Mouthwatering Mongolian Beef

 

A meal that has eluded me for years is Mongolian Beef.

 

 

I love Chinese food, but it’s really Chinese restaurant authentic family style Chinese food. I have such wonderful memories from my childhood. We’d come home with a bunch of different white food takeout boxes from the restaurant and open them all up with a spoon in each. We’d sit at the table and pass the boxes around, placing a little of each on our plates. It was so wonderful to have such variety of flavors; sweet, savory, rich, light, starchy, and meaty. We had a big family and this approach to a quick dinner was actually affordable as well. Fantastic!

 

 

Now that I’m enjoying feeding my own family, I really want to figure out how to make these wonderful meals and memories. It’s tricky though because some of the ingredients are very traditional Asian cuisine and unfamiliar. 

 

 

I’ve spent a lot of time experimenting with different flavors and learning more about what I like in my dishes and what my family likes. One of the greatest things about cooking for yourself at home is that you can make it exactly what you want and enjoy.

 

 

This meal hits home for sure. It is always in the takeout order; nobody questions whether you’ll be getting that. The trick is making sure it’s not too sweet, not too much salty soy, and not too much sauce which can overpower the meat and onions.

 

 

 

 

Mongolian Beef

 

 

1 lb sirloin or flank steak, sliced very thin

¼ c cornstarch

2Tbs EVOO

1 yellow onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp fresh ginger, minced

¼ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

2 green onions, chopped

¼ c lite soy sauce

¼ c water

1/3 c brown sugar

 

 

 

 

 

It’s a good idea to prep everything before starting as the process goes fast. Slice your meat 1/8-1/4 inch thick slices. Place the meat in a bowl with the cornstarch and a pinch of salt, toss and set aside. Slice your onions thicker than your meat slices. Also, you want the green onions to be about the same as the yellow onion, so slice them about 1-2 inches long. Have your garlic and ginger ready as well as your seasonings.

Put a large pan on the stove and heat to medium-high. While that warms, mix the soy sauce, water and brown sugar together. Add oil to the pan and just as it starts to smoke, place a batch of the meat into the pan. Don’t add too much meat at a time or you won’t get a good sear. Leave it a couple minutes for the sear, and then flip the meat to sear the other side. Once both sides are seared well, set it aside on a plate and complete the other batches until all the meat it seared.

Lower the heat a little and add a bit more oil. Brown the onions to just softened and add the garlic and ginger. Stir and cook for a minute. Remove about half the onions and set aside and then add the liquid mix and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the meat back and lower the heat to a simmer. Let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes to allow the sauce to reduce and thicken a bit. When the sauce it to your desired consistency, add back the onion and also add the green onion. Cook for a minute more and then remove from the heat. Serve over rice.

 

*I love veggies so I serve this with steamed broccoli. You can add the broccoli to the meal when you add the onion back at the end if you’d like to have sauce on it. Also, you can add matchstick carrots when you add the onions back as well. Great ways to get more veggies in there.