INGREDIENTS
- 1 pound flank steak sliced into 1/4 inch thick strips
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 jalapeño seeded and diced
- 1 inch ginger peeled and diced
- 3 scallions thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
For the sauce:
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
INSTRUCTIONS
- Toss the sliced beef in a large bowl with 2 tablespoons corn starch. Set aside.
- Add all sauce ingredients to a mixing bowl, and stir until combined. Set aside.
- Heat a pan over medium heat for a few minutes until hot. Add canola oil to coat the bottom. Add jalapeño and ginger. Cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add garlic and sliced beef to the pan, evenly distributing the beef. Cook until the beef browns, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Stir the sauce and pour it into the pan with the beef. Mix well until everything is coated with the sticky sauce. Let simmer for a minute until thickened.
- Remove the pan from heat and stir in scallions. Serve over cooked white rice.
Mongolian beef is one of those recipes where the word authentic doesn’t apply, as it didn’t originate from traditional Mongolian cuisine. Its name derives from “Mongolian barbecue,” which is made-to-order cooking that became popular in Taiwanese restaurants but actually has nothing to do with Mongolian cuisine or barbecue.
Instead, Mongolian beef is a dish that you’ll only really find in Chinese-American restaurants in the United States, like P.F. Chang’s. It’s a very popular dish and it’s easy to see why, with its deliciously strong savory sauce coating the sliced beef and rice. It’s also really easy and fast to make at home.
Let’s talk about the beef. It should be very tender, and here’s a summary of my best tips for getting your beef to otherworldly tenderness:
- Thin cuts: A 1/4 inch thick slice of beef is what I typically use, but if you want more tender beef, you can try slicing even thinner pieces. The thinner the beef, the more tender it will be.
- Slice against the grain: Notice the long muscle fibers across the beef and how they are aligned. I recommend slicing perpendicular to those lines, so that you are cutting through the fibers. This will result in less work for your teeth and it will make the beef feel more tender.
- Premium cuts: I use flank steak for this dish, but if you opt for more premium cuts then you will get beef from more tender parts of the cow.
- Corn starch: Toss the sliced beef with corn starch prior to searing, as it’ll soften and tenderize the beef. This is a common step in many Chinese dishes. Corn starch also helps the beef retain its liquids so that it doesn’t exude juices when it’s cooked.
- Quick sear: Don’t overcook the beef slices — just a quick sear until they’re browned. If you overcook the beef, it will get rough and hard.
If you follow these steps, you’ll end up with deliciously tender beef every time. You can also apply these tips to my other sliced beef dishes, such as my garlic herb steak and potatoes, crazy good beef and broccoli, and low carb beef and broccoli.
The dish is only mildly spicy; to make it hotter, include the seeds and membranes of the jalapeño when you add it to the pan. Or you can substitute it with a serrano pepper, which has nearly double the Scoville heat units of a jalapeño.
My daughter’s new favorite dinner!
Just made. It was a hit we added water chestnuts for some crunch.
Nice idea!! I added broccoli
Delicious! This is the best Mongolian Beef recipe out there! I’ve tried several!!
I made this last night it was so simple and fast. My children started commenting that it had better taste as good as it smelled……. It didnt disappoint. Better than a chinese takeaway and less than a third the price. I added water to get a thick sauce as we prefer this. It is definately going on our favourites to make frequently list. Thank you for sharing such a simple easy crowd pleaser recipie.
I’m not much a cook. I’ve been trying to cook at home and come up with easy and delicious recipe. This hit the spot! If I can make this, anyone can!
Delicious! Made exactly as recipe instructed. My kids, husband, and mother all loved it!
Thanks for the recipe! I doubled the sauce on this but it got way too thick. I think the next time I make it I will double the sauce again, but scale back the brown sugar and cornstarch. I will replace some of the sugar with orange juice also to cut through the saltiness also. I used low sodium soy sauce, but it was still pretty salty. The meat was cooked perfectly! I can’t wait to have leftovers tomorrow for lunch!
I loved this recipe. Super easy and yummy!!!!! I added veggies, I forgot the ginger and it was still amazing! After all the changes, maybe it wasn’t Mongolian Beef but, it was still a HIT with the fam including 2 picky pre-teens!
I’ve made this several times. Delish!!
Wondering….could a person use this recipe and add broccoli and mushrooms? Would it taste anywhere near close to a beef and broccoli dish – I’ve never made it before but I’m seeing different ingredients for the beef and broccoli.
Adding broccoli and mushrooms would work well in this recipe. Mongolian Beef tends to have a sweeter, stickier sauce than Beef and Broccoli, but other than that they’re pretty similar. Here’s my Beef and Broccoli recipe: https://www.savorytooth.com/beef-broccoli/
I have made this recipe many times. I double it for my family of 5 (4 boys). It is so easy and incredibly tasty. The sauce caramelizes the meat. I have added red peppers and carrots. We love it.
How much sauce does it make? Loads or just enough to cover the beef?
It makes about 1 cup of sauce, which is much more than needed to cover the beef. I recommend serving with a side dish (like some kind of rice) to help soak up the extra sauce, otherwise it may taste overly salty.
Made this and extremely tasty and simple dish to make. Thank you.
Made this many times. Tasty and easy. Never disappoints!
I made this in my instantpot. Already had some rice left over from another meal. Heated the rice and spooned the steak and sauce over it. DELICIOUS! Hubby said it was really good!
I added red peppers, carrots and spinach
Made this dish tonight, it was very flavorful and delicious! It smelled amazing as it cooked. Hubby was loving it, which is a plus. Thanks for sharing.
So I eat Paleo and made a few substitutions and it was AMAZING!! Sub corn starch for arrowroot orTapioca starch. Sub brown sugar with date syrup and a little molasses for the brown sugar taste. Sub soy sauce for coconut aminos.
Also, didn’t have any beef so did pork. Again, Amazing!!! Will be making this again.
And, I added broccoli
I have made this recipe so many times and it is no doubt my favorite in my current rotation. Thank you!
Made this evening and was delicious and everyone enjoyed
Thank you so much
I made this for a potluck and everybody loved it ! Thanh you goood the recipe !
I made this tonight and what a great dish! I added some sliced red peppers and it was so good. We had it over fresh jasmine rice.
Thank you!!!
It came out perfect!
I made this twice and it’s very delicious, bursting with flavor. One thing I noted was that I should’ve taken the recommendation to go with the low sodium option soy sauce to make it slightly less salty but my husband loved it the same
I like this a different way. I fry the meat separate from the other ingredients. Coat with cornstarch, and fry on high heat until very brown. I fry the ginger and garlic in a separate saucepan. then add the soy sauce, let it almost boil…then add the brown sugar. This makes it thick. Your recipe looks very mushy and not cooked well. Sorry.
I’ve done it both ways, cooking the sauce separately vs together. I found that it doesn’t make much of a difference in the dish’s final texture and taste.