Pepper Lunch Steak and Rice Sizzle is an amazing dish with sizzling tender sukiyaki beef, pepper, rice and a delicious Amakuchi and Karakuchi sauces that can be on your table in less than 30 minutes. 
Have you ever eaten at a Pepper Lunch restaurant?
Pepper Lunch is not a high-end luxury dining experience by any means. As a matter of fact, you have to first place your order into a vending machine and pick out your items to get your food ticket and to retrieve your food.
However please don’t misconstrue. Of course, there are not waitresses fluttering about you waiting on you hand in foot. However, their signature dish is simple, quick, inexpensive, filling, hot, delicious and served to you in a matter of moments.
Two Special Japanese sauces for Pepper Lunch Steak and Rice Sizzle
- Amakuchi sauce which is sometimes called Special Honey Brown Sauce, Pepper Steak Honey Brown Sauce, Japanese honey brown sauce.
- Karakuchi sauce sometimes called the Garlic-Soy Sauce or Pepper Lunch Steak sauce.
I first posted this recipe on November 17, 2011 and I have made this Pepper Lunch Steak and Rice Sizzle dish about a million times since then for my family. I have added some helpful hints and I have sorted out the recipe for both the Amakuchi and Karakuchi sauce to the best of my tasting abilities.
You are never going to believe this but they just put in a Pepper Lunch restaurant walking distance from my home, here in Hong Kong. Life is good! However, when I don’t feel like fighting the crowds or walking 20 minutes, making this dish at home is a great alternative.
History of the Pepper Lunch Restaurant
According to Wikipedia, Pepper Lunch restaurant originated in Japan in 1994 by chef and inventor Kunio Ichinose, who wanted to serve quality fast food without hiring a chef. He devised a method using hot metal plates that are heated to 500 degrees Fahrenheit (260 Celsius) by an electromagnetic cooker. The raw meat with vegetables and/or rice are then placed on the plates, where they cook in front of the customer.
The meal is then mixed with a choice of either the special honey brown sauce (Amakuchi) or garlic soy sauce (Karakuchi). Now there are over 200 restaurants in Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Macau, Philippines and USA.
Signature Dish
The signature dish of “Pepper Lunch Restaurant” is their sizzling beef and rice platter. Hands down this type of food that teenagers will come flocking to as it consists of everything they deem edible in Asia in one easy dish; rice, beef, corn and the special yummy sauces.
“There is Always Rice”
You know the everyday struggle I have with raising and feeding teenagers in Asia… “Eww! Are we are on the show fear factor? My goodness, what is that? I am soooooo not eating that. (Grilled squid on a stick, Fried blood, chicken feet, 1000 year old eggs, congee, snake,eel, mystery like meat substances with lots of bones, the list goes on and on). Need I say more????
So our famous family motto is, “There is always rice!” Plain white rice is pure and filling. In addition, rice can be used as way to hide the other weird mysterious foods that end up on your plate during those executive meetings and or other such functions. My teenagers all know the drill, move your food around on your plate, pretend to enjoy and smile while eating the items placed on your plate or hide the weird stuff on the bottom of your rice pile.
Why you are going to love Pepper Lunch Steak and Rice Sizzle
However, men cannot live on rice alone, so that is why this signature Pepper Lunch Steak and Rice Sizzle dish is a perfect family retreat in Asia. Of course it is fun to eat this dish out at the Pepper Lunch restaurant, but it is just as fun, easy and simple to make this dish at home. After several visits to this establishment, here is what I think they put into their signature dishes. (give or take a few ingredients)
Sukiyaki Beef
I use sukiyaki beef that is very thin and delicious and here is a photo of it, if you are wondering what it is. Now don’t worry if you cannot find sukiyaki beef you can just use a sirloin or other tasty tender cut of meat you like and slice it ultra thin and against the grain. Some other delicious recipes using sukiyaki beef would be our Sukiyaki Beef Udon and our Asian Beef Roll Ups
Helpful Cooking Hints
1) Using an iron skillet is best as it really holds the heat and can cook the beef even after it is off the burner. However, I do not have 4 iron skillets and I need to use regular skillets for the rest of our family. No worries you will just have to keep the regular pan on the burner for an additional 3-5 minutes to cook the beef and to get the rice crunchy.
