Mongolian Beef

A simple beef dish full of Chinese flavors, this Mongolian Beef comes together quickly so you’ll have dinner on the table faster than order take-out!

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Serve this Mongolian Beef up with this Lo Mein Recipe and this Easy Egg Roll Recipe – you won’t even want to get take out anymore!

Easy Mongolian Beef Recipe

Why go out for Chinese food when you can just make it at home for dinner tonight? I love that you can make a simple take out recipe like this Mongolian Beef at home, and not only is it done fairly quickly, but you know exactly what is going into it. Your food is fresh (instead of wondering if it’s been sitting under a heat lamp) and you can change ingredients out that you might not care for.

Plus, it’s always way cheaper to make at home!

What You’ll Need

If you don’t make Chinese food at home a lot, you may not have several of these ingredients in your pantry. But if you do make it often, or if you want to, these are all pretty common pantry staples for Chinese food at home. And the good news is that you should be able to find all of these ingredients in your regular grocery store. (Full ingredient amounts are below in the recipe card.)

• Low Sodium Soy Sauce
• Oyster Sauce
• Hoisin Sauce
• Mirin
• Sugar
• Sesame Oil
• Cornstarch
• Flank Steak
• Vegetable Oil
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Green Onions
• Brown Sugar

How to Make Mongolian Beef

1. MARINATE: Marinate your beef briefly. You only need about 15-30 minutes of marinating time.
2. BROWN: Brown the beef in batches. You want to brown it in batches so that you get a nice sear on the meat. If you add too much meat, it will overcrowd the pan and it will steam instead of searing.
3. SAUCE: Cook your garlic, ginger and green onions, then add the beef back in along with your sauce and let it all cook and thicken together.
4. SERVE: Serve warm over rice, cauliflower rice, or noodles.

Tips and Tricks

I like flank steak the best for this recipe because it ends up so tender. If you can’t find a flank steak, you can sub in skirt steak or a flat iron steak. I have even used a sirloin in a pinch. The biggest tip is to make sure to slice it against the grain so that it will be tender.

When cooking the beef, do not overcrowd the pan. You want the beef to brown up on the outsides, and if you have too much beef in the pan, it will create more steam and liquid. I like to use a cast iron pan because it does such a great job with browning the beef.

The cornstarch that is on the beef from the marinade should thicken the sauce up, but if you like it even thicker, you can add in a cornstarch slurry with the sauce mixture. I mix 1 part cornstarch to 2 parts water and pour that into the hot liquid.

Want to add more veggies to your meal? Serve this Mongolian beef recipe alongside broccoli, peppers, or zucchini – or mix them into the beef!

Like some heat? Add in some red pepper flakes, or pass the at the table so everyone can add their own level of heat.

While I would suggest making this just before serving, the leftovers are really quite good! Store in a container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

More Chinese Takeout Recipes to Make at Home

Beef and Broccoli
Orange Chicken
Kung Pao Chicken
Pineapple Chicken
Sweet and Sour Chicken

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Mongolian Beef

5 from 3 votes

Author: Deborah Harroun

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Marinate Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Asian

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A simple beef dish full of Chinese flavors, this Mongolian Beef comes together quickly so you’ll have dinner on the table faster than order take-out!

1x2x3x

Ingredients

Beef:

• ▢ 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
• ▢ 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• ▢ 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• ▢ 2 teaspoons mirin
• ▢ 2 teaspoons sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• ▢ 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• ▢ 16 oz flank steak cut into thin pieces against the grain
• ▢ 2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 1 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced into thin pieces
• ▢ 6 green onions cut into 1-inch lengths

Sauce:

• ▢ 1/2 cup brown sugar
• ▢ 1/2 cup water
• ▢ 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce

Instructions

• In a large bowl, combine the soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, miring, sugar and sesame oil. Whisk in the cornstarch to combine.
• Stir the sliced beef into the mixture. Set aside and let it marinate for 15-30 minutes.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat. Working in batches, brown the meat. Be careful to not overcrowd the skillet. Remove to a plate while you finish cooking the beef. Add another tablespoon of oil as needed while browning the beef.
• While the beef is cooking, make the sauce by combining the brown sugar, water and soy sauce in a small bowl and set aside.
• When the beef has been browned and removed from the skillet, add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of oil to the same skillet. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the green onion and stir to combine. Add the beef back into the skillet. Stir the sauce into the skillet. Cook for a few minutes to thicken up the sauce, scraping the bits off the bottom of the skillet as it cooks.
• Serve warm over rice.

Recipe Notes:

Adapted from Easy Chinese Recipes: Family Favorites From Dim Sum to Kung Pao

Nutrition information provided as an estimate only. Various brands and products can change the counts. Any nutritional information should be used as a general guide. Nutrition information does not include rice.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1/4 of recipe, Calories: 459kcal (23%), Carbohydrates: 45g (15%), Protein: 27g (54%), Fat: 19g (29%), Saturated Fat: 5g (31%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 75mg (25%), Sodium: 1987mg (86%), Fiber: 2g (8%), Sugar: 34g (38%)

Keywords: chinese food, mongolian beef, take out