This easy Mongolian Beef recipe rivals take-out food. My family loved this Chinese dish, now you can make tasty take-out style Mongolian beef without having to wait for delivery. This stir fry recipe is quick to make!
Favorite Chinese Stir-Fry Recipe
I find that most people love anything that tastes like Chinese takeout and Mongolian beef is no exception. The sweet flavor of the dark brown sugar mixed with the salty soy sauce and the strong ginger and garlic is incredibly addicting. Then you get to enjoy it over a mountain of steamed rice.
What is Mongolian Beef
Although the name implies that this dish comes from Mongolia, Mongolian beef is a dish typically served in Chinese restaurants. This beef stir-fry dish is one of the meat dishes originating in Taiwan, the place where Mongolian barbecue restaurants first came on to the scene.
However, there is a historical connection with Mongolia. Legend has it that when Genghis Khan’s armies camped for the night. They placed their round iron shields down on the glowing embers of their fires for use as cooking surfaces. This was the original Mongolian barbecue.
Mongolian beef is a tasty blend of thinly sliced beef (usually flank steak) stir-fried with vegetables in a delicious brown sauce. In Chinese restaurants, it is typically served over steamed rice or crispy fried cellophane noodles.
I find that most people love anything that tastes like Chinese takeout and Mongolian beef is no exception. The sweet flavor of the dark brown sugar mixed with the salty soy sauce and the strong ginger and garlic is incredibly addicting. Then you get to enjoy it over a mountain of steamed rice.
What Makes Mongolian Beef Sauce So Special
Mongolian beef sauce is a dark, sweet, and salty sauce. It is usually made with soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and chili peppers.
Hoisin sauce is thick and fragrant and is commonly used in Chinese cooking as an addition to stir-fries, a glaze for meat, and as a dipping sauce. Although regional varieties exist, hoisin sauce usually consists of soybeans, red chilies, fennel seeds, and garlic.
Recipe Ingredients
Here’s a list of what you need:
- Flank steak or filet mignon
- Cornstarch
- Wok oil or vegetable oil
- Fresh ginger
- Garlic
- Soy Sauce
- Rice wine vinegar or Mirin
- Dark brown sugar
- Red pepper flakes
- White button mushrooms
- Green onions
How to Make Mongolian Beef
This Mongolian Beef is very flavorful and easy to make. You can make this dish in a large frying pan. For best results, use a wok because woks are great for stir-frying. Here are the steps for making this recipe:
- Slice beef very thin and gently pound meat into uniform pieces.
- Dip the steak slices into cornstarch and shake off the excess.
- Heat oil in a wok.
- Place beef slices in a single layer in the wok.
- Stir-fry beef until just done.
- Remove the steak from the wok.
- Add minced ginger and garlic to the wok and stir-fry for about 1 minute.
- Combine soy sauce, water, red pepper flakes, brown sugar, and rice wine vinegar in a bowl.
- Add the sauce to the wok and cook until the sauce thickens.
- Return the meat to the wok.
- Add sliced mushrooms to the wok and cook for about 1 minute.
- Add chopped green onion white portions and add half of the green portions.
- Cook for another minute then transfer to a serving bowl or platter.
- Sprinkle the remaining green onion slices on top.
- Serve with steamed white rice.
Recipe Tips
- To make it easy to cut the steak thinly. You can use shaved beef in this recipe. Shaved beef is easy to prepare by freezing the steak for about 1 hour before slicing. This will freeze it just enough that slicing it will be just as easy as slicing a vegetable.
- When you slice your beef, slice across the grain (you can see the grain running through the meat in one direction). The grain is essentially the muscle fibers running through the meat. If you cut the beef parallel to the grain, you will get slices with long muscle fibers which makes the meat rubbery and difficult to chew.
- You can substitute light brown sugar for dark brown if you don’t have any dark brown on hand. However, you will sacrifice some flavor – the molasses in the dark brown sugar adds to the depth of flavor in this dish.
How to store and reheat Mongolian Beef
If you have any leftovers you should store these in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can freeze any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 30 months.
I recommend reheating this on the stovetop over medium-low heat in a skillet. This way the beef will remain tender, compared to reheating it in the microwave.
Looking for more copycat Chinese food recipes? Try these!
- Beef Chow Fun
- Panda Express Fire Cracker Chicken
- General Tso’s Chicken
- Chinese Spare Ribs
- Chinese Buffet Seafood Bake
- Panda Express Chow Mein
- Chinese Chicken Salad
- Chinese Crunch Salad
- Egg Foo Young
- Egg Drop Soup
- Chinese Hot Mustard
- Sweet and Sour Sauce
- Chinese Almond Cookies
- Chinese Donuts
Find even more easy Chinese food recipes and the best copycat recipes right here on CopyKat!
Mongolian Beef
Ingredients
Stir Fry Beef
- 8 ounces flank steak or filet
- 4 tablespoons cornstarch
- 4 tablespoons wok oil or vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 2 teaspoon minced garlic
Mongolian Sauce Ingredients
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar or Mirin
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Stir Fry Add Ins
- 10 ounces white button mushrooms washed and sliced
- 1/4 cup green onion bottoms (white only)
- 1/4 cup green onion tops green only
Instructions
Stir frying the beef
- Slice beef very thin, approximately 1/4 to 3/8 inches thick. Place the slices between sheets of plastic wrap and use a meat tenderizer to gently pound meat into uniform pieces. If you are using flank or skirt steak, cut the meat diagonally, it will help make the meat more tender.
- Place cornstarch in a bowl and dip the steak pieces into cornstarch and shake off excess cornstarch. Allow the cornstarch dipped pieces of meat to rest for 5 to 10 minutes so the coating sticks to the meat. While the meat is resting you can continue to prep the remaining ingredients.
- In a wok, heat wok oil (vegetable oil is ok to use). Place the beef slices in a single layer in the pan. Saute beef until just done, and the outside begins to crisp. Remove the meat from the pan. You may need to do this a few pieces at a time.
- Once all of the meat has been cooked and removed from the pan, add minced ginger and garlic. Saute ginger and garlic for approximately 60 seconds, the remaining oil should become very fragrant.
Mongolian Beef Sauce
- In a small bowl combine soy sauce, water, red pepper flakes, brown sugar, and rice wine vinegar. Stir well. Add the sauce to the pan and cook it until the sauce thickens. Return the meat to the pan. Add sliced button mushrooms to the pan.
Finishing the dish
- Cook for another 60 seconds or so and add chopped green onion white portions only and add half of the green portions. When serving the Mongolian beef add remaining green onion slices to the dish.
Martin says
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Stephanie
There are multiple print buttons on the website.
Arletta
I didn’t see Hoison sauce in the recipe. Is it an option? If so, how much should I add to the sauce?
Stephanie
I don’t have any in this recipe. I don’t see that a tablespoon or two would hurt. I would add it to the sauce.