2) The crunchy rice on the bottom is the best part. I like to keep my pan on the burner for the additional couple of minutes just to get that delicious rice crunchy.
3) You do not have to use beef, if you are vegan substitute vegetables such as colorful peppers and zuchinni, eggplant or even fried tofu.
4) Many people use super thin slices of fatty salmon or tuna belly instead of beef or even super thin slices of pork.
5) If you cannot find super thin and beautiful sukiyaki beef at the store , then try purchasing a sirloin steak, put it in the freezer so it gets firm and then cut into super thin slices. Make sure it is unthawed and dried all the way before cooking.
6) If you need to follow a gluten free diet then please substitute soy sauce with tamari and you can have the garlic- soy (Karakuchi sauce). However you cannot have the honey -soy sauce mixture as the oyster sauce is not gluten free. If you really want to try an alteration to the honey -soy sauce, remove the oyster sauce and replace with 1/4 cup water with 1 teaspoon of cornstarch and mix until it is a slurry and add to the honey soy mixture and cook until bubbly and thick.
7) If you are diabetic, you can still enjoy the beef but instead of the rice sizzle add some vegetables. Instead of the honey in the honey soy mixture add a sugar alternative to taste.
8) Kids and adults both love this dish!
Delicious Japanese Side Dishes to go along with your Pepper Lunch Steak
Garlicky Sesame Stir Fried Beans
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This is our re-engineering of the recipe just by taste and watching them make it in the restaurant. Feel free to adjust ingredients/amounts and let us know how it goes.
Pepper Lunch Steak and Rice Sizzle
Ingredients
Amakuchi (Honey - Soy Sauce)
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup tamari (soy) sauce
- 1/4 cup oyster sauce
- 2 tbsp water
Karakuchi (Garlic-Soy Sauce)
- 1 tsp canola oil
- 3 cloves garlic
peeled and minced - 1/2 cup tamari (soy) sauce
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
ground - 1/4 cup water
- 1 tsp cornstarch
Pepper Lunch Beef (serves 4)
- 4 tbsp canola oil
(1 tablespoon per person) - 1 onion
Large onion chopped finely (1/4 onion per person) - 2 cloves garlic
peeled and minced (1/2 garlic clove per person) - 4 cups precooked japanese white rice (1 cup per person)
- 1.5 pounds sukiyaki beef
If you cannot find sukiyaki beef, you can use sirloin and freeze and then cut ultra thin - 1 tsp pepper
(1/4 teaspoon per person) - 1 cup corn (can use cooked fresh, frozen or even canned)- 1/4 cup per person
- 4 tsp butter (1 teaspoon per person) or margarine if you need to keep it dairy free.
- 2 tbsp green onions thinly sliced for garnish - optional
Instructions
- Make the special honey brown sauce (Amakuchi). In a small pan add honey, soy sauce, oyster sauce mix and water. Cook over low heat for about 5 minutes and set aside.
- Make the garlic soy sauce (Karakuchi). In a small pan add your oil and then add your garlic and just sauté until slightly aromatic then add the tamari (soy sauce) and pepper. Mix the cornstarch and water together to make a slurry and then slowly add to karakuchi sauce and cook until boils and slightly thickens. Set aside.
- Make your Pepper Lunch Steak. In an iron skillet or a heavy duty pan, heat up your pan to a high heat, add your oil, onions and garlic and cook just until aromatic, add 1 cup of rice (per person) in the middle of the pan, then add the beef around the rice. sprinkle pepper on your beef, add the corn on top of rice and then place a dab of butter on top of your corn/rice mixture.
