Recipe for Mongolian Beef
Tender meat and a sweet sauce -- made with ginger, garlic, brown sugar, hoisin and soy sauce -- make this easy Mongolian beef recipe a favorite.
Servings: 4
Calories: 524kcal
Ingredients
Beef
- ⅓ cup cornstarch
- 1½ pounds flank steak, sliced against the grain into 2-inch pieces
- 1 cup vegetable oil
Sauce
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, leftover from removing all the fry oil except this 1 tablespoon
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 1 teaspoon sriracha hot chili sauce
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Finishing
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 4 to 5 green onions, cut on the diagonal into 2-inch pieces
Instructions
- Slice the meat against the grain into ¼-inch slices, then cut those slices down to 2-inch bite-size pieces. You can freeze the beef for about 30 to 50 minutes, in the package, prior to slicing. This will make slicing the beef easier.
- Place the cornstarch in a bowl and toss the meat pieces in the cornstarch. Let sit for 15 minutes.
- Heat the one cup of vegetable oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.
- Add the cornstarch coated beef to the hot oil. Be careful to not crowd the pan and cook in batches. Cook 2 to 4 minutes per side (it will cook more in the sauce later). Remove meat to a plate. Be careful of hot oil! Leave all those yummy bits of fry stuff left in the pan. They will add to the sauce flavor.
- Now to make the sauce. Empty out all the oil from the pan except about 1 tablespoon. Reduce the heat to medium.
- Add the ginger and garlic and stir for about one minute.
- Add the brown sugar first because you don’t want to add liquid to hot grease. Stir. Then add the soy sauce, water, hoisin sauce, sriracha and red pepper flakes to the pan. Bring to a boil and simmer until it thickens. Stir occasionally scraping up the yummy bits at the bottom of the pan.
- You can add a cornstarch/water mixture if it doesn’t get as thick as you like. I added 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon cold water. Stir this mixture into the bubbling sauce and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes until the sauce thickens.
- Once the sauce has thickened, add the meat back into the pan. Add the sesame oil, red pepper flakes, and green onions. Stir to combine and heat through.
- Serve over rice and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- If you are watching your salt intake, you can choose low sodium soy sauce instead of regular soy sauce.
- The easiest way to slice the steak is if you freeze the flank steak for 30 to 50 minutes. Slice the meat against the grain into ¼-inch slices. Be sure to slice your meat across the grain.
- Leave all those yummy bits of fry stuff left in the pan. They will add to the sauce flavor.
- You can add a cornstarch/water mixture (cornstarch slurry) if it doesn’t get as thick as you like. I added one tablespoon cornstarch mixed with one tablespoon cold water to thicken up my sauce. Stir this mixture into the bubbling sauce and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes until the sauce thickens.
Nutrition
Calories: 524kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 40g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 102mg | Sodium: 1878mg | Potassium: 688mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 56IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 71mg | Iron: 4mg