Bell Peppers and Bacon Stir Fry (培根彩椒)

Stir Fried Bell Peppers is one of the Chinese dishes I make almost every week. It’s healthy, nutritious, tasty, and super easy to prepare. I used to stir fry them with either slightly marinated chicken or pork to add more umami flavor to the dish.

One day I didn’t have any pork in my fridge, but I saw some bacon strips. So I improvised and chopped some bacon and stir fried them with the bell peppers. The dish turned out to be fantastic and took even less time than the versions with chicken or pork. So it has since became a regular dish for my family whenever I have bell peppers and bacon handy.

To make this recipe, you can pick any color bell pepper. I tend to mix the colors to make it more interesting and colorful. Bacon is added at the beginning then the bell pepper chunks. It takes very little time to cook the peppers.

If you don’t have bacon, you can either skip the proteins or use other proteins, such as chicken, pork, or beef. The proteins add a more savory flavor to the dish. If using unsalted meat, make sure to slice thinly and in the same shape as the bell peppers. Then marinate the meat slightly in some kosher salt and soy sauce for at least 10 minutes. Stir fry the meat to 80% first and take them out. Then add the 80% cooked meat after the bell peppers are halfway cooked.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Active Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 4-6 people family style

Ingredients:

• 3 bell peppers (1 green, 1 yellow, and 1 red)¹
• 3 bacon strips¹
• 1 green onion
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt²
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce

Preparation:

1. Wash the bell peppers thoroughly. Discard the seeds and the veins (the inside white parts). Chop them into 1-inch (2.5 cm) squares.

2. Chop the green onion into thin slices.

3. Cut the three bacon strips into ½ inch (1.25 cm) wide pieces.

4. Heat 1 teaspoon vegetable oil in a large sauté pan or skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is getting hot, add the green onions. After about 20 seconds, add the bacon pieces. Spread out the bacon pieces so they are not on top of one another.

5. When bacon is halfway cooked, add the bell pepper chunks. Then add ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Stir and toss.

6. Continue tossing and stirring for about 2-3 minutes until bell peppers are halfway cooked, then add the 1 tablespoon soy sauce. (Ideally, there should be a sizzling sound when soy sauce is added).

7. Keep tossing and stirring until all the bell peppers are cooked through, about another 2-3 minutes. All the bell pepper chucks should look glossy and lose the raw color.

8. Transfer into a large plate.

Enjoy!

Notes:

1. You can increase or decrease the number of bell peppers and bacon. For me the ratio is 1:1. For every bell pepper, I use 1 bacon strip.
2. Since bacon is quite salty, I only used ½ teaspoon kosher salt. If cooking without bacon, increase to 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or ½ teaspoon table salt).