Mongolian Beef Recipe
➤ Introduction for Mongolian Beef Recipe
Mongolian Beef is one of those dishes that you see at every Chinese take-out place – tender beef strips swimming in this sweet and salty sauce with green onions all over it. Here’s the kicker – it has nothing to do with real Mongolian food. A crafty Chinese-American restaurant owner just made up the name & it stuck.
Smart move. What make this so good is that shiny, sticky sauce that adheres to every piece of beef. I think it is the perfect combo of salty, sweet, and that deep savory flavor that makes you want to lick the plate.
The secret is something called “velveting” – it sounds fancy, but it is just a Chinese technique that makes the beef mind-numbingly tender.
Then, you throw the beef in a wok with simple sauce made with soy sauce, brown sugar, and whatever makes my tongue happy.

➤ Why I Love This Mongolian Beef Recipe
•Forget about delivery: You can make it at home with the ingredients that are actually good for you instead of whatever they use at the restaurant.
•Fast dinner score: You’re eating in 30 minutes – even faster than delivery, and way better!
•No more chewy beef catastrophes: That little velveting thing actually works – your beef will not turn into shoe leather.
•Nailed it sauce: The sweet-salty thing is spot on, without being too sweet or too salty.
•Make it your own: Want spicy? Go for it. Can’t take the heat? Leave it out. Your call.
•Cheap, yet tastes expensive: Flank steak is much cheaper than those fancy cuts, but tastes just as good, if you execute it properly.
➤ Mongolian Beef Recipe Ingredients
For the beef:
•1 pound flank steak, thinly sliced (¼-inch) against the grain for tenderness
•2 tablespoons cornstarch
•2 tablespoons soy sauce
•1 tablespoon vegetable oil
For the sauce:
•⅓ cup low-sodium soy sauce – the regular stuff will make it way too salty
•⅓ cup brown sugar, packed
•2 tablespoons oyster sauce
•1 tablespoon rice wine or dry sherry – whatever you’ve got
•1 teaspoon sesame oil
•2 cloves garlic, minced
•1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced – don’t use the jar stuff
•¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes if you want it spicy
For stir-frying:
•3 tablespoons vegetable oil – you’ll use this in chunks
•1 medium onion, sliced up (if you want it)
•4-5 green onions, chopped into 2-inch pieces
•1 teaspoon sesame seeds to make it look fancy

➤ How to Make Mongolian Beef Recipe
1 • Get the beef ready:
•Toss your sliced flank steak into a bowl. Add the cornstarch, soy sauce, and that tablespoon of oil. Mix it all up so every piece is coated. Let it sit on the counter for about 15 minutes – don’t skip this part.

2 • Throw the sauce together:
•Grab a small bowl and dump in the soy sauce, brown sugar, oyster sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes if you’re using them. Whisk it up until everything’s mixed and that brown sugar isn’t clumpy anymore. Set it off to the side.

3 • Heat up the wok good and hot:
•Turn the heat to high, add 2 tablespoons of oil to the wok or large skillet. You’ll know it’s hot enough when the oil ripples and is about to smoke.
4 • Cook the beef:
•just drop the marinated beef into the pan in one layer – don’t crowd it or you’ll steam it instead of searing it. Let it sit there for 1-2 minutes without messing with it until it gets brown on one side, then toss it around for another 1-2 minutes until it’s cooked through. Pull it out and set it aside on a plate.

