For this brightly flavored stir-fry, chef George Chen of San Francisco’s China Live combines crunchy, spicy shishito peppers and pieces of tender beef the size of mah-jongg tiles. Slideshow: More Chinese Recipes
How to Make It
In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the canola oil. Add half of the shishito peppers and season with salt and pepper. Stir-fry over moderately high heat until crisp-tender and charred in spots, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat with 1 tablespoon of the oil, the remaining shishitos and salt and pepper.
In a bowl, season the steak with salt and pepper and toss with 1 teaspoon of oil. Sprinkle with the potato starch and toss to coat. Heat the remaining oil in the skillet. Add the steak and stir-fry over moderately high heat until browned, 3 minutes. Add the steak to the shishitos.
Add the garlic and shallot to the skillet and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until golden, about 2 minutes. Add the rice wine, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the skillet. Add the kecap manis, steak and shishito peppers and stir-fry until nicely glazed, about 2 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice, sesame seeds and sesame oil and season with salt and pepper. Serve with steamed rice.
Notes
Kecap manis is an Indonesian soy sauce that’s slightly thick and sweet. Look for it at Asian markets or on Amazon.