"Chinjao Rosu" is a delicious Japanese take on the Chinese "pepper steak" stir fry dish. This version can be made using pork or beef and any color of bell pepper. It's so quick and easy to make (cooking time is less than 10 minutes!) yet still packed with flavour.
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Chinjao Rosu
What is "Chinjao Rosu"?
Chinjao rosu is a super quick and easy stir fry dish made with finely cut strips of pork (or beef), peppers and bamboo shoots. It's cut thin to keep the cooking time short.
This is one of those recipes where prepping the ingredients takes longer than the cooking time! (It's still quick though.)
Chinjao Rosu is a family favourite in Japan and is often served in Chinese restaurants, made at home and even served in bento lunchboxes. Even though kids in Japan famously don't like green peppers (piman), they can still enjoy this dish!
The Sauce
The sauce for Chinjao Rosu usually contains soy sauce, oyster sauce, Chinese chicken stock and a little bit of sugar for a touch of sweetness.
It's often thickened at the end using corn starch or potato starch. This helps it become glossy and coat the meat and vegetables.
I think one of the greatest things about this recipe is how accessible it is. It's simple to make with easy to find ingredients!
Where does Chinjao Rosu come from?
You might be able to tell from the name, but the origin of this dish is not Japanese. Chinjao Rosu (チンジャオロース) is the Japanese pronunciation of a Fujian Chinese dish called "Qīngjiāo Ròusī" (青椒炒肉絲) which means stir fried pepper and shredded pork.
The main element that makes the Japanese version a bit different to the Chinese original, is the addition of bamboo shoots. They add a good crunchy texture. We also add more seasonings.
Chinjao Rosu is also similar to the Chinese-American dish "Pepper Steak" which uses beef instead of pork. In Chinese, pepper steak would be called "Qīngjiāo Niúròu" (青椒牛肉) which means stir fried pepper and beef.
Beef vs Pork
While Chinese qīngjiāo ròusī uses pork and Chinese-American pepper steak uses beef, in Japanese chinjao rosu, either pork or beef can be used.
In my own experience, pork is more common but it depends on region and family.
It has been said that Japanese chinjao rosu is based more on "pepper steak", so maybe that's why you might find a lot of recipes that use beef.
I personally prefer pork with this dish, but it can be made with either and the preparation method is exactly the same!
Serving and Storing
Chinjao Rosu is best enjoyed with sticky white rice.
This recipe serves 2-3, but if you have leftovers you can store it in a microwavable container and heat it up the next day! Let's get started!
Watch our video for how to make chinjao rosu
Step by step recipe
Chinjao Rosu (Japanese Style Pork and Pepper Stir Fry)
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 2-3 portions 1x
Description
How to make Japanese style Chinjao Rosu. This super quick and delicious recipe uses pork chops, bell peppers and bamboo shoots stir fried in a fragrant soy based sauce. (Serves 2-3)
Ingredients
Chinjao Rosu
- 150g (5oz) bamboo shoots
- 1 (100g) bell peppers (any colour, preferably green)
- 250g (½ lb) pork chops
- ½ (15g) fresh ginger
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp sesame oil (for frying)
Marinade
- 1 medium egg
- 2 tbsp corn starch or potato starch
- 2 tsp sake
- 2 pinches salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
Sauce
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp Chinese chicken stock powder
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tsp water + a pinch of corn starch / potato starch
Instructions
- First, pound the pork chops until they're about 1cm (a bit less than ½ inch) thick.
- Cut the pork into thin strips, approximately ½ - 1cm thick.
- Take a medium sized bowl and whisk one medium sized egg. Add the pork, sake, salt and soy sauce to the bowl and mix well.
- Add 2 tbsp of corn starch or potato starch to the bowl and mix.
- Add 1 tsp of sesame oil to the bowl and mix. Set aside while preparing the vegetables.
- Cut the pepper, and bamboo shoots into thin 5mm (a little less than ¼ inch) strips.
- Cut the ginger into about 2mm strips.
- Finely chop the garlic cloves into slices.
- In a small separate bowl, mix 2 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tsp sugar, 2 tsp chicken stock powder and 1 tbsp of water and mix.
- Mix 1 tsp of water with a pinch of cornstarch and pour it into sauce. Mix well and set aside for later.
- Heat up a pan on medium high and add 1 tbsp of sesame oil.
- Add the contents of the bowl of marinated pork to the pan and fry until the pork is cooked through.
- Transfer the cooked pork to a clean plate and set aside for later.
- Add another tbsp of sesame oil to the pan and add the bamboo shoots. Fry for a few minutes.
- Next, add the bell peppers, ginger and garlic to the pan and stir fry for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the pork back in and mix well.
- Turn off the heat and pour the sauce we made earlier into the pan.
- Mix well and allow the sauce to heat up using the residual heat from the stir fry.
- Serve with rice.
- Enjoy!
Notes
You can use pork or beef for this recipe.
Sake can be substituted with Chinese rice wine, dry sherry or white wine.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Meat
- Method: Fry
- Cuisine: Japanese / Chinese
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