5 • Cook the aromatics:
•listen If you’re using onions, toss them in the same pan and stir them around like 2-3 minutes until they start to soften up.
6 • Bring it all together:
•Put the beef back in the pan then pour in that sauce you made, and stir everything around like 1-2 minutes until the sauce gets thick and sticky and coats all the beef.
7 • Finish it up:
•Throw in those green onions and give everything a quick stir for about 30 seconds until they wilt down and smell good. Kill the heat, sprinkle some sesame seeds on top, and serve it right away over rice while it’s still hot.
➤ Mongolian Beef Recipe Tips & Variations
• The slicing part: For me, I always slice flank steak against the grain – I know it becomes chewy if you don’t? I made that mistake once in front of my in-laws and they’re still talking about it.
• What I do with the freezer: I almost always put the beef in the freezer for around 30 minutes before slicing. It’s SO much easier to get the thin pieces, you know what I mean? Otherwise it just flops all over the place.
• I make it spicy: I always add extra red pepper flakes because my husband thinks everything is bland. You know how that goes.
➤ Serving Suggestions for Mongolian Beef Recipe
• Rice is a must: I always make jasmine rice or brown rice – you need something for the sauce to soak up, right?
• For the full takeout experience: sometimes, I’ll make some fried rice, or just toss the whole thing with lo mein noodles. This makes it feel like takeout, but way better.
• I add in any veg I have: steamed broccoli, bok choy, snap peas – whatever is in the fridge. My kids actually eat their veggies if they are next to the beef!
If you love this Mongolian Beef, you’ve gotta try my crockpot beef stew next – it’s totally different but the beef is just as tender, and that slow-cooked flavor is just different on a cold day!
➤ Storage and Leftovers
• In the fridge: I always let it cool down first, and then put it in a container. It’s good for about 3 days – and then it starts going funny.
• Freezer storage: You can freeze it for a couple months, but honestly the texture is a little different when you reheat it just prior to eating, but it still tastes good.
• Heating it back up: I put it back in my wok or a pan on medium heat; if it looks dried out, I sometimes throw a splash of water in there.
• As a meal prep: I cook the rice separately and then store everything in different containers. (I learned that the hard way – soggy rice is the worst).
Mongolian Beef Recipe
Course: Breakfast4
servings15
minutes15
minutes380
kcalIngredients
- For the Beef:
1 pound flank steak, thinly sliced (¼-inch) against the grain for tenderness
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- For the Sauce:
⅓ cup low-sodium soy sauce – the regular stuff will make it way too salty
⅓ cup brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine or dry sherry – whatever you’ve got
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced – don’t use the jar stuff
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes if you want it spicy
- For Stir-Frying:
3 tablespoons vegetable oil – you’ll use this in chunks
1 medium onion, sliced up (if you want it)
4-5 green onions, chopped into 2-inch pieces
1 teaspoon sesame seeds to make it look fancy
Directions
- Toss your sliced flank steak into a bowl. Add the cornstarch, soy sauce, and that tablespoon of oil. Mix it all up so every piece is coated. Let it sit on the counter for about 15 minutes – don’t skip this part.
- Grab a small bowl and dump in the soy sauce, brown sugar, oyster sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes if you’re using them. Whisk it up until everything’s mixed and that brown sugar isn’t clumpy anymore. Set it off to the side.
- Turn the heat to high, add 2 tablespoons of oil to the wok or large skillet. You’ll know it’s hot enough when the oil ripples and is about to smoke.
- just drop the marinated beef into the pan in one layer – don’t crowd it or you’ll steam it instead of searing it. Let it sit there for 1-2 minutes without messing with it until it gets brown on one side, then toss it around for another 1-2 minutes until it’s cooked through. Pull it out and set it aside on a plate.
- listen If you’re using onions, toss them in the same pan and stir them around like 2-3 minutes until they start to soften up.
- Put the beef back in the pan then pour in that sauce you made, and stir everything around like 1-2 minutes until the sauce gets thick and sticky and coats all the beef.
- Throw in those green onions and give everything a quick stir for about 30 seconds until they wilt down and smell good. Kill the heat, sprinkle some sesame seeds on top, and serve it right away over rice while it’s still hot.
Notes
- • Slice beef thinly against the grain for the best texture.
• Partially freeze steak for easier slicing.
• Add water if sauce is too thick.
• Great with chicken or tofu too!
➤ Mongolian Beef Recipe FAQs
Q: Can I use different beef?
⤷ A: Flank steak works best, but I’ve used sirloin, ribeye, even ground beef when that’s what I had. Just adjust your cooking time – some cuts cook faster than others.
Q: Is this actually Mongolian food?
⤷ A: Nah, it’s just something Chinese-American restaurants made up. Real Mongolian food is totally different – this is just a catchy name that stuck.
Q: Too sweet for me – can I tone it down?
⤷ A: Cut the brown sugar down to 2-3 tablespoons and add more soy sauce. I do this when I’m cooking for my dad – he hates sweet stuff.
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