Description:

This is a popular Chinese dish in Korea, which is basically stir-fried peppers with pork. An American variant of this dish is pepper steak which is stir-fried peppers with beef. It has (a bit) spicy and savory flavor and is good with steamed rice or Chinese flower buns (Hua Juan). Also, you can pair this dish with some mild red wine, pale lager or baijiu.

Ingredients (for serving 1-2 people):

• 2 Anaheim peppers and 1 jalapeno (if you are not good at spicy food, you can substitute this by 2 green bell peppers)
• 1 onion
• 0.5 lbs of pork loin (stir-fry cut or stew pork)
• 2-4 shiitake mushrooms (depending on the size)
• 1tsp of dried chili peppers
• 1tsp of ground black pepper
• 1Tbsp of soy sauce
• 1Tbsp of oyster sauce
• 2Tbsp of rice cooking wine
• 1Tbsp of dark soy sauce (lao chou)
• 1Tbsp of sesame oil
• Some cooking oil (canola or corn preferred and olive oil is not recommended)
• Some cornstarch mixed with water by 1:1
• Some gingers and bamboo shoots (optional)

How to cook:

1. Julienne peppers and onion in thin and long shape, and slice mushrooms. If it is hard to slice mushrooms, blanch them and slice. If you use gingers and bamboo shoots, slice them, too.
2. Prepare your cornstarch mix with water.
3. Remove the outside moist of pork using paper towel.
4. After checking no water inside your skillet, heat your skillet with very high temperature (around 400 F). Add some oil, and stir fry the pork (at this moment, you can hear nice sizzling sound) until it becomes brown by the Maillard reaction.
5. Now, we add some flavor to the pork. Without reducing the heat, add dried chili peppers and soy sauce. Stir well quickly, then the pork becomes dark brown.
6. Then, add cooking wine to deglaze. Stir well quickly.
7. Still, we do not reduce the heat. Add julienned peppers and onions and stir well, and then put shiitake mushrooms. Add gingers and bamboo shoots if you have.
8. Stir all the ingredients until peppers and onions get enough heat but before they become soft.
9. Now, while stirring, add oyster sauce, and then add dark soy sauce. Stir well.
10. Slightly reduce the heat, and add ground black pepper and sesame oil. Stir well.
11. Finally, mix your cornstarch well, and add a bit of it. Check the thickness, and add cornstarch until you get the desired thickness.
12. Serve the dish, and enjoy!