Vietnamese Garlic and Black Pepper Stir Fry

A serving bowl of stir-fried garlic and black pepper beef with strips of red bell pepper and sliced onion, and a garnish of cilantro leaves, a bowl of white rice for serving.

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Vietnamese Garlic and Black Pepper Stir Fry

This easy Vietnamese-style stir fry goes from kitchen to table in 30 minutes and can be made with various meats including lamb, flank steak or pork.

Prep Time20

Cook Time5

Total Time25

Course: Entrées

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Servings: servings

Author: Lynne Webb

Ingredients

3/4 lb boneless lamb (substitute beef, pork, or shrimp, see notes)
1-1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons vegetable oil divided
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice divided
4 to 5 cloves garlic minced
Freshly ground black pepper
4 slices sweet onion halved and separated
1/2 red bell pepper cut into thin strips
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves loosely packed

Instructions

Trim any excess fat from your meat, cut it into thin slices (across the grain) and transfer to a shallow bowl.
In a separate small bowl, whisk together the fish sauce, sugar, 2 tablespoons of the oil and 1 tablespoon of lime juice until blended. Stir in the minced garlic and drizzle over the meat.
Season liberally with freshly ground black pepper and combine to coat the meat in the marinade. Set aside at room temperature for 15 minutes (this is a good time to cook your rice).
Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and stir-fry until crisp-tender, 1-1/2 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Return the pan to the stove, add the meat and stir-fry until no longer pink on the outside, 2 minutes. Return the veggies to the pan and stir-fry for 30 seconds longer.
Taste and adjust the seasoning as desired, then drizzle with the remaining lime juice and add the cilantro, reserving a few leaves for garnish.
Combine quickly and transfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with the reserved cilantro and a few grinds of black pepper.
Serve over steamed rice, cauliflower rice, or noodles.

Notes

Note: It should only take about 3 minutes to stir-fry this dish from start to finish, so be sure not to leave it unattended or you'll overcook your meat.

Tips for recipe variations:

No matter what type of meat you choose you'll want to trim any excess fat and slice it thinly across the grain. Not only do the thin slices ensure quick, even cooking, but they also provide more surface area for the marinade to adhere to.

Beef flank steak with onion and green beans: The recipe instructions should remain the same for steak as they are for the lamb with one exception - green beans need a little extra cooking time. Cut them on the diagonal into 1-1/2-inch pieces and start stir-frying them about 30 seconds ahead of the onion.
Boneless pork chops with onion and snap peas: Follow the recipe as written and simply substitute sliced pork loin chops for lamb.
Shrimp with onion and snow peas: Use jumbo shrimp and peel and devein them as you would for any sauté or stir-fry. Follow the recipe instructions for cooking the vegetables and cook the shrimp just until pink and opaque.

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