Mongolian Beef (original) (raw)

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My family cannot get enough of Asian food, and any time I crank out a dish that announces itself with aromas of garlic, ginger, and soy sauce I pretty much know dinner will be a success. This easy Mongolian beef recipe is one of their favorites. Tender paper-thin beef is quickly seared, then coated in a flavorful glaze-like sauce. The whole thing takes less than half an hour, start to finish!

Serve this Asian beef recipe with Asian Greens, Thai Green Beans, and/or Vietnamese Cucumber Salad, and piles of fluffy white rice!

Table of Contents

• What Is Mongolian Beef?
• Shaved Beef Steak for Mongolian Beef
• How to Make Mongolian Beef
• How to Serve Mongolian Beef
• Mongolian Vegetables
• What to Serve With Mongolian Beef
• More Asian-Inspired Beef Recipes
• Mongolian Beef Recipe

This 20-minute dish is so easy to make, with a wonderful savory-sweet glaze coating the ultra thin slices of steak.

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What Is Mongolian Beef?

Mongolian Beef is a Chinese-American (or American-Chinese) dish consisting of paper thin shaved beef coated with a savory brown sauce that includes hoisin (usually), soy sauce, and chili peppers (or something spicy), plus some other additions. Usually there is some sweetness added as well, here it’s brown sugar, which allows the sauce to caramelize so nicely.

It is highly reminiscent of the kind of dish you might get at an old-school Chinese restaurant. Often, broccoli is included, and I am going to add some next time, for for now…simple stir fried broccoli on the side would be great.

Shaved Beef Steak for Mongolian Beef

Look for shaved beef steak, sometimes called beef shaved steak — napkin-thin slices of beef that can come from any part of the cow. It might be labeled “sandwich steak” (designed for sandwiches like Philly cheesesteaks) or shabu-shabu beef (intended for Japanese cooking, or possibly Chinese hot-pot) or Pho (used in the traditional Vietnamese soup). It also could be called braciole beef (used in that classic Italian dish where it is wrapped around a filling, usually involving breadcrumbs and cheese). Bulgogi in Korean markets. Rouladen in German butcheries.

If you have a friendly butcher, ordering this cut of beef can generate some interesting conversation about the different ways to cook it.

Mongolian beef can also be made with different types of thinly sliced or small-cut meat. If shaved beef isn’t an option, place a piece of skirt or flank steak in the freezer until quite firm but not totally frozen. Thinly slice it across the grain and use that instead. It will essentially defrost almost as soon as you slice it, before it hits the hot skillet or wok. Slicing the meat super thin allows every little bit of beef to be coated with a wonderful glaze.

If you happen to have a meat slicer, then this is the perfect recipe to put it to good use! Freeze the meat until firm but not solid before slicing it thinly with the machine.

How to Make Mongolian Beef

1. Coat the beef with cornstarch and sauté: Dusting the thin slices of beef in cornstarch before sautéing them allows them to brown nicely. Sauté in batches so it can brown evenly. This is slightly annoying, but it goes SO fast. And then, when the sautéed beef meets with the sauce, the cornstarch not only helps thicken the sauce but also allows the sauce to coat the beef deliciously.

1. Add the sauce: Once all of the meat has browned, put it back in the pan and add the sauce. Toss until the glaze thickens and smells lovely.

1. Finish the Mongolian Beef: The scallions add a little bit of spiciness and some welcome fresh green. Toss until everything is well combined.

How to Serve Mongolian Beef

Serve Mongolian beef up with over some hot rice. For an old-school Chinese-American dish, I default to white rice. This kind of food makes me wonder where the little packets of duck sauce are. It seems like it could really work.

I could make this once a week for my family and they would be thrilled. I once served this up with some Blistered Green Beans with Miso Butter. It really worked. And do give the beef one last sprinkle of fresh sliced scallions.

Mongolian Vegetables

Instead of beef, try this with a mixture of broccoli florets, sliced peppers, sliced carrots, and snow peas. Use 6 cups of vegetables in total, and treat them just as you would the sliced beef, dusting them with cornstarch and sautéing them just until tender before adding the sauce.

And, if you want to use half beef (3/4 pound) and half vegetables (3 cups), just sauté them separately, with 6 teaspoons of cornstarch mixed with each, and then add half of the sauce and scallions to each of the pans and finish cooking.

What to Serve With Mongolian Beef

More Asian-Inspired Beef Recipes

• Slow Cooker Teriyaki Beef Tip Steaks
• Spicy Stir-Fried Beef and Vegetables
• Asian Beef Mushroom Burgers

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• ▢ ¼ cup approximately plus 2 teaspoons vegetable or canola oil (divided)

• ▢ 2 teaspoons finely minced garlic

• ▢ 1 tablespoon freshly minced ginger

• ▢ ½ cup less sodium soy sauce

• ▢ ⅓ cup packed brown sugar

• ▢ 1 ½ pounds beef shaved steak (see recipe intro for more info)

• ▢ 3 tablespoons cornstarch

• ▢ 6 scallions (trimmed and thinly sliced; white and green parts)

• ▢ Hot cooked brown or white rice (to serve)

• In a small saucepan, heat 2 teaspoons of the oil. Add the garlic and ginger, and sauté for 30 seconds, then add the soy sauce and brown sugar and bring to a simmer, whisking frequently over medium heat. Allow it to simmer and reduce a bit, until it gets a glazey consistency, about 4 minutes. Set aside.

• Meanwhile, toss the shaved steak in a mixing bowl with the cornstarch until evenly distributed.

• Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet (the bigger the better) over medium-high heat. Line a counter or a large plate with paper towels. Sauté the beef in batches, taking care not to crowd the pan, and flipping it as it browns, about 2 minutes in all. Use tongs to remove the beef when it is browned, transferring it to the paper towels. Repeat until all of the beef is browned, adding more oil as needed (make sure the oil has a chance to get hot before you add the next batch of beef so it browns up nicely).

• Pour off any additional oil and return the large skillet to medium-high heat. Add all of the beef back to the pan, along with the sauce and scallions. Stir for about 3 minutes until the sauce is thickened and glazes all of the meat evenly. Serve over the rice.

What the Kids Can Do: Slice scallions with supervision, measure the sauce ingredients, and help prepare the rice.

Calories: 445.54kcal, Carbohydrates: 18.86g, Protein: 20.9g, Fat: 31.82g, Saturated Fat: 16.11g, Cholesterol: 80.51mg, Sodium: 790.26mg, Potassium: 393.8mg, Fiber: 0.48g, Sugar: 12.53g, Vitamin A: 119.64IU, Vitamin C: 2.57mg, Calcium: 44.62mg, Iron: 2.9mg

Katie Workman is a cook, a writer, a mother of two, an activist in hunger issues, and an enthusiastic advocate for family meals, which is the inspiration behind her two beloved cookbooks, Dinner Solved! and The Mom 100 Cookbook.

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