Turkish Pepper Steak Recipe (2024)

This Turkish pepper steak recipeis a quick & easy meal that I often make for my family. Sweet green peppers, garlic, onion, and tomatoes are stir-fried and cooked with beef cubes until fork-tender.

I appreciate this recipe because it doesn't require costly cuts of beef such as sirloin steak or the New York strip. By cutting the beef into smaller pieces and cooking it for a longer time, you can make an equally tasty dish without having to spend a lot of money

Life

These summer days, my friends and I spend our time at the park, enjoying lots of picnics. As we are in Turkey, we have been sipping on strawberry refreshers to keep ourselves cool. After a tiring day at the park, there's nothing more satisfying than having a pepper steak with buttery rice. It always hits the spot.

We have finally discovered the perfect neighborhood after living in Turkey for two years. The area is surrounded by natural spring water and mountains, which makes it breathtakingly beautiful.

Let's talk about the ingredients you need for the Turkish Pepper Steak.

Turkish Pepper Steak Ingredients

• Beef: Regardless of the cut, slicing the meat into little cube-like pieces is crucial. You'll notice that chopping all of the ingredients into tiny bits gives you a wonderfully satisfying taste of all of the components every time.
• Peppers: If you like your food on the spicier side, add in diced jalapenos, otherwise, use sweet Cubanelle Peppers for this dish. In Turkish, it's called köy biberi.
• Onion and garlic: Will be the base of this dish giving all that umami flavor.
• Tomatoes: Feel free to use Roma or tomatoes on the vine. Use small tomatoes, not large ones.
• Red Pepper Paste: You can find Turkish-style red pepper paste in the Mediterranean section of your market, If not, you can find it at a Mediterranean market. Some varieties say that it's spicy—but it never really is. This red pepper paste is generally sweet like paprika.
• Herbs & spices: Use dried herbs like mint and earthy oregano. The ground sweet paprika powder will reinforce that sweet pepper taste in the dish. I bet smoked paprika would be delicious.
• Olive oil: Olive oil is the base of all Mediterranean cooking and would not substitute for any other oil.

Instructions to Make Turkish Beef Pepper Steak

1. Dice all of the vegetables small. There is a saying about the meat that the cubes of beef should be small like a bird's head. The onion and peppers should be diced small too. Each bite should consist of all of the ingredients for a mouthful of flavor.
2. Sautee the onions and garlic. Start by heating a skillet over medium-high heat. Once heated, drizzle in the olive oil, and add the onion, peppers, garlic, salt, and oregano. Stir-fry until the onions have softened, about 3-5 minutes.
3. Add the remaining spices and red pepper paste. Mint and paprika tend to burn easier, so I like to stir-fry them just until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Then add in the pepper paste, stir-fry once more for another 15 seconds, and add enough water to the skillet until the beef is halfway submerged in water.
4. Cook for 45 minutes, or until the meat is fork-tender. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the skillet with a lid, string periodically, and cook the beef until the sauce reduces. The result is a thick, tomato-like sauce. If you run out of water too quickly, reduce the heat even further and add more water as needed, stirring occasionally.

What cut of meat is used for pepper steak?

Since we will slow-cook the beef, you can use cheaper, tougher—but very delicious cuts of beef like chuck, flank steak (just make sure to cut across the grain), bottom round, or the shoulder.

How to Serve

Serve the pepper steak dish with steamy, buttery rice, a simple salad, Turkish tzatziki, and a nice bowl of soup (before the meal). This is what a typical dinner looks like in Turkey.

To Store

If you surprisingly have any leftovers, wait until the pepper beef cools completely before storing it in a container with a lid. keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

How to Reheat

Reheat any leftovers on a skillet on medium heat and stir-fry until hot, about 4-5 minutes.

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