What, exactly, are the origins of Mongolian Beef? It’s definitely not Mongolian… In fact, in Mongolia, more often than not, meat is simply boiled and dipped in sauces–not exactly a stir-fry. Of course, everything is served with Bai Jiu, a stiff, white lightning liquor made of sorghum (usually 90 proof or higher!) that is very popular in China. (A friend of mine who visits his Mongolian in-laws almost always ends up drunk and horizontal on the couch after the traditional welcome-home dinner!)
As for the true origins of Mongolian beef, my theory is that someone just forgot to add the orange to a wok full of Orange Beef, and added more sugar instead. Hence, the Mongolian Beef recipe was born. (But, as Judy and the girls would say, that’s just my crazy theory/the ramblings of an old coot!)
Anyway, chalk it up to Chinese-American menu planners and marketers who dubbed the dish “Mongolian Beef.” It’s a close cousin to “Singapore Noodles,” a dish that many actual Singaporeans scratch their heads over––most likely born in the stainless steel kitchen of a Chinese takeout joint! So when we say our Mongolian Beef recipe is “authentic,” we simply mean that it’s very close to what one would expect from a restaurant––only better!
Now that we have that clear, it doesn’t take a genius to know that despite their somewhat misleading names, these dishes can be GOOD! P.F. Chang’s version of this dish is probably the most well-known, but, personally, I think their dish is way too sweet, and it’s definitely too sweet for Judy (which is saying something, since she comes from Shanghai, where sweet-savory dishes are often the main event). In fact, when Judy found out I was going to make a Mongolian beef recipe, the exclamations were strong and immediate: “Too sweet! Too oily! No good! You’re crazy!”
So, I adjusted.
Cut the sugar–wayyy down.
Reduce the amount of oil used–wayyy down.
And…after the photographs were taken, the Mongolian beef on the plate disappeared before all of our eyes once the rice was served. Amidst the feeding frenzy were these comments, muffled by mouthfuls:
Sarah: “Holy crap, that’s tasty!”
Kaitlin: “Daaang, gimme more of that rice!”
Judy: “WOW. That is SO good!”
My humble remark: “Ok, you guys were hungry.”
If you would rather have some chicken, then check out our popular Mongolian Chicken recipe!
You’ll need:
- 8 ounces flank steak, sliced against the grain into 1/4-inch thick slices
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon plus 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil, for frying the beef
- 1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
- 5 dried red chili peppers (optional)
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup water or low sodium chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch, mixed with 1 tablespoon water
- 2 scallions, cut into 1-inch long slices on the diagonal
Marinate the beef for 1 hour in 1 teaspoon oil, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Dredge the meat in the remaining 1/4 cup of cornstarch until lightly coated.
Heat 1/3 cup oil in the wok over high heat. Just before the oil starts to smoke, spread the flank steak pieces evenly in the wok, and let sear for 1 minute (depending upon the heat of your wok). Fry in smaller batches for best results! Turn over and let the other side sear for another 30 seconds.
Remove to a sheet pan; tilt it slightly to let the oil drain to one side (lean it on a cookbook or cutting board). The beef should be seared with a crusty coating.
Drain the oil from the wok, leaving 1 tablespoon behind, and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the ginger and dried chili peppers, if using.
After about 15 seconds, add the garlic. Stir for another 10 seconds and add the low sodium soy sauce and chicken stock (or water). Bring the sauce to a simmer, add the brown sugar, and stir until dissolved.
Let the sauce simmer for about 2 minutes and slowly stir in the cornstarch slurry mixture–until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Add the beef and scallions and toss everything for another 30 seconds.
There should be almost no liquid as the sauce should be clinging to the beef. If you still have sauce, increase the heat slightly and stir until thickened.
Plate and serve with hot steamed rice!
- 8 ounces flank steak, sliced against the grain into ¼-inch thick slices
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 1 teaspoon low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon plus ¼ cup cornstarch
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil, for frying the beef
- ½ teaspoon minced ginger
- 5 dried red chili peppers (optional)
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup water or low sodium chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch, mixed with 1 tablespoon water
- 2 scallions, cut into 1-inch long slices on the diagonal
- Marinate the beef for 1 hour in 1 teaspoon oil, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon cornstarch.
- Once marinated, dredge the meat in the remaining ¼ cup of cornstarch until lightly coated.
