickened and clear. Serve immediately over rice or noodles.
My notes: Pepper steak is most often served over rice, but I used Ronzoni Whole Wheat No-Yolk Noodles and they were very good. I don’t usually enjoy the taste of whole wheat noodles, but they were delicious in this recipe.
Many Crockpot recipes do not call for browning the meat or onions first. I haven't found one yet that doesn't taste better when you take the time to do this, and to have the wonderful pan juices to include. And, too, I think that the reason some of these recipes can be so uninspiring is because they don't brown the meat or onions.
If you like peppers with a firmer texture, you can add them after the first two hours of cooking, but I like the flavor they give to the juices when cooked longer. You could add half at the beginning and half later, and have both!
I studied several recipes and took the bits and pieces I liked best to come up with this adaptation.
Flank steak is not cheap. It was $11.00 plus for the 1.86-lb piece I used, but except for two small bits of fat and skin that I removed easily, there was no waste. Other recipes call for round steak or other less expensive cuts of meat that make nice strips. But, I’ve never had round steak that was all that great. Flank steak is.
Some recipes add 1 can of tomatoes. Some use no soy sauce, but do add a little Worcestershire sauce.
I used canned beef broth because I could not find consommé at the store. I think consommé probably gives a thicker result.
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