Chinese-American pepper steak has undergone more than one transformation, including the use of different seasonings and different meats. While the modern name of the dish obviously states that it's made with beef steak, its original form hailing from the Hokkien (AKA Fujian) cuisine of Fsuzhou, China used pork instead.

Possibly the earliest and thoroughly Chinese version of pepper steak was called “qingjiao ròusi,” or stir-fried pork and green peppers. Today, pepper steak is made by marinating flank steak in soy sauce, rice wine, cornstarch, chili sauce, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic, and then stir-frying it with sauce, bell peppers, and onions.

The pork in qingjiao ròusi is marinated similarly to the beef in pepper steak, but leaves out extra ingredients like oyster sauce, Chinese five spice, and peanut oil. During the 1940s, Chinese immigrants to America found that many Americans didn’t consume pork for religious reasons, so restaurateurs modified qingjiao ròusi to use beef.