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Mongolian Beef Recipe

Updated on December 26th, 2023

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Mongolian beef is another dish that can occasionally be found at the Chinese buffets. Despite its name, Mongolian beef doesn’t come from Mongolian cuisine at all but is rather another Chinese-American dish. Mongolian beef consists of sliced fried strips of steak coated with a sweet and spicy sauce. I actually deep fried the steak strips and then added them to the wok, but this recipe calls for frying the steak in a wok first. I found this dish to have very good flavor and just the right amount of sweetness and spice for my liking. Mongolian beef is one of the more popular Chinese-American beef dishes in the United States. Serve with white rice and broccoli florets. Enjoy.

(Makes 2 Servings)

Mongolian Beef Recipe

Mongolian Beef Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 lb flank steak
  • ¼ cup cornstarch
  • 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
  • ½ teaspoon ginger (minced)
  • 1 tablespoon garlic (minced)
  • A ½ cup of soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup water
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons of rice wine
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 2 green onions (sliced)
  • 1 medium onion (sliced)
  • Oil (for frying)

Instructions

  1. To make the sauce- in a saucepan heat 2 teaspoons of oil. Add garlic and ginger, stir fry 10 seconds. Add soy sauce, wine, and water. Add brown sugar and dissolve into the sauce. Add red pepper flakes.
  2. Bring the sauce to a boil and boil for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.
    Slice the flank steak against the grain into ¼” thick slices.
  3. Tilt the knife blade at a 45-degree angle to the top of the steak to get wider cuts.
  4. Toss the steak slices with cornstarch and let the beef sit for 10 minutes (this is very important, do not skip).
  5. Heat up about a cup of oil in your wok to about medium heat. Add the beef slices to the wok and cook for 3 minutes (or use a deep fryer).
  6. Remove the meat from the wok with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Drain all of the oil from the wok expect about a tablespoon.
  7. Add onions to the wok and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the steak back to the wok and pour in the sauce.
  8. Cook while stirring until the sauce began to bubble.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

2

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 859Total Fat: 31gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 19gCholesterol: 179mgSodium: 3650mgCarbohydrates: 71gFiber: 2gSugar: 47gProtein: 69g

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.

© Blog Chef
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86 thoughts on “Mongolian Beef Recipe”

  1. Maria

    This recipe is delicious! I’ve made it twice with beef. So, today I decided to use 3 chicken breast I had and it turned out great! I added two table spoons of hoisin sauce and it’s yummy!

  2. Miko

    I agree with this recipe. It seems to best match my understanding of what I get at Chinese places. Only comment would be that to be really authentic you need WHOLE hot chiles, right?

  4. Yvonne

    This is the best recipe.I’ve been making this for the past 2 years and everybody loves it…Thanks for sharing this recipe…

  5. derrick

    I changed the recipe a bit but in the top five recipes I ever used. The family loved it, so no left overs for me. Must double next time. Thanks

  8. Bobby

    Sherayln- rice vinegar and rice wine are not really substitutes. Of course, you could but the dish would have a different flavor.

  10. Bobby

    Sasha- any white wine will work or if you don’t want to use alcohol, someone in the comments above made this using balsamic vinegar instead and had good results.

  11. Gloria

    Made this yesterday night and my family LOVED. My mom & dad thought the sauce would be great for marinating steak an chicken also! Thank you so much for the recipe(:

  15. Rebecca

    I have tried several Mongolian Beef recipes. None of them have been very good. This was my last attempt. It was AWESOME! Thanks for the great recipe!

  16. Rose

    This looks amazing it looks like REAL Mongolian Beef. I have only had it once at ONE restaurant in WA here in Hawaii its SOO hard to find REAL Chinese or any real food other then Hawaiian. I can’t wait to make this, this week! Thanks for sharing!

  17. Chris R

    Tried this out for the first time the other day, and it was DELICIOUS!!! I’m a novice cook and your instructions were clear, concise, and easy to follow. The only thing I did differently was throw in more pepper flakes (I like spicy). I did however forget to let the beef sit for 10 minutes haha, despite that it still turned out well… Making it again tonight and I cannot wait! Thanks for the recipe!

