Et Sote, also known as Turkish Beef Tava, is made with sautéing beef strips, peppers, and tomatoes in a rich garlicky sauce. The name simply means meat sauté, and it is a lokanta classic in Turkey.
My recipe is ready in about 25 minutes in a single pan. I make it on busy weeknights and serve it with rice and a dollop of yogurt.
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Why This Recipe Works?
- This simple Turkish beef recipe is very easy to make with a few fridge ingredients without needing a trip to the shop.
- It is ready in 25 minutes, a perfect busy weekday meal that would please everyone, even the picky eaters.
- Everything cooks in one pan, so there is very little washing up.
- Et Sote (or Beef Tava) is loaded with vegetables, beef, and Mediterranean flavors.
Ingredients You'll Need
Please scroll down to the recipe card below for the full ingredients list with measurements, complete recipe method, recipe notes, and nutritional information.
- Beef - Sirloin steaks are the most popular choice for making a stir-fry. However, you can also use a flank, skirt, ribeye, or even beef chuck. Beef chuck steak is the most economical choice, but it requires some trimming. Make sure you remove the tough tissue from the steaks before frying.
- Red Peppers - You can use Romano peppers or bell peppers.
- Green peppers - I prefer using Turkish green peppers. They are one of the most popular peppers used in Turkish cuisine. They are usually mild but some of them can be quite hot. You can replace them with bell pepper or Spanish Padron peppers.
- Tomato paste - It is the staple of Turkish cooking. It adds an umami flavor to the dishes as well as a bright red color. You can find it in Turkish or Middle Eastern shops.
- Garlic - Fresh garlic is a great flavoring that adds sweetness and nuttiness to dishes. Turn it into a paste with a Mortar and Pestle or grate it using a Microplane Zester Grater.
- Onion - One medium onion, sliced thin so it melts into the sauce.
- Tomatoes - Two large ripe tomatoes, chopped. They break down into the sauce along with the paste.
- Butter and olive oil - I use both. The oil takes the heat for searing and the butter adds flavor.
- Spices - Dried thyme or oregano, black pepper, and pul biber (Turkish chili flakes) for gentle warmth.
How to Make Et Sote (Beef Tava)?
Making Et Sote (Beef Tava) is very easy and to achieve the best results, you need to follow a few simple steps:
Put a large wok or a frying pan on medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. When the pan is hot, sear the beef strips until browned.
Melt the butter, add the sliced onions, and then sauté for a few minutes.
Stir in the garlic along with the red and green peppers, and sauté for 2 minutes.
Add the tomato paste, thyme, pepper, chili flakes, and salt, and cook for 30 seconds.
Stir in the chopped tomatoes and then add the water.
Cover the pan with a lid and then cook it on medium heat for 10 minutes, until the beef strips are thoroughly cooked. Serve immediately with your choice of a side dish when still warm.
recipe Tips From the Chef
- Make sure you remove the tough tissue from the steaks before frying.
- Cooking the meat at high heat results in tender, juicy, and caramelized beef.
- This recipe moves fast so make sure you have all of your ingredients ready to go before you start cooking.
- Sear the beef in batches if your pan is small. A crowded pan steams the strips instead of browning them.
- Slice the beef against the grain. The strips stay tender that way.
- Use ripe tomatoes if you can. They break down faster and give the sauce a sweeter taste.
Serving Suggestions
You can serve this meat dish with some pilaf dishes such as Bulgur Rice Pilaf , Turkish Rice, or Mujadara. You can also serve Et Sote with some bread to mop up the juices!
Turkish Pide Bread - Ramazan Pidesi, Garlic Naan, or Pita Bread are great for this task.
Turkish Acili Ezme Salad and Cacik are other side dishes that go well with it. Bazlama is another good bread for it, and a bowl of Çoban Salatası or Orzo with Pesto on the side makes it a real feast.
Variations
- Add a handful of sliced mushrooms with the peppers for mantarlı et sote, the mushroom version.
- Swap the beef for lamb to make kuzu sote. Lamb strips cook in about the same time.
- Make it with chicken instead. I have a separate Chicken Sauté - Turkish Tavuk Sote recipe for that.
- Stir a small knob of butter through the sauce right before serving for a silkier finish.
- Like it hot? Add a chopped hot green pepper along with the Turkish peppers.
Storage and Make Ahead Instructions
Et Sote is a good dish to cook ahead. The flavors settle as it sits, so you can make it earlier in the day and warm it through at dinner time.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, or freeze them for up to 3 months. Reheat gently in a pan with a splash of water to loosen the sauce.
Recipe FAQs
In Turkey it is made with beef (dana eti) or lamb (kuzu). Home cooks use strips or small kuşbaşı cubes, and any tender, quick-cooking cut works. The cut I use and the alternatives are in the ingredients list above.
Tava means pan in Turkish, and for this dish the two names get used for the same thing: meat cooked fast in a pan with onions, peppers, and tomatoes. Some regions say sote, others say tava.
Usually the cut or the slicing. Use a tender cut such as sirloin or ribeye, slice it thin against the grain, and sear it quickly on high heat. Strips toughen if they simmer for too long.
Not by default. The pul biber adds gentle warmth rather than real heat. Add a chopped hot pepper or extra chili flakes if you want it spicy.
Related Recipes
For more quick&easy weeknight dishes why not try:
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I hope you enjoy the process of making this simple, healthy, and delicious beef tava recipe as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂
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Et Sote
Ingredients
- 1¾ lbs beef strips (sirloin, flank, skirt, ribeye or beef chuck) (800 grams)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter (optional, you can use olive oil as a substitute)
- 1 onion (sliced)
- 1 red pepper (sliced) (sweet Romano pepper)
- 3-4 Turkish green peppers (sliced) (or 1 green bell pepper, or 6-7 Padron peppers)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme or oregano
- ½ teaspoon flaked chilli (pul biber)
- 2 large tomatoes (diced)
- ⅔ cup water (150 ml)
Instructions
- Put a large wok or a frying pan on medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. When the pan is hot, sear the beef strips until browned.
- Add the butter to the pan along with the sliced onions and sauté for a few minutes.
- Stir in the garlic along with the red and green peppers, and sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste, thyme, pepper, chili flakes, and salt, cook for 30 seconds and then add the chopped tomatoes.
- Stir well, add the water, cover the pan with a lid and then cook it on medium heat for 10 minutes, until the beef strips are thoroughly cooked.
- Serve immediately with your choice of a side dish when still warm.
Notes
- Make sure you remove the tough tissue from the steaks before frying.
- Slice the beef against the grain into thin strips so it stays tender.
- Cooking the meat at high heat results in tender, juicy, and caramelized beef. Sear it in batches if your pan is small.
- This recipe moves fast, so have all of your ingredients ready to go before you start cooking.
- Use sirloin, flank, skirt, ribeye, or trimmed beef chuck. Lamb strips work too and cook in about the same time.
- Add sliced mushrooms with the peppers for the mushroom version, or a chopped hot pepper for a spicier dish.
- Make ahead: the flavors settle as it sits, so you can cook it earlier in the day and warm it through at dinner time.
- Storage: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Reheat gently in a pan with a splash of water to loosen the sauce.
- Serve it with rice or bulgur pilaf and bread to mop up the juices.
Rubin says
This recipe was super easy and the beef loin I used maintained excellent flavour and consistency.