Mongolian Beef
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Tender, juicy strips of stir-fried beef in a luxuriously flavorful sauce! Few Chinese dishes are as irresistibly delicious as Mongolian Beef. This Mongolian Beef recipe takes the flavor over the top, is quick and easy to make (ready to serve in 15-20 minutes!), and rivals your favorite Chinese takeout! And if you’re looking for a vegetarian Mongolian Beef, I’ve got you covered too!
What is Mongolian Beef?
Mongolian Beef is one of the most popular Chinese takeout and restaurant dishes and is known and served throughout many areas of the world. It is a stir-fry dish consisting of thinly sliced beef that is coated in cornstarch and then fried until crispy. The beef is then tossed in a flavorful sauce along with green onions/scallions.
Neither the ingredients nor the method of cooking are actually Mongolian at all, rather some claim this dish is a Chinese-American invention while others claim it was first invented in a Chinese restaurant in the UK.
Regardless of its origin, one thing is clear: It’s fully deserving of its popularity because it’s absolutely delicious! And now you can make it at home anytime the craving comes calling and this Mongolian Beef recipe is sure to be a slam dunk winner in your home!
Mongolian Beef Ingredients and Substitutions
Made with just a small handful of ingredients, this Mongolian Beef is simple, quick, and ready to serve within 15-20 minutes including prep! You’ll need:
- Lean beef: Flank steak or sirloin work great.
- Cornstarch: for coating the beef and oil for frying it
- Fresh ginger and garlic
- Hoisin sauce: you can buy it or make your own Hoisin Sauce, which I HIGHLY recommend!
- Toasted sesame oil
- Tamari: you can substitute low sodium soy sauce but tamari has a much better, richer flavor.
- Brown sugar: for a low-sugar option you can use a brown sugar alternative sweetener.
- Pepper
- Green onions
An important element to making quick takeout style dishes like this is to have all your ingredients already laid out and ready to go. Have your veggies and meat sliced and have your sauce ingredients combined. Then the cooking part takes less than 10 minutes (less than 5 minutes if you’re using a high heat wok!).
How to Make Vegetarian Mongolian Beef
It’s simple! Use a meatless beef substitute such as Yves Meatless Beef Strips, Butler’s Soy Curls or tofu. If you’re using tofu we have a tutorial for making excellent crispy tofu that you can use as a beef substitute. Check out our recipe for Baked Tofu. Cut the tofu into 1/4 inch thick, 1 inch long strips to resemble beef and follow the instructions as outlined in that tutorial.
Mongolian Beef Recipe
Let’s get started!
Coat the beef strips with cornstarch.
Prepare the sauce by combining all ingredients, except for the garlic and ginger, in a bowl.
Heat the oil in a wok or heavy skillet and fry the beef until golden brown on both sides.
Remove the beef and discard all but about 2 teaspoons of the oil.
Fry the ginger and garlic in the skillet for 30 seconds.
Add the sauce mixture and simmer, constantly stirring, until it begins to thicken.
Return the beef to the wok along with the green onions and stir to coat.
Simmer for 1 minute so the green onions soften but remain crispy.
Serve immediately with steamed rice and/or crispy fried cellophane noodles.
Storage and Freezing
This will keep for 3-4 days in the fridge and can be reheated in the microwave or on the stovetop. It can also be frozen: place it in an airtight freezer container or ziplock freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Then simply reheat in the microwave and serve with rice.
Enjoy!
Want to bulk up this dish with more veggies? Simply add some steamed broccoli and/or fry some bell peppers along with the chicken. You can also toss in some bean sprouts at the very end.
For more delicious Chinese dishes be sure to try my:
- Orange Beef
- Sesame Chicken
- Beef and Broccoli
- Egg Foo Young
- General Tso’s Chicken
- Kung Pao Chicken
- Biang Biang Noodles
- Beef Stir Fry
- Orange Chicken
- Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Wonton Soup
- Shanghai Noodles
- Mongolian Chicken
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Mongolian Beef
Ingredients
- 1 pound flank steak or beef tenderloin cut into thin strips (this recipe also works great with chicken) (See note for vegan option)
- cornstarch for coating
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- For the Sauce:
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger , minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh garlic , minced
- 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce (a critical ingredient)
- OR Best Homemade Hoisin Sauce , click link for recipe (highly recommended for the ULTIMATE flavor!)