- Heat ⅓ cup vegetable oil in the wok over high heat. Just before the oil starts to smoke, spread the flank steak pieces evenly in the wok, and let sear for 1 minute (depending upon the heat of your wok). Turn over and let the other side sear for another 30 seconds. Remove to a sheet pan; tilt it slightly to let the oil drain to one side (lean it on a cookbook or cutting board). The beef should be seared with a crusty coating.
- Drain the oil from the wok, leaving 1 tablespoon behind, and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the ginger and dried chili peppers, if using. After about 15 seconds, add the chopped garlic. Stir for another 10 seconds and add the ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce and chicken stock (or water).
- Bring the sauce to a simmer, add the brown sugar, and stir until dissolved.
- Let the sauce simmer for about 2 minutes and slowly stir in the cornstarch slurry mixture--until the sauce coats the back of a spoon.
- Add the beef and scallions and toss everything together for another 30 seconds. There should be almost no liquid, as the sauce should be clinging to the beef. If you still have sauce, increase the heat slightly and stir until thickened.
- Plate and serve with steamed rice!
Bruce says
great recipes! question can anyone tell me
what temperature should my wok be for high with a heat gun?
thanks
Dad Life says
This Mongolian beef looks amazing, my mouth is watering already. I am going to make sure I have these ingredients and make it, this weekend.
Bill says
It’s definitely a recipe you want to try :)
Regina Rosin says
I was looking for a Mongolian beef recepie for ages. I lived in australia for many years and ate it there in the chinese restaurants. But they also cooked it with lamb. I will try it out very soon and let you know how i was going
Thanks
( how much different will it be without the chilli peppers, or can i just use them for frying and then remove them )
Bill says
Hi Regina, The chili peppers add a little bit of toasted flavors and maybe a hint of heat. frying them and removing them maybe a good idea in case you’re worried about eating one accidentally ;-)
Rochelle says
This recipe has become a family favorite!! We follow the directions exactly and it turns out perfectly every time. We use thin sliced stir fry meat from the meat counter nand it keeps a little bit of crunch to the crust. Love it with rice.
Bill says
Good job Rochelle – you have this recipe mastered :)
Sarah says
I just tried this recipe last night and it was delicious! So easy to make, and it was perfectly crispy, and had a nice spicy kick to it from the chili peppers! Thank you once again for another amazing, easy to follow recipe!
Bill says
Hi Sarah, beautiful description of this dish and it sounds to me like you nailed it!
Kitty says
Gave this a try last night and it was great! But I cooked for a crowd and used 4 lbs of flank steak, which is 8X the recipe as written. I did not multiply all the ingredients by eight, though. I just kind of winged it on the sugar and the soy sauce. Also, did not have the peppers, but added a couple tablespoons of Sriracha when cooking the sauce. I fried the meat in small batches. Turned out perfect! But I did cook the sauce in one batch and then stirred in all the beef and onions at the end. This dish reminds me a lot of an orange beef I cook, but of course, there is no orange in this. For grins, I may add some orange zest or substitute some OJ for part of the liquid next time around. At any rate, fantastic recipe that my hungry dinner guests devoured. Lots of yummy noises at the table. Thanks!
Bill says
Hi Kitty, cooking large batches for many people can be quite challenging but it sounds like you had a successful dinner party!
Ros and GJ Hirshman says
Ta so much for the laughs! Loved your comments. I have been looking for a recipe like this that closely resembles the dish that we love from our favourite Chinese Restaurant. My question is, does it matter too much if you leave out the Ginger?
I will definitely be trying it this week.
Please tell Kaitlin as an Aussie living in the US, I had to smile at her two fingered salute in the photo. It is SO Australian, and good on her! Teenage daughters know how to stir things up – no pun intended on a recipe site!
Looking forward to trying out the recipe.
with thanks,
Ros and GJ.
Bill says
Hi Ros and GJ, I definitely will mention your comment to Kaitlin although she has most likely seen it and had a good laugh! Regarding the ginger, yes, you can definitely leave it out if you’re not ginger loving folks :)
Marshall says
Your ingredient list is missing something. The 4th line says plus 1/4 cup ???
Not sure how this is going to turn out as I’ve already started the process and it looks like sludge (I even added more soy sauce to thin the marinade).
Bill says
Hi Marshall, that means 1 tablespoon cornstarch, plus an additional 1/4 cup more cornstarch––each quantity is used in a different step of the recipe. Sorry for the misunderstanding – I changed the line to “1 tablespoon plus 1/4 cup of cornstarch”