Easy Mongolian Beef Recipe - 30 Minute Meal (2024)

After marinating, thisEasy Mongolian Beef Recipe takes less than 30 minutes from start to finish! This Mongolian Beef Recipe is crazy easy, full of flavor, and is SO much healthier than take-out since we skip the frying!

You guys. The day I made thisEasy Mongolian Beef Recipe, I was kiiiiind of having a bad day. I’m pretty sure I was suffering from a severe case of Spring Fever.

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The snow had finally started melting, the sun was out, Trevor had been sick all week, and we’d been stuck inside the apartment working, working, and working some more.

Trevor caught on to my oh-so-subtle antsy-ness and suggested we get out of the house, go for a walk, and grab a margarita on the way home.

You guys. I married a genius.

It was JUST what I needed.

I came home with a renewed sense of energy and made this Easy Mongolian Beef.

Honestly, after making this Mongolian Beef, I probably didn’t even need the walk and the margarita.

Yeah. It’s just that good.

EasyMongolian BeefRecipe - 30 Minute Meal (2)

Sooooo, Trevor was sick all last week. Long story short, he woke up with pink eye and then was dealing with all sorts of upper respiratory stuff that kept him in bed for a week.

While I got a ton of computer work done, I didn’t get too much cooking done, other than making a double batch of Roasted Tomato Soup that is. PS – Pair it with cheese quesadillas. So. Good.

Once the soup was gone, the fridge was literally bare, so I caved and ordered Chinese. I mean,Trevor was sick, and he loves Chinese, so really… I was doing it for him. 😉

I had been planning on making Mongolian Beef for the blog, so I ordered some for delivery, you know, for “research”.

EasyMongolian BeefRecipe - 30 Minute Meal (3)Usually I love, love, LOVE Chinese delivery, but ohmygosh, this delivery Mongolian Beef was SO bad. I immediately regretted my decision to order delivery, but was extra excited to make my own version.

Let me tell you, thisEasy Mongolian Beef is 1,000,000 times better than any delivery. Plus, it’s almost as easy.

First you need to marinate some sliced flank steak with soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, brownsugar, and red pepper flakes. It’s gonna get all tender and flavorful in the fridge.

When you’re ready to cook dinner, whisk together a quick sauce: soy sauce, beef broth, more red pepper flakes, ginger, brown sugar, hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, and cornstarch. Set this aside while you brown your flank steak in a saute pan.

Once the flank steak has browned, you’ll stir in your sauce and let it get niiiiice and thick and delicious.

That’s. It.

Let me say that again.

That’s it!!!

Now. Let me just say, when I was doing research for this recipe, all the recipes I found said to fry your beef in like a 1/2 cup of oil.

Well. I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to deal with heating a bunch of oil and frying the beef. PLUS, I wanted to keep this recipe healthy…er. I’m not claiming this recipe to be healthy (helllooo yummy brown sugar), BUT this is definitely healthier, not to mention easier when you skip the frying.

ThisEasy Mongolian Beef is, um, ridiculously quick and easy to make <– we’re talkin’ less than 30 minutes to make, ridiculously full of flavor, and is honestly STILL better than take-out.

Serve this over rice with a sprinkle of sesame seeds, and maybe an extra pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, and you’ll never get delivery again.

EasyMongolian BeefRecipe - 30 Minute Meal (4)Ok. Never say never, because I♡ Indian delivery, but you get the idea. 😉

– Jennifer

EasyMongolian BeefRecipe - 30 Minute Meal (5)

Easy Mongolian Beef Recipe

5 from 12 votes

After marinating, this Easy Mongolian Beef Recipe takes less than 30 minutes to make! This Mongolian Beef is easy & so flavorful. No frying required!

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Yield: 4 people

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Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

Marinade

  • 1 1/2 pounds flank steak halved lengthwise, then sliced 1/2 inch thick
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 clove garlic sliced
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1/2 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes

Sauce

  • 3/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup beef broth**
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
  • 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
  • 1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch

Other

  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • Green onions thinly sliced
  • Sesame seeds
  • Cooked rice

Instructions

Marinade

  • In a small bowl whisk together soy sauce, oil, garlic, brown sugar, and red pepper flakes. Set aside.

  • Place sliced steak in a gallon size baggie and pour in marinade.

  • Close and place in fridge for at least 4 hours, but I let mine marinate in the fridge overnight.

Mongolian Beef

  • In a medium sized bowl, whisk together sauce ingredients: soy sauce, broth, red pepper, ginger, brown sugar, hoisin sauce, vinegar, garlic, and cornstarch. Set aside.

  • In a large skillet, heat sesame oil over medium high heat.

  • Once hot, add in marinated steak.

  • Cook steak for about 2-5 minutes, or until nicely browned.

  • Pour in sauce, raise heat to high and cook until sauce has thickened and steak is cooked to you liking.

  • Serve immediately over rice and top with sliced green onions, sesame seeds, and more crushed red pepper flakes.

  • Take 5 seconds to rate this recipe below. We greatly appreciate it!

