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This Vegan Chinese-Style Garlic Pepper Beef Stir-Fry is packed with crisp and juice bell peppers, onions, and soy strips or plant-based protein to replace the “beef”, that’s coated in a deliciously peppery and garlicky sauce.

You can skip the take-out and try out this recipe that you can easily cook and adjust to your taste. This garlic black pepper “beef” is perfect with some steamed rice or noodles for a perfectly hearty and satisfying meal. Enjoy!

THIS GARLIC PEPPER BEEF IS:

• Easy and really tasty: the sauce can be easily adjusted to your taste
• Perfect for those take-out cravings
• Good for batch cooking! You can store leftovers and reheat it on a pan for upcoming meals
• Delicious with rice or noodles!

THE PROTEIN FOR THE “BEEF”

Here’s the exact flat TVP/soy meat I used! PS. Link is not an affiliate link. I purchased these from Shopee and can be shipped in the Philippines.

For my US-based friends, here are similar meat substitutes that you can find on Amazon:
(these are affiliate links)

• Soy curls
• Plant based strips
• Vegan meat substitute (Just like ‘Chicken)

Rehydrating the soy/plant-based meat: Rehydrate the pieces by placing these in a heat proof bowl and soaking in boiling hot water until doubled or even tripled in size. You can also rehydrate the soy pieces overnight. I simply place these in a container and add room temperature water to soak the chunks in.

Squeeze out the liquid from each piece. If your soy pieces are the type that are in larger pieces, you can break these apart into small pieces/strips.

BLACK PEPPER SAUCE & GARLIC

Meanwhile, prepare the sauce and mince the garlic. For the sauce, I mixed following together:

•  vegetarian mushroom oyster sauce or stir-fry sauce
• soy sauce
• dark soy sauce, optional for colour
• lots of freshly ground black pepper
• sugar, adjust depending on desired taste
• corn starch
• room temperature water

Feel free to adjust to your taste! You’ll find the full recipe below.

I also used freshly ground black pepper for the best flavour. There’s nothing like freshly ground pepper especially when compared to pre-ground pepper!

PREPARING THE PROTEIN

Mix the rehydrated soy chunks/protein with the corn starch, sesame oil, grated ginger, Shaoxing wine (or broth). Coat the pieces well. Leave to sit for at least 10 minutes. You can prepare this beforehand and just leave in the refrigerator until read to cook.

STIR-FRYING THIS DISH

Heat a large skillet or wok over medium high heat. Once hot, add in some oil. Stir-fry the onion and bell peppers over med high heat for 3-4 minutes until lightly browned and the bell peppers are tender. Move the onions to the side of the pan, then add in some more oil. Stir-fry the garlic until aromatic, around 1-2 minutes.

Mix everything together then add in the soy strips/plant-based meat.

Cook the pieces down for 1-2 minutes over med high heat. Give the sauce another good mix to make sure the start isn’t sitting at the bottom. Pour in the sauce and then mix well to coat all of the pieces. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until the pieces have absorbed the sauce and the sauce has thickened. Lower the heat to medium if needed and keep an eye out and make sure to move the pieces around to make sure to nice and cooked, but be careful not to leave these to burn since the sauce has sugar that can easily burn.

Taste the pieces and feel free to season with more vegetarian mushroom oyster sauce or soy sauce, to taste if needed. You can also add more freshly ground black pepper, if you’d like.

SERVE AND ENJOY!

Turn off the heat then serve your garlic black pepper “beef” with some steamed rice or noodles for a perfectly hearty meal.

OTHER CHINESE RECIPES YOU MIGHT LOVE:

• Chinese Green Bean and Mushroom Stir-Fry
• Crispy Wontons
• Vegetable Dumplings
• Chinese Chive Pies
• Pan-Fried Cabbage and Noodle Buns
• Wontons in Chili Broth
• Scallion and Sesame Buns

Garlic Pepper “Beef” Stir-Fry, Chinese-Style (Vegan)

5 from 5 votes

This Vegan Chinese-Style Garlic Pepper Beef Stir-Fry is packed with crisp and juicy bell peppers, onions, and soy strips or plant-based protein to replace the “beef”, that’s coated in a deliciously peppery and garlicky sauce. Skip the take-out and try out this recipe that you can easily cook and adjust to your taste. This garlic black pepper “beef” is perfect with some steamed rice or noodles for a perfectly hearty and satisfying meal. Enjoy!

