Chinese Stuffed Peppers

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These delicious and homemade Chinese stuffed peppers is inspired by my Cantonese grandma and dim sum restaurants! The peppers are stuffed with a super tender pork and shrimp filling that tastes savory, aromatic and sweet; perfect with a bowl of white rice!

Chinese stuffed peppers and jalapenos with minced pork and shrimp on a plate.

My grandma made this for me almost every week after school to go with some rice and vegetables. This dish also is very nostalgic because every time I ate a super spicy jalapeno, my grandma would always laugh at me. Hope you enjoy my grandma’s recipe!

Here’s Why You Will Love Chinese Stuffed Peppers

My grandma’s recipe for these Chinese stuffed peppers have a traditional cantonese (Hakka) flavor. Savory with a hint of sweetness. This recipe has been passed down and it’s a family favorite!
The tender filling is due to a mixing technique with the minced pork. Mixing it 50 times helps with the myosin development resulting in juicy and bouncy texture.
Hearty and nutritious – The tender pork filling is packed with protein and the peppers provide fiber and lots of vitamins. When served with rice, you have a complete meal! If you want to add more vegetables, check out my Chinese Cabbage Stir Fry.

Jump to:

Here’s Why You Will Love Chinese Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
How to Make Chinese Stuffed Peppers
Expert Tips
Variations and Substitutions
Recipe FAQ
Check Out More Delicious Chinese Meals:
Stuffed Jalapeno with Pork and Shrimp

Ingredients

Here’s a look at what you need to make Chinese Stuffed Peppers at home. The highlights are here but the full ingredient list and quantities of each are in the recipe card.

jalapeno or bell peppers – use your favorite pepper for this dish. I like to use jalapenos because the pepper texture is more firm and has more savory/spicy flavor compared to a bell pepper.
corn starch or potato starch is used to make your filling more smooth. You also add a light dusting of this on the jalapenos so it sticks better before you fill them.
garlic cloves – adding garlic cloves at the end of pan-frying makes the stuffed peppers make it extra fragrant.
water – this is added to the filling to make it more juicy and tender.
ground pork – the main filling. The ground pork is juicy and is the traditional filling used for this recipe.
shrimp – peel and de-vein your shrimp before chopping into small pieces. The shrimp paste is added to the ground pork for bouncy texture and umami flavor.
soy sauce, chicken bouillon and salt – adds savoriness and flavor to the pork mixture.
olive oil – add to the pork mixture so it’s extra juicy and makes the filling gelatinous combined with the corn starch and water.
egg – is needed to bind the filling together (like glue).
cooking wine (optional) – shaoxing cooking wine or sake makes the pork less gamey. If you want, you can add 1 tablespoon when mixing the pork.

How to Make Chinese Stuffed Peppers

Step 1. Cut off the stems of the jalapeno or bell pepper of choice. Then, cut them off in half and take out the seeds. Make sure you wear gloves if you’re working with jalapenos!

Minced shrimp in form of a paste on cutting board.

Step 2. Mince 10-14 pieces of shrimp until it forms a paste.

(Optional) Soak the jalapeno in water for 1-4 hours. Then pour out the water. This method helps to make the jalapenos less spicy. Skip this step if you prefer spicy jalapenos or you are using bell peppers.

Mixed shrimp with minced pork, cornstarch, egg, oil, and soy sauce.

Step 3. To make the filling, mix ½ pound ground pork, minced shrimp, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon, 1 tbs olive oil, 1 tbs corn starch, and 1 egg.

Minced pork mixture with shrimp in a bowl.

Step 4. Mix in one direction for 50 times until the filling is gelatinous and sticks together. Add 1 tablespoon of water in the beginning and middle of mixing. This produces a more tender filling.

Step 5. Sprinkle some corn starch on the inside of the jalapeno to ensure that the filling sticks to the jalapeno during frying. If you skip this step, the filling and the jalapeno might fall apart during cooking.

Stuffed jalapenos with shrimp and minced pork.

Step 6. Place the filling in the jalapeno and set aside for pan-frying.

Step 7. Heat pan to medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add 2 tablespoons oil. Add the jalapenos face down and give it a gentle push so the meat adheres to the jalapeno more. Fry jalapeno for 4-5 minutes with a cover.

Minced garlic in pan with stuffed jalapenos.

Step 8. Flip the jalapeno over and add some chopped garlic to the oil. Fry for 1-2 minutes until the jalapeno slightly softens. Be careful not to burn the garlic.

Pro Tip: You may need to fry the stuffed jalapenos in a few batches. Overcrowding them will make them not as crispy.

Expert Tips

If you are using jalapenos (the traditional way!) and you can’t eat spicy, I recommend to soak in water 1-4 hours. Then pour out the water. This helps to make the jalapenos less spicy.
When mixing the pork filling, slowly add in the water (1 tablespoons at a time) in the beginning and middle. This helps create the bouncy and tender filling.
Mince the shrimp as finely as possible so you can ensure that each bite has shrimp inside. In addition, chopping the shrimp finely creates this bouncy texture in your filling.

Variations and Substitutions

Peppers – use your favorite bell pepper or jalapeno peppers. If you like spicy, I recommend Jalapenos as they taste the best with this recipe. You can use eggplant to make these Chinese Stuffed Eggplant.
You can substitute the pork with minced chicken if you like. Keep in mind that the chicken is not as fatty and juicy and minced pork.
If you want to replace the shrimp filling, you can use fish and chop it very finely. The fish will also produce a nice bouncy texture! Use tilapia or cheaper cuts of white fish.

Recipe FAQ

What are Chinese stuffed peppers?

Chinese stuffed peppers are bell peppers filled with a savory mixture of ground meat, vegetables, and seasonings like soy sauce and ginger. They are typically pan-fried until crispy! They are typically served in dim sum restaurants or at home. I like to eat this dish with white rice, Chinese tomato and egg, and Chinese steamed fish with ginger and scallion.

Storage and reheating tips

You can store these in the fridge for up to 2 days in a closed container. The longer you store it, the jalapenos get soft and smushy from the moist environment. Heat in the microwave with a cover for 1-2 minutes until warm!

Check Out More Delicious Chinese Meals:

Chinese Steamed Egg – soft and succulent eggs served with fluffy rice is great for an easy meal!
Chinese Eggplant with Garlic – fragrant eggplant with garlic sauce and chili for a kick of spice!