Garlic Pepper Beef in Mushroom Gravy

Garlic Pepper Beef in Mushroom Gravy starts with thinly sliced sirloin seared with soy sauce, oyster sauce, and coarse black pepper, then coated in a smooth mushroom gravy. I toast the garlic before anything else and cook the beef in the oil it leaves behind, so the garlic flavor is inside the meat instead of sitting on the surface. The rest I save for the very end, while it is still crisp.

Everything happens in one pan. The garlic oil stays in the pan for the beef and mushrooms, and I build the gravy on the browned bits left behind. My other garlic pepper beef uses a thin pan sauce made with water and a beef cube. This version uses a butter-and-flour roux, so the gravy clings to the beef instead of running to the edge of the plate.

I cook the mushrooms on their own before the gravy starts. They release a lot of water, which keeps them from browning and can thin the gravy. I cook them for 5 to 7 minutes over medium-high heat, until the liquid is gone and the edges brown, then add them back once the broth is in.

What is Garlic Pepper Beef in Mushroom Gravy?

Garlic Pepper Beef in Mushroom Gravy is a Filipino beef dish made of thinly sliced sirloin seared with toasted garlic, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and coarse black pepper, then finished in a mushroom gravy thickened with butter and flour. Garlic pepper beef became familiar in the Philippines through restaurant and fast food menus, and Jollibee has carried a version of it on and off for years.

I cook the beef like a Filipino Chinese stir-fry, adding the soy sauce and oyster sauce at the end so the meat stays tender. I use fried garlic on top, the same way I do with beef salpicao. The gravy starts with the same butter-and-flour roux I use for burger steak. Mushrooms cooked into that base make it darker and give it more body than a plain brown gravy.

At home I serve it as ulam, set in the middle of the table with a pot of rice beside it. There is enough gravy that a second cup of rice is easy to finish. I make it when I want restaurant-style beef without a long list of ingredients.

Ingredients for Garlic Pepper Beef in Mushroom Gravy

• Beef sirloin – I slice it against the grain and no thicker than a quarter inch. Cut a wide piece in half lengthwise first so the slices stay a manageable size
• Garlic – Fifteen cloves is not a typo. I mince it by hand rather than using a press, since pressed garlic is wet and fine and it burns almost the moment it hits the oil
• Cooking oil – A quarter cup, and you keep all of it. Once the garlic comes out it is garlic oil, and the beef and mushrooms cook in that
• Soy sauce – Regular Filipino soy sauce is what I use here. It goes on the beef, never in the gravy
• Oyster sauce – Two tablespoons coat a pound and a half of beef. More than that makes the meat taste sweet before the gravy even goes in
• Coarsely ground black pepper – I grind it myself on the coarsest setting. Fine pre-ground pepper disappears into the sauce, and you want to bite into it

For the mushroom gravy:

• Button mushrooms – Fourteen ounces looks like a mountain until they cook down by half. Slice them a quarter inch thick so they keep their shape. Using something else? See substitutions below
• Butter – Salted or unsalted both work. When I use salted, I taste the gravy before adding any more salt
• All-purpose flour – Use 3 tablespoons each of butter and flour. That ratio gives a gravy thick enough to coat the beef and still loose enough to spoon over rice
• Low-sodium beef broth – I buy the low-sodium kind for this one. The beef already carries soy sauce and oyster sauce, and regular broth turns the gravy salty before it is thick enough
• Onion powder and garlic powder – Half a teaspoon and a quarter teaspoon. I use powder rather than fresh onion so the gravy stays smooth
• Salt – Add it last, after the gravy has thickened and reduced

Garlic decides how this comes out, so I buy heads with tight, firm cloves and no green shoots in the middle, since sprouted cloves turn bitter fast in hot oil. Three medium heads get you fifteen cloves. Toast them over medium-low heat and nothing higher, because garlic goes from light golden to dark brown in about ten seconds and there is no fixing it once it is dark.

Equipment

• Wide pan or skillet – A 12-inch pan holds half the beef in a single layer
• Fine-mesh strainer – Lifts the garlic out cleanly and lets the oil drain back. A slotted spoon leaves the smallest bits behind, and those are the ones that burn
• Whisk – Breaks up flour lumps more easily than a wooden spoon once the broth goes in

Toast the garlic first and keep the oil. The beef, mushrooms, and gravy all cook in that same pan, then the beef and mushrooms go back in at the end.

1. Heat the cooking oil in a wide pan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook while stirring until it turns light golden brown.
2. Remove the garlic using a fine-mesh strainer and set it aside. Reserve the garlic oil.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of garlic oil in the same pan over medium-high heat. Add half of the beef and sear for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring only as needed, until the outside browns. Transfer it to a plate.
4. Add another tablespoon of garlic oil and repeat with the remaining beef.

