Sweet Mongolian beef is one of our most flavorful recipes and a dish that you are bound to love. Soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger and garlic are just a few of the incredible tastes you will enjoy when you cook this dish and it is quick and easy – much faster than ordering take out!
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Easy Mongolian Beef
Mongolian beef is a staple on take out menus across the country and we know why- it is an absolutely delicious, filling and flavorful beef dish. However, if you are tired of spending a fortune on take-out Mongolian beef, you may be wishing there was an easy way to make it at home. This recipe will show you how! With just ten minutes of prep time, you will have a perfect, restaurant-worthy Mongolian beef on the table within 30 minutes – that is faster than take-out could be delivered! And, of course, we believe our recipe is so much better.
How To Make Mongolian Beef
The main components of this recipe are the marinade for the beef and the tasty sauce that is poured over the dish after it cooks. When you look at the recipe, the ingredient list may look long, however, the process is quite simple (and you will want all those ingredients in order to get the most flavor possible!). