Mongolian Beef Recipe (2024)

Mongolian Beef Recipe

We're cooking up a batch of Mongolian beef in the Chili Pepper Madness kitchen tonight, my friends. Would you care for some? Homemade Mongolian beef is easy to make, and we can spice it up as much as we want to.

I'm sure you've enjoyed it before at your local Chinese restaurant. Mongolian beef is a famous Chinese stir fry that features tender beef stir fried until crispy, then tossed in a sticky sweet brown sauce, served with rice or noodles.

The sauce is usually more sweet than spicy, almost always quite sticky, with a thickness that depends on the restaurant.

This is an easy Mongolian beef recipe you can make at home that is done in 30 minutes or less. I always prefer homemade because I can control what goes into it.

This particular recipe cuts back on the sugary-sweetness of most recipes, and ups the spice factor with a good handful of dried chili peppers that offer up a nice level of zing.

Mongolian Beef Ingredients

For the beef:

• Flank Steak - You can use other cuts of beef, though flank steak is more commonly used. Skirt steak is a good alternative.
• Marinade - Vegetable oil, soy sauce, cornstarch.

For the sauce:

• Soy Sauce
• Beef Stock - You can use chicken stock or vegetable stock as well. A soy sauce-water combination will work as well.
• Brown Sugar - For a touch of sweet. Honey is an acceptable substitute.

For the stir fry:

• Vegetable Oil - For frying. Use your favorite fry oil.
• Cornstarch - To coat the marinated strips of beef. This will help make the beef crispy.
• Dried Chilies - Optional, for a spicy version, which I love. Use dried Chinese chilies if you can obtain them. Chili de arbol peppers are perfect for this recipe.
• Fresh Ginger
• Fresh Garlic
• Cornstarch + Water - A slurry, used to thicken the sauce at the end of the stir fry.
• Scallions - Thinly slices for cooking and for garnish.
• For Garnish - Spicy red pepper flakes, sesame seeds, extra sliced scallions.

How to Make Mongolian Beef

Slice the beef. Slice the flank steak against the grain into thin strips (1/4 inch strips or thinner), then cut into bite-sized pieces. Add the sliced beef to a large bowl.

Marinate the beef. Whisk together the vegetable oil, soy sauce and cornstarch until smooth. Mix the sauce into the beef and marinate for 10 minutes. You can marinate longer if you'd like.

Whisk the ingredients. Whisk together the soy sauce, beef stock and brown sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside.

Heat fry oil. Heat the 1/2 cup vegetable oil in a large pan or wok until very hot, but do not boil.

Fry the coated beef. Toss the thinly sliced cuts of marinated beef with the 1/2 cup cornstarch to lightly coat. Tap off excess cornstarch and fry the beef in the wok for 1 minute per side, or until the beef is crispy. You may need to do this in batches. Remove from the oil and set onto a plate.

Stir fry the chilies, garlic and ginger. Once all the beef is stir fried, remove the oil but keep about a teaspoon. Heat to medium heat. Add the dried peppers, garlic and ginger. Stir fry for 1 minute.

Add Mongolian beef sauce. Pour in the reserved Mongolian beef sauce. Swirl together the 2 tablespoons cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water to make a slurry. Pour it into the sauce and stir about 2 minutes, or until the sauce thickens up.

Warm the beef and scallions. Stir in the reserved beef and slices scallions. Cook for 30 seconds to warm the beef.

Serve. Serve over cooked rice or noodles and garnish with spicy chili flakes, sesame seeds and fresh chopped green onion.

Recipe Tips & Notes

• Add Vegetables. You can easily add in your favorite stir fry vegetables to round out this meal. Some of my preferred additions include sliced bell peppers, jalapeño peppers or serrano peppers, broccoli, snap peas, onion, boy choy, and carrots. Use whatever you prefer.
• Serving. I usually serve mine over simple cooked white rice, though a nice stir fry rice is great, or serve with noodles. It's great either way.
• Slicing. It's important to slice the steak against the grain! This makes it more tender and easier to chew.

Cookbook Recommendations

If you enjoy cooking Asian cuisine, I recommend this book for a lot of easy and iconic recipes from a great chef. I'm learning a lot from it and it helped me to make this dish.

• 101 Asian Dishes You Need to Cook Before You Die: Discover a New World of Flavors in Authentic Recipes - by Chef Jet Tila (affiliate link, my friends!)
• Easy Chinese Cookbook: Restaurant Favorites Make Simple, by Chris Toy (affiliate link, my friends!)

Storage

If you have any leftovers of Mongolian beef, you're in luck because it reheats like a dream!

Keep it stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. Reheat either in the air fryer or back in the pan over medium-low heat to maintain the crispiness of the beef.

Try Some of My Other Popular Chinese Recipes

• Szechuan Beef Recipe
• Hunan Beef
• Szechuan Chicken
• General Tso's Chicken
• Kung Pao Chicken
• Dragon Chicken
• Mapo Tofu