  18. Dayna

    I love mongolian beef so I was eager to try this out. I don’t normally use flank steak so I’m not sure what the consistency is supposed to be like, but mine was rather chewy and nasty. Maybe I just got a bad piece? Anyway, I ended up just eating the sauce over rice and it was fabulous! I like spicy so I added more red pepper flakes, chili oil, hot bean paste and sirachi (sp?). I didn’t have any ginger though and it was still delicious. Thank you for sharing. I found this recipe via Pinterest.

  19. suzie P

    I made this for dinner it very good,the sauce could be used for all kinds of stir fry’s I will be making it again. YUMMY

  20. Jessica Grove

    I’m in the process of making right now. One of my favorite dishes to make! I love love loooove this recipe, it’s exactly what I was looking for! Much appreciated and I’m sure my boyfriend appreciates too (he keeps stealing meat)! Just a suggestion for the people who are having meat problems.. I use the flank steak with the flames on it, not the regular kind. I also cook the meat for longer to give it less of the chewy taste.

  21. david meurer

    The restaraunt by my house that made the closest thing to mongolian beef closed and i was left with nasty imitation recipes. This recipe surprised me. It was excellent i definently recommened this recipe. thankyou

  22. Chuck Crosson

    I am going to make this tomorrow evening, and I am getting hungry now, lol. I will let you know how it turned out.

    Thank You

    Chuck

  23. Dianne

    I have made this MANY times now. It is a family favorite.. i’ve added a bit of orange peel to it. gives it a little something extra.. yum!

  24. megan

    This has become a staple in our house and passed the recipe onto others since it’s been such a success. I use powdered ginger instead of fresh and also add a red and green pepper when I sautee the onion to make it a complete meal. Also I suggest putting the beef in the fridge or freezer during the 10 minute sit time to get a better sear.

  27. Gigi

    I made this for dinner last night. It was sooo delicious! I will be adding this recipe to my favorites. Thank you for sharing!

  28. Monica

    This recipe is a real keeper. Too funny how some of the comments say it tastes like REAL Mongolian Beef. LOL. Maybe because it IS real Mongolian Beef. I add broccoli with the onion and it’s YUMMY! Thanks for sharing

  29. Chaosbutterfly

    Omg this was so delicious.
    I added more pepper because my palate is on the spicy side and slow-cooked the meat in the sauce before moving it to the stovetop because of the cut of beef I used, but it was so tasty.
    My house smelled so good while I was making it too!
    Definitely, this is going into regular rotation.

  31. Patrick

    I just cooked this and it was delicious. It´s been the best meal in a while now, thanks a lot for that recipe!

  32. Hetal Patel

    Can we make this with tofu/cottage cheese? What can I substitute rice wine with? I am a vegetarian and I don’t drink alcohol.

  33. CMB

    This is soooo good! I substituted skirt steak since that’s what I had on hand and removed as much of the fat as I could and boy is it yummy!

  34. Casey Kucera

    This recipe ROCK’S!!
    I’ve made this a half dozen times and its always a crowd pleaser. Kudos for sure, if your thinking about trying it- go for it!

  35. Emily

    I just made this on Sunday night and it was AMAZING! Every time I try to make an Asian recipe, I am never pleased with it. This is the first one that I really like.

    Thanks for the great recipe!

  36. Pema

    Appreciate the effort but I modified the recipe alot. I found the sauce VERY salty — I probably added a couple cups of water to the 1/2 c. of soya sauce. Also the order of the instructions could be better. Instead of starting with the sauce, you should start with slicing the beef since you have to let it sit in the cornstarch for 10 minutes. You can make the sauce while you’re waiting. And really a CUP of oil???? So unnecessary! Just use a couple tablespoons then you don’t have to bother wasting so much oil and draining on paper towels.Thanks

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