Mongolian Beef

Take it from me, make more of this than you think you will need!  Each time I've made this, I ended up with more folks at my house than I originally started with.  It's like some strange math equation that I just can't quite grasp.  Who knew that the smell would extend past your house, into the neighborhood, and bring teenagers to the table?  Even some that don't belong to you!  

Asian food may seem mysterious, but it's easy to make.  Chop, drop, sizzle and stir!  I'll take you through it step-by-step.  We will end up with a silky sauce that has an awesome balance of sweet, sour, tangy and just a tad bit of heat.

Click here for Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 pound beef flank steak
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 3 Tbsp corn starch
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp minced ginger
• 2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp sriracha sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• handful of snow peas
• 4 green onions
• serve over Jasmine rice

Step-by-step:

Here's the gameplan.  Prep everything, then put on the rice, then start cooking.  Slice the flank steak across the grain, with your knife at an angle (not straight down).  This exposes more of the meat and together, results in a more tender "cut."  It may help if you put the meat in the freezer about 10 minutes to firm it up. 

Beef flank steak, cut across the grain, at an angle.

To the sliced beef, add the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, and cornstarch.

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

2 Tbsp corn starch

Now stir it all up!

It won't be very pretty after this,  but trust me here.  Marinate all of this together at room temperature for around 30 minutes.

You should probably go ahead and get the Jasmine rice going now.

Jasmine Rice

Next, prep the veggies... Peel and mince the garlic and ginger.  Chop the green onions.  And then dig everything else of the fridge.     

Mince the garlic - 1 Tbsp minced garlic (the number of cloves will depend on their size.)

Peel and mince the ginger.  1 Tbsp minced ginger.  It peels easiest with the edge of a spoon!

and about 4 green onions, cut into about 2" pieces.

Now let's cook!  Get the oil in the wok really hot first.  Yes, of course you can use a regular pan if you don't have a wok.

Maybe 1 - 2 Tbsp canola oil.  It's what I had on hand.

Add the beef strips (I sort of drained them a little first).   See them sizzling?  That's what you want!

Saute them around until they brown on the outside, then start adding the other stuff:  minced garlic, minced ginger, and rice wine vinegar.  Saute these for about a minute or so until fragrant.  

in goes the garlic...1 Tbsp

in goes the ginger... 1 Tbsp

2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

Next, add the rest of the marinating "sauce."  

Add back the marinating "sauce"

To this, add the brown sugar, the snow peas, the green onions, some water, and a little of sriracha for a bit of a kick.  

1/3 cup brown sugar

a handful of snow peas... probably about 2/3 cup?

4 green onions, cut into 2" pieces

1/2 cup water

1 tsp sriracha 

Let all this cook for about 5 minutes, at about a medium/medium-high, and it's done!  You don't want to overcook the beef.  The sauce is super silky! 

Serve  hot over the jasmine rice.   And watch'em come running!

Did you enjoy this?  Please hop on over to my Recipe Index for more delicious recipes like this.  You can do this.  Yes, YOU!  (Speaking to some of my friends who lack confidence in the kitchen.)  

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Here are some more delicious Asian dishes for you to try...

Sesame Shrimp and Asparagus Stir-Fry

Coconut Lime Chicken

Crab Rangoons

Grilled Ginger-Sesame Chicken Salad

Vietnamese-Style Lettuce Cups

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Written Method:

Here's the game plan.  Prep everything, then put on the rice, then start cooking.  Slice the flank steak across the grain, with your knife at an angle (not straight down).  This exposes more of the meat and together, results in a more tender "cut."  It may help if you put the meat in the freezer about 10 minutes to firm it up.  To the sliced beef, add the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, and cornstarch.  It won't be very pretty after this,  but trust me here.  Marinate all of this together at room temperature for around 30 minutes.

Next, prep the veggies... Peel and mince the garlic and ginger.  Chop the green onions.  And then dig everything else of the fridge.  

Now let's cook!  Get the oil in the wok really hot first.  Add the beef strips (I sort of drained them a little first).  Saute them around until they brown on the outside, then start adding the other stuff:  minced garlic, minced ginger, and rice wine vinegar.  Saute these for about a minute until fragrant.  Next, add the rest of the marinating "sauce."  To this, add the brown sugar, the snow peas, the green onions, some water, and a little of sriracha for a bit of a kick.  Let all this cook for about 5 minutes, at about a medium/medium-high, and it's done!  You don't want to overcook the beef.  The sauce is super silky!