That oil is the reason I toast the garlic first. Cooking the beef in it carries the garlic flavor into the meat, which the topping alone cannot do. Have your second batch ready beside the stove, since beef this thin browns fast.

1. Return all the beef to the pan. Pour in the soy sauce and oyster sauce, then add the coarsely ground black pepper and half of the toasted garlic.
2. Toss for 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until the sauce lightly coats the beef and no loose liquid remains in the pan. Transfer the beef to a clean plate.

I put the sauces in at the end instead of using them as a marinade. Thirty seconds in a hot pan is enough for them to glaze the beef. Your meat finishes cooking later in the gravy, so pull it while the thicker slices still have a little pink at the center.

1. Add 1 tablespoon of the reserved garlic oil to the pan. Add the mushrooms and cook over medium-high heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they brown and most of the liquid they release has evaporated. Remove the mushrooms and set them aside.
2. Melt the butter in the same pan over medium heat. Add the flour and stir continuously for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, or until the mixture becomes smooth and lightly golden.
3. Gradually pour in the beef broth while whisking to prevent lumps. Add the onion powder, garlic powder, and ground black pepper, then return the mushrooms to the pan.
4. Simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the gravy is smooth and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Taste and add salt only if needed.

Give the flour a full minute and a half before the broth goes in. Raw flour tastes like paste and it will still taste that way after the gravy thickens. I use the same roux for the gravy on my burger steak, but I cook it only until lightly golden here since the mushrooms add more color.

1. Return the beef and any juices from the plate to the pan. Toss until the beef is evenly coated with the mushroom gravy, then cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until heated through.
2. Add a small amount of broth if the gravy becomes too thick. Transfer to a serving plate and top with the remaining toasted garlic.

Serve it right away. Your gravy keeps thickening in the pan and the beef firms up if it waits over heat, so I cook the rice before I start the gravy.

What to Serve with Garlic Pepper Beef

• Steamed white rice – There is enough gravy for a generous cup of rice per person
• Garlic Mashed Potatoes – The gravy works over potatoes the same way it works over rice
• Ginisang Repolyo – Sauteed cabbage on the side keeps the plate from being all gravy
• Atchara – Pickled papaya cuts through the butter and the oyster sauce, and a small spoonful goes a long way
• Green bean Salad – So there is something crisp next to the beef

Storage

Garlic Pepper Beef in Mushroom Gravy keeps well. The gravy thickens considerably once refrigerated, but it loosens again as it reheats.

• Refrigerator: Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days, with the beef sitting in the gravy so it does not dry out.
• Freezer: It keeps for up to 2 months. Flour-thickened gravy can separate after thawing, so thaw it in the refrigerator overnight and whisk it as it warms.
• Reheating: Warm it in a pan over low heat with a splash of broth or water, stirring until the gravy loosens. I toast a fresh batch of garlic for the top, since the original topping softens overnight.

• Beef sirloin – Flank steak, tenderloin, or thinly sliced ribeye all work. Slice whichever you use against the grain and keep the sear short
• Button mushrooms – Cremini give a darker gravy with more flavor. Canned sliced mushrooms work when fresh are not available, but drain and pat them dry first, then skip the browning step
• Low-sodium beef broth – Use 2 cups of water with half a beef cube. Add more of the cube only if needed, since the gravy reduces and the salt concentrates
• Oyster sauce – Hoisin sauce in the same amount is sweeter, so add an extra teaspoon of soy sauce alongside it
• All-purpose flour – Make a slurry with 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch and cold broth, then stir it into the gravy once it simmers. You get a glossier sauce without the toasted flavor of the roux
• Beef – Tofu with Mushroom Gravy puts the same style of gravy over fried tofu

More Beef Recipes

• Pepper Steak – Chinese-American style, with bell peppers and onions in place of the gravy
• Creamy Beef with Mushroom – Beef slices simmered until fork-tender in a cream of mushroom sauce rather than a roux gravy
• Beef Chop Suey – The same thin slicing and quick sear, with a pan full of vegetables
• Chimichurri Steak Bites – Seared cubes of beef with a fresh herb sauce, for something bright instead of rich
• Better Beef Nilaga – A clear beef and vegetable soup, and a good way to use a tougher cut
• Sinigang na Baka – Beef in a sour tamarind broth with gabi to thicken it

Your gravy is ready when a spoon dragged along the bottom of the pan leaves a track that holds for a second before closing. Spoon the Garlic Pepper Beef in Mushroom Gravy over hot rice, scatter the rest of the toasted garlic acro