- It is at this point that in the restaurant pepper lunch they would remove from the heat and serve to you. It is up to you but if you have 4 iron skillets and can get the pans super hot to cook the meat then by all means remove from the heat and serve. However, I only have one iron skillet, and only 3 burners and 3 regular pans and 4 mouths so feed.
- For those of you that do not have an iron skillet or really like their beef more well done or even crispy then keep on cooking for a little bit (3-5 minutes) and turn over the beef and let the rice get a little crunchy on the bottom as that is my absolute favorite part.
- Garnish your pepper lunch steak and rice sizzle with a little green onion and serve with both the delicious special honey brown sauce (Amakuchi) and garlic soy sauce (Karakuchi). Enjoy!
- Bring the Japanese Pepper Lunch Beef Sizzle piping hot to the table in the iron skillet pan and set on an oven safe mitten. (Be Careful, it is VERY hot) Yummy served with edamame and Japanese pickles on the side. ITADAKIMASU! - Lets Eat!
*laugh* Was just going to say I have made dishes like this ‘forever’ but not known the names of the sauces etc et al . . . then scrolled down to your comment to Charlie way back when and saw my memory had decided to ‘forget’ that I had even done ‘homework’ re the restaurants I did not know existed here Down Under !! Oh dear !! Still cook this way often, use any of the grilling steaks in hand and probably combine the ingredients of the two sauces in my own way . . . different every time . . . yum, yum indeed and your video tells it all . . . best . . .
Thank you Eha. We also combine the amakuchi and karakuchi sauces together sometimes too. It is really delicious with the savory and the slightly sweet for the dipping sauce. We really miss the Pepper Lunch restaurant recipe but this easy make at home recipe is a delicious option when we are staying in. Stay well and take care
This is my favorite dish at our local Japanese restaurant so knew I had to try it for myself! So much easier than I thought and really delicious! Thank you!
Thank you Betty! This recipe is super easy and it has only a handful of ingredients. The best part is your can substitute the protein of choice depending on whatever you have in your refrigerator. Take care and stay well.
Have you ever tried the curry version? It is my favorite, but I don’t know how to make the dark brown sauce that is always tucked under the rice – it looks like molasses when you pull apart the rice, but it definitely doesn’t taste that way! 😉 If you have any suggestions, I’d love to replicate the curry pepper lunch.
Hello Megan, Thanks for stopping by Healthy World Cuisine. Are you referring to the Cheesy Omelet with curry sauce off of the Pepper Lunch Menu? I have not tried this item off their menu but will certainly order it next time we are there… Have you ever made Japanese curry with the House mild brand Japanese curry packets? I bet they use one of these pre-made curry sauces too. If I try to recreate this recipe inHealthy World Cuisine, I will be sure to let you know. Take care, BAM
It definitely isn’t the cheesy omelet. In Japan it is called Curry Beef Pepper Rice – it actually looks almost exactly like your picture except it has some curry powder sprinkled across the top. There is a paste that is tucked underneath the rice pile, which you can’t see until you start mixing the rice, that is a very dark brown. I tasted the paste separately once – no curry flavor in it at all (and it did NOT taste good on its own – it seemed very bitter to me, which surprised me). However, I suspect this paste is actually the key to the sauce that it created since the curry is just dashed over the top at the end and ultimately gets mixed in when you stir the rice up. When you mix it all together, the rice looks dark brown overall compared to the regular Beef Pepper Rice meal where the rice stays pretty light – other than the color, they look the same when mixed. On Japanese menus it was always pictured right next to or underneath the regular Beef Pepper picture. I hope this helps you find it on your menu so you can give it a try. I never poured any of the extra sauces on it – it was great just the way they prepared it. I have a picture of it if you are curious. I’ll definitely have to look for the House brand curry packets. My husband liked the regular version you’ve prepared here the best. I’m excited to make it for him. Thanks!
