We just love a good stir-fry, and this dish is about as good as they come.
This is a mainstay dish in Asian restaurants all over the world, especially in the United States. The beef is melt-in-your-mouth tender and the sauce is a touch of savory, a touch of sweet, and a touch of heat. And it all comes together in about 20 minutes, once you’ve got everything prepped and ready to go!
How To Make Mongolian Beef
Mongolian beef is actually quite simple to prepare.
All of the ingredients can usually be found in the Asian section of most well-stocked supermarkets.
Tenderizing The Beef
The traditional protein for this dish is beef flank steak. It’s tender and perfect for a quick stir-fry.
If you can’t get your hands on flank steak, then opt for skirt steak or use a strip steak, such as New York or Kansas City Strip. For easy slicing, place the meat in the freezer for 15 minutes and then slice.
EXPERT TIP: Corn starch and baking soda are very common in Asian cooking, especially Chinese cuisine. The corn starch actually helps to soften the texture of the meat even more and then acts as a thickener once you add the sauce. Cut the meat against the grain, place it in a large baggie, and then add corn starch, baking soda, vegetable oil, and water. Seal and massage with your hands. Let rest in the fridge for 1 hour, or up to 24 hours.
Now, it’s time to fire up your wok or a large sturdy skillet.
We add ¼ cup of vegetable oil and crank the heat up to high.
Toss in the minced garlic for just a few seconds, and then add the cut beef. Stir until the beef is just almost no longer pink. Then, toss in the cut veggies. Stir for about 2 minutes.
Classic Mongolian Beef Sauce
You may be asking, what is Mongolian beef? It originated in Taiwan, and not Mongolia, but is most popular in Chinese restaurants around the world.
It really comes down to the tender beef and vegetables, and that sweet and tangy sauce.
EXPERT TIP: Almost all of the ingredients for the sauce can be found in the Asian section of most well-stocked supermarkets. If you can’t find them, you can purchase oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, and Thai sweet sauce online. Any type of chili sauce can be used, however, check the NOTES for spicy levels for different types of chili sauce.
Add all the sauce ingredients together in a bowl and whisk until fully combined.
Once the meat and vegetables have had a few minutes to cook and become even more tender, it’s time to add the sauce.
EXPERT TIP: As with most Asian cooking, it’s really important to have all of your ingredients prepped and ready to go. Stir-frying is a very fast process and once you start, you won’t have time to stop what you are doing and dice a pepper or make the sauce.
Add the sauce to the meat and veggie mixture and stir constantly until just slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.
When To Serve Mongolian Beef
This dish is so amazingly delicious, we make it for an easy weeknight meal, but we also serve it to guests for a spectacular dinner party.
Place the beef mixture on a platter and let guests serve themselves.
We recommend serving the beef mixture over steamed rice or cellophane noodles.
So delicious.
This is one of our most favorite Asian-inspired dishes of all time.
You will not believe how tender the beef is and how flavorful the sauce is.
If you are looking for an authentic Mongolian beef recipe, look no further!
Ready to make Mongolian Beef at home that will rival your favorite take-out place? Go for it!
And when you do, be sure to take a photo of it, post it on Instagram, and tag @HowToFeedaLoon and hashtag #HowToFeedaLoon!
Mongolian Beef
Equipment
- Wok or a large sturdy skillet
Ingredients
FOR THE BEEF
- 1½ lbs flank steak sliced against the grain into ½-inch strips
- ¼ cup corn starch
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
FOR THE SAUCE
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup brown sugar light or dark
- 3 tbsp oyster sauce
- 3 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 3 tbsp Thai sweet chili sauce See NOTES
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp ginger fresh, minced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tsp cornstarch
FOR THE STIR-FRY
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup onion roughly chopped
- ½ green bell pepper cored, seeded, and roughly sliced
- ½ red bell pepper cored, seeded, and roughly sliced
- 4 green onions divided, thinly sliced
Instructions
PREP THE BEEF
- Sprinkle the meat all over with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch, baking soda. In another small bowl, add the vegetable oil and water.
- Place the cut beef into a large ziplock baggie, or baking dish. Pour the cornstarch mixture and water/oil over the beef. Seal the baggie and use your hands to massage the beef into the cornstarch and water/oil. Place in the fridge for 1 hour, or up to 24 hours.
