Beef-stuffed Peppers

Introduction

Pīman no Nikuzume, or Japanese stuffed green peppers, is a popular home-cooked dish made by filling green pepper halves with a savory meat mixture, then pan-frying and coating them in a sweet and savory sauce.

The peppers stay tender while the meat filling remains juicy, making this a comforting and practical Japanese family meal that pairs especially well with steamed rice.

Ingredients

[Servings : 3-4, About 10 pices]

Green peppers: 5 Ground meat (beef/pork): 200 g
Salt: A pinch
Onion, finely chopped: 1/2
Carrot, grated: A few cm (about 30 g)
Garlic, grated: 1 clove
Egg: 1
Potato starch: 1 tsp
Soy sauce: A splash
Oil: A little

For Coating

Potato starch: 1 tsp

Sauce

Soy sauce: 1½ tbsp
Mirin: 1½ tbsp
Sake: 1½ tbsp
Sugar: 2 tsp
Worcestershire sauce (or Japanese chūnō sauce): 1 tsp
Water: 1 tbsp
Potato starch: 1 tsp

Instruction

Finely chop the onion and grate the carrot and garlic.
In a bowl, combine the ground meat, salt, onion, carrot, garlic, egg, potato starch, and soy sauce. Mix well with your hands until the mixture becomes sticky, similar to a hamburger patty mixture.
Cut the green peppers in half lengthwise and remove the seeds.
Lightly dust the inside of each pepper with potato starch.
Fill each pepper half with the meat mixture.
Heat a little oil in a frying pan. Place the peppers meat-side down and cook over medium heat.
Cover and steam-fry for about 5 minutes, or until the meat is mostly cooked through.
Mix all the sauce ingredients together and pour them into the pan.
Flip the peppers over and cook until the sauce thickens and evenly coats them.

Tips

• Dusting the inside of the peppers with potato starch helps the meat stay attached while cooking.
• The sauce is intentionally a little stronger so it pairs well with steamed rice. For a lighter flavor, reduce the soy sauce to 1 tbsp and add an extra tablespoon of water.
• The sauce may taste slightly strong while piping hot, but the flavor mellows as it cools.
• If you cannot find additive-free Worcestershire sauce, use 1 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp mirin, and 1 tsp sugar instead.