Black Pepper Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry (4 servings)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1/2 small head cabbage, shredded
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions
Heat a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat, and add oil. Saute garlic for about 5 seconds, then add ground beef. Stir-fry until beef is evenly brown. Stir in cabbage and pepper, and cook until vegetables are tender, and beef is fully cooked. Stir in soy sauce. Mix together cornstarch and water, and stir in. Season with pepper. Cook, stirring, until sauce has thickened.
Recipe Source: Allrecipes.com
Personal Review: I love cabbage and I love Chinese recipes so I thought this sounded like an awesome recipe. And it was – to an extent. I had an issue with the ground beef. I do not recommend using the regular ground beef (like I did); I would definitely recommend using a leaner cut of ground beef. Because of the meat I used it was a little greasy for my tastes. Other than that it was a good recipe, though. I think next time I will also add some onions to this recipe. I probably also used way too much soy sauce because it was a little on the salty side – but I didn’t measure out what the recipe called for, I just eyeballed it.
This review might sound negative, but it’s really not. I liked it, but it definitely needs some tweaking to make it a great recipe.
Tales of a Book Addict 
We eat stir-fry all the time, though I’ve never made it with ground beef. It’s usually chicken or just vegetables. I love Chinese cabbage too, I could probably eat just that stir-fried with some hoisin sauce… mmmm
My son loves cabbage, this looks like a dish he’d enjoy. Thanks for the tips.
No, you didn’t strike me as negative. If a recipe is worth tweaking, it’s a winner. I’d add onion and some hot red pepper flakes. I’d probably not use ground meat, but something like round steak, strip steak, or flank steak.
I agree with Beth, although I don’t eat meat any longer, I’m pretty sure my mom does not use ground beef in this dish. A stir-fry with cabbage, yum, I think it’s time to make some Chinese food soon 🙂
Hi Tara, this looks really yummy! I love how easy and quick it is to make, too–perfect for a busy weeknight dinner!
I know what you mean about ground beef being greasy. To reduce that, I usually drain off some of the fat after its browned. I push all the beef to one side of the skillet and tilt the pan until the fat runs down to the empty side of the pan in a puddle. Then I grasp a dry paper towel in a pair of tongs and sop up the grease and discard the paper towel. It makes a huge difference and only takes a few extra minutes.
I like the idea of skipping all that slicing of the steak and using ground beef, but with so little seasoning, you’ve got to use good quality ground beef, I suppose, since it’s the star of the dish. It looks great on the plate!
Joanna – I’m a huge cabbage fan myself, I love it!!
Beth – I had considered using a different type of meat in this recipe before I bought the ingredients, but decided to try it as it was but I definitely agree round steak would have been better for this recipe.
Chinoiseries – I love Chinese food 🙂 yum!
Christine – normally anytime I make anything with ground beef, I drain it. But this recipe didn’t call for draining the fat off so I didn’t. I considered it as I was cooking but I followed the recipe to the letter instead. But in the future, yes, I will definitely drain it off!
Laurie – I did get a good picture, didn’t I? And yes not having to slice the meat definitely made the prep so much faster, but I definitely think a different meat should be used.