Thank you Megan for your response. I will have to order the curry Beef Pepper Rice and try to figure out what is in the secret sauce and report back to you. Thanks for the added detail of the dish. Now we need to investigate what they actually put in this “Secret Sauce” Are you living in Japan now? We used to live in Yokohama before moving to Hong Kong and miss it dearly. Take care and wishing you a super day!
We lived in Japan for two years and loved it, but we are back stateside now. Everyone in my family still talks about eating at Pepper Lunch! Thanks again for sharing your recipe.
I love the story (and can so relate) about your boys and food! I was pretty proud of my 2 younger sons when my brother (1st married to a Malaysian woman) offered them fish eyeball and they accepted! This Pepper Lunch Steak and Rice Sizzle looks fantastic, and would definitely appeal to most teenagers!
My family and I love your recipe for the Beef pepper rice. For the Honey brown sauce, I also added a dash of salt and sesame oil and 1/4 cup of water 🙂
I am delighted that you and your family enjoy our Pepper Lunch Steak and rice sizzle recipe. Thanks for dropping by and leaving your kind comment. Next time I make this dish, I will have to try your adjustments to the honey brown sauce, sounds good.
I LOVE those places with vending machines!!! Some of the best places to eat in Japan are hole-in-the-wall places with vending machines (this place looks posher!) This looks incredible, I totally have to try it. It’s quite similar to some stir fries I make, but I love the use of Tamari in this. Pinning!
My dad use to make something like this when I was a kid. He learned how to make it in Korea. It was so very tasty and easy to make if my dad was making it. 🙂 So thank you for sharing this recipe! Making this then taking a bite would definitely take me back. Beautiful and tasty!
I love pepper lunch, but right now don’t have the right pan to make this at home… perhaps will tweak it a little before making this! Though this dish looks perfect, I think I’m leaning more to those fear factor foods! Don’t worry if your boys don’t appreciate them, I’ll finish them for you! 😉
The men in the family would just love this to appear on our menu frequently. And so would I! Easy and delicious—can’t ask for more than that!!
What a beautiful dish. It looks so perfect!
Under 30 minutes and it looks this delicious! I’m all over this! And that sauce looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it. Pinning this beauty!
This is a fantastic dish that my entire family would love. The sauces sound delicious and versatile: I would want to use it on everything.
Haha – Bobbie – I think every teen parent has heard those phrases! But, I bet those phrases will vanish from kid’s vocabularies if they were presented with this dish! Both soy sauces sound wonderful and I wish we had Pepper Lunch restaurants here in Georgia!
Thank you Charlie! I bet if your daughter came to HK and she experimented with some of the local delicacies, I might here from her some of the same phrases and chants… LOL I would never do that to her. I know what teenagers like and they do really like pepper lunch and thank goodness, it is so easy to make. (You could even have it with fish, tofu or just veggies too) Take Care
This sounds like a great dish–the garlic soy sauce sounds really good!
THAT STEAK THOUGH! Oh wow, yes! GIMME SOME OF THAT RED MEAT 😀
This looks like a restaurant dish! Perfect and very delicious. The word “sizzle” in the title makes me immediately want to eat it!
I lived in Tokyo for 4 years and never went into a Pepper Lunch – what was I missing out on? I know my resident carnivore would love this served to him for dinner and I reckon we would be fighting over the crispy rice on the bottom. Lovely recipe!
I will just have to remember to not touch the plate! That is seriously hot! What a clever idea; I haven’t heard of these restaurants but the guy who created them is very clever – fancy having a restaurant that doesn’t need a chef! We don’t have them hear in Oz but I do like the sound of the two sauces and how the meal comes with rice and vegetables. And great that you have been able to adapt this for home as well xx
Hi there Charlie! I can’t remember what part of Australia you are from but Eha did a little research and found out..there is one in Sydney’s Chinatown, one just open in Perth on the other side of the Continent and one being opened soon in Canberra it seems! Or you can just try my recipe… I know your kiddos will love it. Have a super weekend