Enjoy savory pepper steak for easy stir-fry dinner

Here’s an easy stir-fry dinner. Pepper steak is a popular Chinese dish made with tender beef, bell peppers and onion and cooked in a savory sauce.

It takes a little extra time to prepare the ingredients, but only minutes to cook. To speed the cooking, have all your ingredients, including the sauce, ready.

Place them in order of use on a plate or chopping board. You won’t have to keep looking at the recipe to see what goes in next.

Don’t rinse the wok once the meat dish is finished. You’ll use it to stir-fry the noodles, which are first boiled.

This way they pick up the flavors of the sauce left in the wok.

• Helpful Hints:

Fresh or steamed Chinese noodles are usually found in the refrigerated section of the produce department while dried Chinese noodles are in the Asian section of the market. Either can be used for this recipe.

Two teaspoons ground ginger can be used instead of fresh ginger.

Use green, red, yellow or orange bell peppers for a colorful dish.

• Countdown:

Place water for noodles on to boil.

Marinate meat while preparing vegetables for stir-fry.

Boil and drain noodles.

Make steak recipe, then finish noodles.

• Shopping List:

To buy: 1/2 pound skirt or flank steak, 1 medium-size green pepper, 1 medium size red or yellow bell pepper, 1/4 pound sliced mushrooms, 1 small piece fresh ginger, 1 can vegetable oil spray, 1 small bottle reduced-sodium soy sauce, 1 small bottle dry sherry, 1 container fat-free no-salt-added chicken broth, 1 container corn starch, 1 small bottle sesame oil and 1 package fresh or dried Chinese noodles.

• Staples: minced garlic.

Wok-Fried Pepper Steak

Yield 2 servings. Recipe by Linda Gassenheimer.

½ pound skirt or flank steak

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 medium size green bell pepper, (about 1 ½ cups sliced)

1 medium size red or yellow bell pepper, (about 1 ½ cups sliced)

Vegetable oil spray

2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger

4 teaspoons minced garlic

¼ pound mushrooms, sliced, (about 2 cups)

¼ cup dry sherry

¼ cup fat free low-salt chicken broth

Remove visible fat from meat. Cut across the grain into ½-inch slices. Mix cornstarch and soy sauce together. Place meat in soy sauce mixture, making sure it is completely covered. Wash, seed and slice bell peppers, about ½-inch thick. Spray wok or skillet with vegetable oil spray. Heat wok and add ginger and garlic. When wok is smoking, add meat and stir-fry 1 minute. Remove to a plate. Spray wok again and add peppers and mushrooms. Stir-fry 2 minutes. Return meat to pan and add sherry and broth. Stir-fry 3 minutes. Remove from pan to a serving bowl.

Per serving: 348 calories (36% from fat), 13.8 g fat (4.3 g saturated, 6.4 g monounsaturated), 72 mg cholesterol, 29.4 g protein, 25.5 g carbohydrates, 3.7 g fiber, 613 mg sodium.

Chinese Noodles

Yield 2 servings. Recipe by Linda Gassenheimer.

¼ pound fresh
Chinese noodles

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Fill a large saucepan with 3 to 4 quarts water and bring to a boil. Boil noodles 1 to 2 minutes and drain. Add 1 teaspoon oil to wok after meat and vegetables have been removed. Stir-fry noodles in wok 2 minutes or until they begin to be crisp. Place on individual plates and serve pepper steak on top.

Per serving: 239 calories (18% from fat), 4.8 g fat (1 g saturated, 1.6 g monounsaturated), 48 mg cholesterol, 8.1 g protein, 40.6 g carbohydrates,1.9 g fiber, 12 mg sodium.