This Pepper Lunch-inspired beef pepper rice is one of Pepper's most popular recipes. And for good reason: Who can say no to tender beef, buttered rice, and the kick of black pepper on a sizzling hot plate? Or your biggest stainless steel pan, if you're making it at home for the family?
One complaint we get from this Pepper Lunch hack is the absence of that half-melted, mustard-colored butter they pipe on top of your rice. Unpopular opinion: salted butter works just as well. With all the prep you have to do—making two sauces, slicing your beef to paper-thin strips—all the time you save counts.
What is Pepper Lunch?
Pepper Lunch is a Japanese DIY fast-food restaurant chain specializing in hot plate dishes. The concept is simple yet genius: diners are served raw ingredients on a hot iron plate, allowing them to cook the meal to their liking right at the table.
Pepper Lunch's most popular menu offering is their Beef Pepper Rice: a combination of thinly sliced beef, steamed rice, corn, and freshly ground black pepper, all mixed with a special sauce.
How to make Beef Pepper Rice at home
To make Pepper Lunch-style Beef Pepper Rice at home, you’ll need these key components:
- Beef. We recommend short plate. Look for pre-sliced cuts for shabu-shabu / hotpot / samgyupsal; avoid yakiniku cuts, which tend to be too thick. We want thin and quick-cooking slices!
- Steamed Rice. Japanese short-grain rice like koshihikari is ideal for this dish.
- Garlic Soy & Honey Sauces. The two tableside sauces at Pepper Lunch. This recipe includes hacks for those! Serve in little sauce bottles for that restaurant experience.
Do I need a cast-iron skillet or hot plate to make Beef Pepper Rice?
Nope—you can make this recipe in a stainless steel pan. You'll miss out on the charred effect and heat retention of cast-iron, but don't worry; it will still come out good.
Ingredients
Garlic Soy Sauce
- ¼ cup Kikkoman soy sauce
- ¼ cup regular soy sauce
- 4 large garlic cloves, crushed
- ½ cup water
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 2 tsp sugar
Honey Sauce
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
- 2 tbsp chopped onions
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tbsp Kikkoman soy sauce
- ⅛ tsp salt
Beef Pepper Lunch
- 3 cups cooked Japanese rice, divided
- 2 tsp vegetable oil
- 400g beef short plate, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp salted butter, divided into two
- ¼ cup canned corn, drained
- 2 tbsp chopped spring onions
- ½ tsp freshly crushed black pepper
Make Garlic Soy Sauce
Marinate garlic: Combine soy sauces and crushed garlic cloves in a mixing bowl. Marinate garlic in the soy sauce for 30 minutes. (You can make the honey sauce or prep the beef ingredients in the meantime.)
Make slurry: Whisk together water and cornstarch in a small bowl.
Make sauce: Add marinated garlic and soy sauce mixture to a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add slurry and sugar. Once boiling, cook for 1 minute then remove from heat. Set aside to cool completely.
Purée sauce: For a smoother sauce, add garlic soy sauce to a blender or food processor. Purée until garlic cloves are crushed into smaller pieces. Transfer garlic soy sauce to a sauce bottle and set aside.
Make Honey Sauce
Make slurry: Whisk together water and cornstarch in a small bowl.
Make sauce: Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and garlic, then sauté, stirring frequently, until aromatics are soft and fragrant. Add honey, soy sauce, and slurry into the pan. Season with salt. Once boiling, lower heat to medium-low and simmer for 3–5 minutes. Set sauce aside to cool completely.
Purée sauce: For a smoother sauce, add honey sauce to a blender or food processor. Purée until the sauce takes on a lighter brown color. Transfer honey sauce to a sauce bottle and set aside.
Assemble Beef Pepper Lunch
Mold rice: Divide rice between two small, shallow bowls.
Add rice to skillet: Place cast-iron skillet over high heat. Add just enough oil to lightly coat the bottom of the skillet. Heat skillet until screaming hot and starting to emit smoke.
Carefully invert one bowl of packed rice at the center of the cast-iron skillet. With the back of a spoon or two fingers, gently press into the middle of the rice to make a small indent.
Cook beef: Turn off the heat but keep the skillet on the stove. Arrange beef strips around the rice in an even layer. Try to avoid overlapping the pieces of meat, making sure each piece has full and direct contact with the pan.
Finish plate: Place 1 tbsp salted butter into the indent in the rice. Top rice with half the corn, spring onions, and black pepper. Serve immediately with the garlic soy sauce and honey sauce. Repeat assembly for the second plate.