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Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 15 mins

Total Time 30 mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Asian, Chinese, East Asian

Servings 3

Calories 122 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Protein

• 50 g dry soy strips makes 250g rehydrated (see notes for sub)
• 1/2 tbsp corn starch
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp minced or grated ginger
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine or other rice wine see notes

Black Pepper Sauce

• 2 tbsp vegetarian mushroom oyster sauce or vegetarian stir fry sauce
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp dark soy sauce optional for colour
• 1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp sugar adjust depending on desired taste
• 1/2 tbsp corn starch
• 3 tbsp room temperature water

Stir-Fry

• Neutral oil
• 1 medium white onion sliced
• 1 red bell pepper sliced
• 1 green bell pepper sliced
• 6 cloves garlic minced
• More vegetarian mushroom oyster sauce or soy sauce to taste if needed
• More fresh ground black pepper if desired

To Serve

• Steamed rice
• Sesame seeds for topping

Instructions

 

• You can see the photos above to see a step-by-step on how this dish is cooked.
• Rehydrating the soy/plant-based meat: Rehydrate the pieces by placing these in a heat proof bowl and soaking in boiling hot water until doubled or even tripled in size. You can also rehydrate the soy pieces overnight. I simply place these in a container and add room temperature water to soak the chunks in.
• Squeeze out the liquid from each piece. If your soy pieces are the type that are in larger pieces, you can break these apart into small pieces/strips.
• Meanwhile, prepare the sauce by mixing everything together. Feel free to adjust to your taste.
• Mix the rehydrated soy chunks/protein with the corn starch, sesame oil, grated ginger, Shaoxing wine (or broth). Coat the pieces well. Leave to sit for at least 10 minutes. You can prepare this beforehand and just leave in the refrigerator until read to cook.
• Stir-frying: Heat a large skillet or wok over medium high heat. Once hot, add in some oil. Stir-fry the onion and bell peppers over med high heat for 3-4 minutes until lightly browned and the bell peppers are tender. Move the onions to the side of the pan, then add in some more oil. Stir-fry the garlic until aromatic, around 1-2 minutes.
• Mix everything together then add in the soy strips/plant-based meat.
• Cook the pieces down for 1-2 minutes over med high heat. Give the sauce another good mix to make sure the start isn’t sitting at the bottom. Pour in the sauce and then mix well to coat all of the pieces. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until the pieces have absorbed the sauce and the sauce has thickened. Lower the heat to medium if needed and keep an eye out and make sure to move the pieces around to make sure to nice and cooked, but be careful not to leave these to burn since the sauce has sugar that can easily burn.
• Taste the pieces and feel free to season with more vegetarian mushroom oyster sauce or soy sauce, to taste if needed. You can also add more freshly ground black pepper, if you’d like.
• Turn off the heat then serve your garlic black pepper “beef” with some steamed rice or noodles for a perfectly hearty meal.

Notes

DRY SOY STRIPS/OTHER ALTERNATIVES

Here’s the exact flat TVP/soy meat I used! PS. Link is not an affiliate link. I purchased these from Shopee and can be shipped in the Philippines.

For my US-based friends, here are similar meat substitutes that you can find on Amazon:
(these are affiliate links)

• Soy curls
• Plant based strips 
• Vegan meat substitute (Just like ‘Chicken)

Other substitutes: If you’d like, you can also just use some pan-fried extra firm tofu for this recipe. Make sure to press your tofu well before slicing into strips or cubes (or any shape of choice). If using a 500 g block of tofu, you can double the sauce.

Mushrooms such as shiitake or king oyster mushrooms will work great for this recipe too!

NUTRITIONAL INFO

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 122kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 781mg | Potassium: 209mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1389IU | Vitamin C: 85mg | Calcium: 78mg | Iron: 2mg

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