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Mongolian beef is one of the best Chinese recipes. This easy Mongolian beef recipe is better than Chinese takeout and PF Chang's. Homemade easy recipe that anyone can make at home!
Table of Contents
Mongolian Beef Recipe
What is Mongolian Beef?
It is one of the best Chinese recipes ever; it’s also a popular Chinese beef dish at Chinese restaurants or takeouts. The popularity is second to broccoli beef.
Mongolian beef is delicious, with silky and tender beef in a rich and savory Chinese brown sauce.
My Mongolian beef recipe is very close to the taste of PF Chang’s Mongolian beef.
It’s savory, slightly sweet, with melt-in-your-mouth beef.
It’s also healthier, less greasy, with a Mongolian beef sauce that is so yummy with steamed white or brown rice.
Other Chinese Recipes You Might Like
Sesame Beef
Asparagus Beef
Beef and Broccoli
Cooking Tips
To make the best and authentic Mongolian beef, please follow the cooking tips and techniques below:
Make sure you cut the beef against the grain.
Marinate the beef with cornstarch to tenderize the meat.
The step above is called velveting in Chinese food. It makes the beef tender, juicy, moist and silky.
Stir fry the beef on high heat using a wok (preferred) or skillet.
The brown sauce shouldn’t be too sticky and gooey.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where Did Mongolian Beef Originate?
The name of the dish is misleading because it’s not a traditional Mongolian dish from Mongolia.
The dish is named “Mongolian Beef” after the cooking style, rather than its origin.
Mongolian Beef is actually a stir fry dish that originated in Taiwan.
What Is Mongolian Sauce Made Of?
Mongolian sauce is a savory sauce that consists of oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar and ground white pepper.
The sauce pairs extremely well with the beef and is easy to make!
Can I Make It in an Instant Pot?
Yes, you can make the dish in an Instant Pot. Just use the Saute function to stir fry the beef and ingredients.
Add the Mongolian beef sauce towards the end, thicken it up and it’s ready to serve.
Can I Use Crockpot or Slow Cooker for This Recipe?
For authentic flavors, I don’t recommend crockpot or slow cooker to make this recipe.
This is a Chinese stir fry beef dish. The beef shouldn’t be slow cooked in a slow cooker or crockpot.
How Many Calories per Serving?
This recipe is only 396 calories per serving.
What Dishes to Serve with This Recipe?
Serve this dish with fried rice or chow mein. For a healthy Chinese meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
Fried Rice
Chow Mein
Kung Pao Chicken
Hot and Sour Soup
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Mongolian Beef
Mongolian Beef is one of the best Chinese recipes. This easy Mongolian beef recipe is better than Chinese takeout and PF Chang's.
4.50 from 128 votes
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By Bee Yinn Low
Yield 4people
Prep 10 minutesmins
Cook 5 minutesmins
Total 15 minutesmins
Ingredients
2tablespoonscooking oil
12oz.beef tenderloin, thinly sliced
2clovesgarlic(minced)
1inchpeeled ginger, thinly sliced
2stalksscallions(cut into 2-inch strips)
Marinade:
1teaspooncorn starch
1tablespoonwater
1teaspoonChinese rice wine or Shaoxing wine
Mongolian Beef Sauce:
2teaspoonsoyster sauce
1tablespoonsoy sauce
1/2teaspoondark soy sauce
3dashes ground white pepper
1/4teaspoonsesame oil
1tablespoonsugar or to taste
Salt to taste
Instructions
Marinate the beef slices with the Marinade ingredients for 30 minutes. Heat up a wok with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil and stir-fry the marinated beef until they are half-done. Dish out and set aside.
Heat up the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and stir-fry the garlic and ginger until aromatic. Add the beef back into the wok and then the sauce.
Continue to stir fry until the beef slices are almost done, then add the scallions. Do a few quick stirs. Dish out and serve immediately with steamed rice.