PREP THE SAUCE AND STIR-FRY
- Combine all of the sauce ingredients into a medium-sized bowl and whisk together until blended.
- Heat the oil (¼ cup) in your wok (or skillet) over high heat. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, until just starting to turn golden.
- Carefully add the beef and stir with a wooden spoon until the pinkness is almost gone, about 4 minutes.
- Add the onion, red and green peppers, and cook, stirring frequently, for another 2 minutes.
- Transfer the sauce to the wok, and stir continuously for 2 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened slightly. Turn off the heat and stir in half of the sliced green onions.
- Serve at once with steam rice or noodles on the side and extra sliced scallions and sesame seeds for garnish
This dish was so delicious! Better than a restaurant !
Extremely easy to make.
Thank you for sharing this awesome recipe!
Woo hoo! Terry! We are so so happy you made the Mongolian beef and had such great success! That is one our favorite dishes and we are so happy you loved it, to! And thank YOU for sharing and for the GREAT review. That means the world to us! Kris & Wesley
Thanks for the recipe. http://www.fooddoz.com
Amazing dish! The recipe is easy to follow and the flavors are fantastic. Adding this to my rotation!
Hi Megan!! Woo hoo!!! We are over-the-moon excited that you loved the Mongolian beef dish! We love this recipe so much, too!! Thank you so much for letting us know and for the wonderful review! That honestly just means so much to us! All the very best, Kris & Wesley
Oh man this Mongolian beef recipe looks so delicious! This gives me great ideas of what to cook this week for dinner! Cheers!
Hi Kartheek!! We think you’ll love this Mongolian beef! It’s sooooo yummy!!! Let us know if you do and what you think!! All the best, Kris & Wesley
Hi gorgeous guys! Great video as always. I’ve not made one of your recipes that have not turned out perfect. This said, making this tonight — looks fantastic and easy!
Question is I have a lean pork tenderloin (about 1 1/2 lbs) in the fridge, using the same exact method you use (including the tenderizing of the meat) what are your thoughts on substituting the steak w/pork?
Hi beautiful Maura!! To be completely honest, we’ve never done this recipe with a pork tenderloin, but it should be absolutely delicious! Tenderize it the same was as the beef, and it should be really delicious!! Let us know if you try it and how it turns out!!! All the best, Kris & Wesley
AH-MAZING! Made this following your exact instructions but switched out the 1 1/2 lbs of steak with 1 1/2 lbs lean pork tenderloin. Fabulastic! (That’s not a word). Love the sauce, love how the corn starch and baking soda tenderizes the meat — perfect! ( I did throw in a handful of Thai birds eye chili’s with the veggies. Thanks so much guys for posting this!
YES!!!!! So so so happy to hear this! And thank you again so much for letting us know!! Please stay in touch, Maura! Best, Kris & Wesley
Can I use a sirloin steak?
Absolutely! Place it in the freezer for about 15 to 20 minutes. This will help the meat to get a little more stiff, which will make slicing it easier. Slice nice thin slices and proceed with the recipe as written. It will be delicious! Hope this helps! Let us know if you make the dish and what you think. All the best, Kris & Wesley
This recipe was delicious! My entire family loved it and my 12-year-old son said it’s a keeper. Thank you so much!
This was delicious! I was hooked when I started reading about velveting the beef. I just can’t make a stir fry any other way since it makes the beef or chicken so much more tender. I liked combining the corn starch with the baking soda. I usually do the baking soda alone and add the corn starch later. This is so much simpler!! All in one step. The sauce was the perfect measurements of all of the ingredients and had such a nice flavor. The best that I’ve made so far. I have to say that of all of your recipes that I’ve made so far, this is now my favorite out of all of them that I have made and reviewed. This was EXCELLENT and I was so excited as well as the rest of the family. Thanks, as always, for making me look like a way better cook than I really am. You have a loyal follower.
Looks delicious. Can’t wait to make this. Love you guys and your videos. You make everything look so easy to make.
Hi Gretchen! It’s pretty darn yummy!! You should make it!! It’s not hard!! Let us know if you do and what you think of it! Best, Kris & Wesley
Thank you for this recipe. This is one of my most favorite things to eat! Can’t wait to make my own.
Hi Vivian! You are so welcome and it’s just so delicious!! Let us know when you make it and what you think! All the best, Kris & Wesley