Shadowing Practice: How To Make Peppercorn Sauce | Cookery School | Waitrose - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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I think peppercorn sauce is an absolute classic sauce, not much beats it really. Hi I'm Becca one of the chef tutors here at the Waitrose cookery school. Today I'm going to be taking you through exactly how to make the perfect peppercorn sauce. Peppercorn sauce is my number one choice of sauce to have with steak and chips - it's really creamy and it's got those lovely peppercorns in there giving it absolutely heaps of flavour. So I've got my pan on a medium heat and I'm going to add in my shallots and also a little splash of…
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I think peppercorn sauce is an absolute classic  sauce, not much beats it really. Hi I'm Becca one of the chef tutors here at the Waitrose cookery  school. Today I'm going to be taking you through exactly how to make the perfect peppercorn sauce.  Peppercorn sauce is my number one choice of sauce to have with steak and chips - it's really  creamy and it's got those lovely peppercorns in there giving it absolutely heaps of flavour.  So I've got my pan on a medium heat and I'm going to add in my shallots and also a little splash of  sunflower oil. Along with my shallots in the pan, I'm going to add a pinch of salt, they give  off a really nice sweet flavor into the base of the sauce so it is a really important  step. Just cook them for five minutes.
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I'm going to use my microplane to grate the  garlic straight into the pan with the shallots.
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So you don't want to add your garlic in too early  because it burns really, really easily. If you're making a sauce where you're reducing part of  it down you really want to be careful with your garlic and your shallots because basically you're  just going to be intensifying those flavors as you reduce the sauce down. So try to add your garlic  in near the end and then when you add the other ingredients that will help to stop the garlic  cooking any further. So we've got a tablespoon of black peppercorns going straight into the pan, you  could use green peppercorns here as well that's absolutely fine and then once you've added your  peppercorns in, we're going to add in our brandy.
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So we're going to be using two tablespoons. So  we're cooking the brandy off for a moment or two, we want to keep all of that flavor in there  but we're just taking off some of the water.
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If you don't want to put any alcohol in  your peppercorn sauce, it's absolutely fine just leave that out. As soon as it's looking  a little bit thicker in the bottom of the pan then we're ready to go in with our stock so I've  got 500ml of fresh beef stock. If you use a stock cube it's got quite a lot of salt in it already  and then as you reduce your sauce down you'll find they'll end up really, really salty. It's always  best to use a homemade or a fresh stock. If you are going to use veg stock that's absolutely fine,  it's not the traditional way to make this sauce.
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The link to the full recipe is in the description.  You've added quite a lot of cold ingredients into the pan; 500ml of stock, so you might need to  just turn your pan up in order to get this boiling and reduce it down and you want it to go sort of  much thicker consistency. Once you've made your sauce, you can pop it in a plastic container  and get it into the fridge and keep it there for about three days. We've got 100ml of  whipping cream going straight into the pan, I'm also going to add in two teaspoons of dijon  mustard, this is going to add loads of flavor into our sauce and then mix those ingredients all  together. You can see straight away that it's that classic color of peppercorn sauce, it's looking  good and it's starting to smell really good too.
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You're going to want to leave this to reduce for  about 20 minutes but you want to do this just at a simmer, not at a boil. The sauce is thickened  up now, as I'm running my spatula through the base of the pan the sauce is splitting and then  coming back together quite slowly and I can see the base of the pan as I do that and that's how  you sort of tell this at the right thickness.
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So because we've reduced the sauce down so  much it's really intensified the flavors there so I don't think it needs any more salt for  me but always worth checking and adding any more if you want to. So I've got my steak and  chips here, we've also got some videos on how to make the perfect steak and triple cooked chips  - those videos are in the top right hand corner and are in the description below. So there it  is, peppercorn sauce. Absolutely perfect sauce, I think it's a real classic and definitely  give it a go it's pretty easy make it in advance and then you can reheat it when you're  ready to eat your steak and chips and enjoy!

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About This Lesson

In this lesson, you will learn how to make a delicious peppercorn sauce as demonstrated in a culinary video. This engaging content offers not only practical cooking instructions but also a fantastic opportunity to learn English with YouTube. You'll practice key vocabulary related to cooking, understand the context of instructions given by a chef, and improve your English speaking skills through listening and repetition. By the end of this lesson, you will feel more confident in both your cooking and language abilities.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Peppercorn sauce - a classic sauce typically served with steak.
  • Shallots - a type of onion that adds sweetness to dishes.
  • Brandy - a spirit that enhances the flavor of the sauce.
  • Whipping cream - a creamy ingredient that adds richness.
  • Reduce - the process of simmering a liquid to concentrate flavors.
  • Dijon mustard - adds a tangy flavor to the sauce.
  • Simmer - to cook gently in a liquid just below boiling point.

Practice Tips

To enhance your English speaking practice using this video, consider utilizing the shadowing technique. This method involves listening to the audio and repeating it simultaneously, which can greatly help improve your pronunciation and fluency. Here are a few specific tips for this video:

  • Begin by listening to a short segment, then pause and repeat after the speaker. Focus on mimicking the chef's tone and pace.
  • The video features a moderate speaking speed, making it ideal for learners at various levels. If needed, slow down the playback to catch every word accurately.
  • Pay special attention to the chef’s use of culinary terms and phrases. Reinforce your learning by practicing these words aloud after you hear them.
  • Try focusing on the emotional undertone in the speaker's voice. This will not only aid in speech imitation but will also make your English speaking practice more engaging.
  • Revisit the steps mentioned in the video, and describe the cooking process in your own words. This will help reinforce your vocabulary and boost confidence.

By consistently practicing with this video as your guide, you'll find that your ability to communicate in English, especially in a culinary context, will significantly improve.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

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