Video
Course: Chinese Recipes
Cuisine: Main Dish
Keywords: Mongolian Beef
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Mongolian Beef
Amount Per Serving (1 g)
Calories 396Calories from Fat 252
% Daily Value*
Fat 28g43%
Saturated Fat 9g56%
Polyunsaturated Fat 16g
Cholesterol 72mg24%
Sodium 533mg23%
Carbohydrates 7g2%
Sugar 3g3%
Protein 21g42%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Despite its name, the dish has nothing to do with Mongolian cuisine. Mongolian beef is among the meat dishes developed in Taiwan where Mongolian barbecue restaurants first appeared. Thus, none of the ingredients or the preparation methods are drawn from traditional Mongolian cuisine but rather from Chinese cuisine.
Szechuan Beef has a sweet and spicy flavor with added chili peppers and Szechuan peppercorns. The Szechuan peppercorns has a distinctive tingly numbing sensation when eaten. Mongolian beef has a mild and much simpler taste, making it a kids' favorite, outside of broccoli beef.
Our recipe for Mongolian beef sauce includes oyster sauce, soy sauce, tamari soy sauce (as a replacement for dark soy sauce), chili sauce, sugar, and cooking wine. Check the ingredient list to see precise amounts. Don't forget that you can scale the recipe up and down!
This is the KEY ingredient to super tender beef. Baking soda is commonly used in Chinese cooking to tenderize beef. If you're curious about the science behind it – baking soda neutralizes acid and raises the pH level, which causes the meat to become more alkaline.
But this stir-fried stone dish, known as “Suodiu” is making waves on the internet with several people trying out the delicacy. Dubbed the “world's hardest dish”, it is a traditional stir-fry featuring stones as the key ingredient.
TIL Mongolian beef found in Chinese restaurants isn't Mongolian in origin. It actually comes from Mongolian BBQ shops in Taiwan. Mongolian BBQ style restaurants were created by a Taiwanese entrepreneur in the 1950s. There's not one kind of Chinese cuisine either.
You may have wondered how Chinese restaurants come to have such soft, silky textured meat in their dishes? Rather than stir-frying the meat and searing it all over until browned, they use a special technique called velveting.
Szechuan Beef is characterized by its bold, spicy, and numbing flavors, often derived from Szechuan peppercorns and chili peppers. Mongolian Beef, on the other hand, has a milder and sweeter flavor profile, with a balance of savory and sweet notes from ingredients like soy sauce and brown sugar.
Velvet the beef: The velveting technique involves tenderizing, marinating, and a quick searing of the meat. To tenderize: Sprinkle with baking soda (the secret Chinese meat tenderizer). To marinate (a quick marinade): Add basic beef marinade and mix to coat evenly. Let marinate for 15 minutes or up to overnight.
Cornstarch: Cornstarch is used as a thickening agent in many Asian dishes. It gives the Mongolian beef its signature glossy, thick sauce. If you can't find cornstarch, use flour instead, but it may not provide the same clear, glossy finish.
In Chinese cooking, velveting meats includes 2 steps: tenderizing and marinating. Tenderize beef in a mixture of baking soda, soy sauce, salt, and oil. Let the mixture marinate for at least 15 minutes or overnight for optimal flavor and tenderness.
Velveting meat—the practice of marinating slices of meat in egg white, wine, and cornstarch—is a Chinese cooking technique that we've covered on Serious Eats before. Typically, after the meat is marinated, it is quickly blanched in a bath of hot oil and then drained, at which point it's ready to be stir-fried.
Mongolian barbecue was created by Taiwanese comedian and restaurateur Wu Zhaonan. A native of Beijing, Wu fled to Taiwan after the outbreak of the Chinese Civil War, and opened a street food stall in Yingqiao, Taipei in 1951.
Flavor Profile: Szechuan Beef is known for its spicy and numbing flavor, while Mongolian Beef offers a sweet and savory taste. Region of Origin: Szechuan Beef originates from the Sichuan province of China, while Mongolian Beef is inspired by the cuisine of Mongolia.
And while we know this is just a 'legend' it's a lot more fun than the actual truth behind Mongolian Beef (spoiler alert, it doesn't actually come from Mongolia, neither does Mongolian BBQ). Regardless of the origin, it's still one of our top selling dishes, and has been since the day we opened our doors in 1993.
Introduction: My name is Carlyn Walter, I am a lively, glamorous, healthy, clean, powerful, calm, combative person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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