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STORING

Room Temp:N/A

Refrigerator:3-4 Days

Freezer:2-3 Months

Reheat:Microwave or stovetop

*Storage times may vary based on temperature and conditions

Notes

*This recipe is on the salty side, but that's how Trevor and I like our Mongolian beef! If you're not a salty fan, feel free to use low sodium soy sauce and low sodium beef broth. You could also replace the beef broth with water and season with salt, if necessary after cooking.

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Nutrition Information

Nutrition Facts

Easy Mongolian Beef Recipe

Amount Per Serving

Calories 499 Calories from Fat 144

% Daily Value*

Fat 16g25%

Saturated Fat 5g31%

Cholesterol 102mg34%

Sodium 3495mg152%

Potassium 791mg23%

Carbohydrates 45g15%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 32g36%

Protein 43g86%

Vitamin A 595IU12%

Vitamin C 1.2mg1%

Calcium 82mg8%

Iron 4.6mg26%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

*Note: Nutrition information is estimated and varies based on products used.

Keywords: easy, flank steak, Mongolian

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Tag @showmetheyummy on Instagram and hashtag it #showmetheyummy

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: American, Chinese

Author: Jennifer Debth

 Easy Mongolian Beef Recipe - 30 Minute Meal (2024)

FAQs

What is Mongolian beef sauce made of? ›

Making the Mongolian Beef Sauce

Whisk the Mongolian Beef Sauce ingredients together consisting of soy sauce, water, brown sugar, Asian sweet chili sauce, rice wine, hoisin, pepper, sriracha and cornstarch.

Why is Mongolian beef so tender? ›

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.

What is the difference between Mongolian beef and Chinese beef? ›

Szechuan beef vs Mongolian beef, what's the difference? Szechuan beef has a sweet and spicy flavor, and Mongolian beef has a mild taste. Szechuan beef hails from the Sichuan Province in southwestern China. Its main ingredients are chili peppers, garlic, and Szechuan peppercorn.

How to use soy sauce in meat? ›

Use to marinade food before cooking

Marinating your meat in soy sauce before cooking will make it so much tastier! And again, it doesn't take much effort. You can either marinate the meat in soy sauce on its own, or you can add some other ingredients like garlic, vinegar and lemon zest.

What is PF Chang's Mongolian sauce? ›

Deep and flavorful, our Mongolian Style BBQ Sauce can attribute its flavor profile to smoked black pepper, sweet molasses, soy sauce and garlic making this sauce versatile for marinades and as a finishing sauce.

What is the secret ingredient in stir fry beef? ›

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.

How long can you marinate beef in cornstarch? ›

Stir the thinly-sliced near-frozen meat into the runny, seasoned cornstarch paste, and let sit covered for as long as you can stand. At least 15 minutes, but an hour or two is best. Although I bet it's even better if you let it marinate overnight.

How do Chinese get their beef so soft? ›

This is how to tenderise beef with a Chinese restaurant method called “velveting beef”. Also used for chicken, it's a simple, highly effective technique using baking soda that transforms economical beef so it's incredibly tender in stir fries and stir fried noodles.

Do you need to rinse baking soda off meat? ›

From there, leave it in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight. Then take the meat out of the container and rinse it ensuring that all—or most—of the baking soda is off the steak.

What ethnicity is Mongolian beef? ›

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.

Is Hunan beef the same as Mongolian beef? ›

Hunan beef also packs in some heat in the form of chili peppers, but it's not a numbing heat whatsoever and I like to think of it as the milder cousin to Szeuchuan beef. What's the difference between Hunan beef vs Mongolian beef? Another favorite beef recipe of mine, Mongolian beef is much sweeter than Hunan beef.

What is another name for Mongolian beef? ›

Stir-Fried Spicy Beef (Previously: Mongolian Beef)

Sliced beef marinated in soy and then stir-fried with peppers and onions.

Can you put Worcestershire sauce on meat? ›

As such, one may intentionally add OU certified Worcestershire sauce to a meat dish and consume the final product. This is particularly the case with Worcestershire sauce, since the anchovies were already batel in the sauce itself.

How long to soak meat in soy sauce? ›

Whisk together soy sauce, olive oil, garlic cloves, and lemon juice. Place steak in a nonreactive dish, and pour marinade over top. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours (or overnight).

What is Worcestershire sauce used for? ›

Worcestershire sauce is used directly as a condiment on steaks, hamburgers, and other finished dishes, and to flavour co*cktails such as the Bloody Mary and Caesar. It is also frequently used to augment recipes such as Welsh rarebit, Caesar salad, Oysters Kirkpatrick, and devilled eggs.

What is Mongolian sauce? ›

Mongolian sauce is a sweet and savory sauce that is often used in Chinese-American cuisine, particularly in dishes like Mongolian Beef or Mongolian Chicken.

Does Mongolian beef contain oyster sauce? ›

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!

What is Mongolian beef supposed to taste like? ›

When done just right, it's perfectly sweet and savory, slightly spicy, and loaded with lots of delicious aromatics such as ginger, garlic, green onions and even a few dried red chilis, all combined to bring a nice pop of deep, fragrant flavor.

What's better Mongolian beef or Szechuan beef? ›

Szechuan Beef vs Mongolian Beef

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.

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