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
- 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!
The flavoring of this recipe looks delightful and tasty!
It’s soooo good, Heather, and so easy and fast – always a winning combination! :)
we love getting mongolian beef for take-out, now I am excited to try it at home. you actually make it sounds pretty fast and easy
It’s so easy and quick, Heather, you’re going to love this!
This looks so delicious! I love Chinese food, this sounds like a great alternative to ordering!
Thanks, Marye! It’s one of our favorites.
Hi Kimberly, wow I searched the internet for a good recipe and yours looked like it might be close to my gentleman friends favorite restaurant. I tried it tonight and he normally has one helping of anything I make or anyone makes, not tonight, he had three helpings, in fact finished it off!!!! He said I could make this anytime! It was quick and easy and frying the meat with the cornstarch turned out great. I just wish I had more onions than I had.
Here’s to Paul venison would be wonderful but so would elk, love elk!
Just to say we’re in White Salmon and Goldendale, close to the Gorge, nice to kinda be neighbors!! Loved your recipe and it’s definitely a keeper!!! Whaaaahoooo
thanks, Robin
Ditto the whaaaahooo, Robin, I’m thrilled to hear it was such a hit, thank you! I agree, this would be great with elk. I’m so happy you found my site and look forward to seeing you around, neighbor! :) Best, Kimberly
MAKE IT FRESHLY KILLED VENISON, SO TENDER!!!! GREAT WHEN YOU FIRST PART OUT YOUR DEER. USE THE ROAST SECTION. I THREW IN CARROTS AND BOKCHOY ALSO.
Hi Paul! That is something I’m going to have to take your word for because I cannot imagine Mongolian beef made with deer! :) Thanks for the info and I’m thrilled you enjoyed it!
Great recipe super easy and quick, best part is I made it with stuff I had on hand no extra trips to the store!
Well truthfully the best part is all three of my kids liked it!
Nick, that last part really is the best, isn’t it? :) Thanks so much for making this and for your feedback!
Just discovered this blog this week and already in love with it. Cooked this recipe tonight and it went down very well!
I thought I had hoisin sauce at home, but I didn’t and couldn’t be bothered to go back to the shop so I used Teriyaki sauce instead. I had to balance it out with a bit more brown sugar though. No disrespect intended with the substitution, I usually keep a very well stocked and diverse pantry :P
I forgot to ask, where is that reddish colour coming from in your pictures? Apart from the hoisin, which is brown anyway, I used all the same ingredients and the beef is just brown.
Hi Kelvin, I think that’s strictly a lighting issue. If I’m remembering correctly I think I had to use artificial lights for this one since it was dark outside. Brown is perfectly acceptable :)
Awesome, Kelvin! We’re huge fans of this Mongolian Beef and I’m thrilled you enjoyed it – adding teriyaki sauce and extra brown sugar in a pinch was a good call.
Good flavor, I used flank steak and it was not tender enough for me, what could I have done to tenderize my meat?
Hi Connie, you can use beef tenderloin instead or pound the beef first with a meat tenderizer.
Thank you, we love this recipe, I will try this next time.
Thank you, let us know what you think!
Hi Kimberly, thank you so much for this wonderful recipe, Hubbie is not a lover of Mongolian Beef but when this was put in front of him his attitude changed, made it last night using lamb strips instead of beef and added 1/4 cup of oyster sauce as well, had friends over for dinner and the compliments came thick and fast, will be searching here in Australia to find suitable ingredients that I can substitute for many other of your recipes
I’m thrilled to hear that, Gayle! So glad it was a hit with your husband and friends. Let me know if I can be of any help suggesting ingredient substitutions if you have a hard time finding anything there. Best, Kimberly
I’ve tried, several times, to replicate my local chinese restaurant’s excellent mongloian beef sauce, but failed. I’m, now, going to try several internet MB recipes (including yours) and see if I can get any closer to my flavor goal. One thing’s for sure: Hoisin is definitely one of the flavors in their recipe…in fact, if I see a MB recipe without it, I quickly move on.
Hi Howie! Well, I can’t promise this will taste exactly like the mongolian beef at that particular restaurant, but I can promise that it’s GOOD! Give it a try and let us know what you think!
Hi. I’ve been looking into cooking this for my partner. He loves it and I want to surprise him with his favourite meal. I’m very impressed with the feedback on this page. I’ve decided to try this recipe but with others recipes ive seen they use brown sugar and oyster sauce instead of hoisins. What’s the difference? It’s my first time to try this so any tips would be greatly apriceted. Thanks in advance :)
Hi Marie! I’m sorry I’m just now getting back to you. We changed internet providers and it was down for several days. To answer your question, yes, you’ll find many variations out there and it simply comes down to personal preference and taste. Oyster sauce is made with fermented oysters and has an entirely different flavor than hoisin sauce, a very pleasant, mildly sweet sauce. Give this recipe a try and I’m confident you’ll love it!
It is not mongolian beef, it is chinese food
that is true
That’s right, Sarah. As I wrote in the first paragraph: “Though neither the ingredients nor the method of cooking is Mongolian in origin, the name is widely known and the dish is served throughout much of the Western world and in virtually every Chinese restaurant. Some claim this dish is Chinese-American, while others claim it was first invented in a Chinese restaurant in the UK.” So, it’s neither Mongolian nor authentic Chinese – but boy does it taste good! :)
This is so delicious! Oh my gosh! Thank you for the recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Annabelle!
I made this and it was a winner. I have shared this recipe with others too. One change that I have incorporated is that with the corn flour, I also add a little ground white pepper and Schezwan pepper, while preparing to coat the strips. Also instead of putting the corn flour in the sauce mix, I use it as a thickener once all the veggies (I used some bell peppers and cubed onions), chicken and sauce mix have been cooked together.
Hi Saranee! Thanks so much for your feedback and I’m happy it was a hit! This Mongolian Beef is made the traditional/authentic way, without any “extras”, but the important thing is that you make it according to how you like it best. If I’m not in the mood to make side vegetables to go with the meal, I’ll occasionally add them to the Mongolian beef (broccoli works nicely, too) for a rounded meal. My whole family loves this recipe as well – in fact, I just made it again last week. Thanks again, Saranee!
Can one substitute flour for cornstarch? If not, any other substitute?
Hi Filomena! There are several substitutes you can try: Arrowroot, Tapioca Starch, and Potato Starch. I wouldn’t recommend flour because it will give the sauce a milky appearance whereas starch doesn’t alter the color. I’ve heard that potato starch is quite difficult to work with – it can solidify very quickly when it’s hits the hot liquid. From what I’ve heard, arrowroot is one of the most common substitutes, particularly in Chinese cooking.