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup tamari (can substitute low sodium soy sauce but tamari has a much better/richer flavor)
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 bunches green onions , cut into 2 inch pieces
Instructions
- Add some oil to a hot wok or heavy skillet. Lightly coat the beef strips in cornstarch and shake to remove excess. Stir-fry beef until caramelized on both sides. Remove the meat from the wok and set aside. Discard all but 2 teaspoons of the oil.
- To make sauce: Add the ginger and garlic to the wok and stir-fry for about 30 seconds. Add remaining sauce ingredients, except for the green onions. Let the sauce simmer for 2 minutes, until sauce begins to thicken.
- Return beef to the sauce and stir to coat. Add the green onions and stir again to coat. Simmer for 1 minute seconds. Serve immediately with steamed rice and/or crispy fried cellophane noodles.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet October 2013
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
I love Mongolian Beef! And I love your photos in this post! They all look so gorgeous and appetizing! I would love to try making this dish at home one of these days.
Hello, Sharon! Thanks so much for the compliment! This recipe was carefully crafted and I think you will be very happy with the results. Be sure to let me know what you think when you get around to trying it! Thanks for stopping by!
Yum…!
Delicious! I added cut up red peppers with the green onion; colorful!
Next time I might add a little red pepper flakes to give a little heat.
Awesome, Heidi! So glad you liked it!
Just made this for dinner and it came out amazing! I used pork instead of beef (because it was on sale) and I added about 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes because I like the heat. I didn’t bother stir frying the garlic and ginger because I tend to burn those :P I was confused on how much a bundle of green onion was because I bought a prepackaged bag, but I realized that they cook down a lot so next time I’ll use more. Thanks for sharing!
That’s wonderful, Andrew, I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it! Thanks for trying it and for your feedback – hope you try some more Daring Gourmet recipes!
This is the BEST mongolian beef recipe we have tried!!! And we have tried a few!! YUM!!! Next time I think i will add a dash of red pepper flakes for some spice. And I will just pour the mixed sauce over the beef, instead of taking the beef out, and waiting, then adding it back. Hopefully this will help the beef absorb more of the flavor. But I was absolutley delish!
Awesome!! I’m so glad you liked it! I’m very methodical in writing down every little addition as I go along, tasting each step of the way and adding a little more of this and that. I try to perfect my dishes so that they’re “kitchen ready” and will turn out a success for everyone who follows the recipes. When I make them again down the road I often give them an additional little tweak here and there, always reaching for perfection ;) Thanks again for your feedback. Hope you try some other recipes and let me know what you think. Happy cooking! – Kimberly
I made this last night and it was a huge hit. Huge! Thanks!!
Excellent!! So very happy to hear that. Thanks for giving it a try and for your feedback.
Do you need dark or light soya sauce here? I think here dark is all that’s available but I’m afraid if I use that, it might become too salty.
Thanks for asking! What you’ll most commonly find in stores is light soy sauce (and it’s usually just labelled “soy sauce”) and that’s what’s used here. “light” is not to be confused with “low sodium” – they’re two different things. Dark soy sauce is darker (obviously) and has a thicker, almost molasses-like consistency. It’s actually less salty than light soy sauce but because of its stronger flavor thus a smaller quantity is used in cooking with it. You can use either. But if using dark, use less of it and you may actually need to add a little more salt. You can also use a combination of the two. Keep in mind also that dark soy sauce has somewhat of a molasses-like flavor, which you’re already getting from the brown sugar. My recommendation, if you’re using dark soy sauce, would be to use white sugar instead. Let me know how you like the recipe and thanks for stopping by!
Made this last night and it was a hit. I did not have flank steak so I used a London Broil instead. Thanks for keeping these easy and packed with flavor!
Wonderful! Most cuts of beef will do the job. If it’s a tougher cut, it can be tenderized first. I’m so glad you tried and liked it! Thanks for your feedback.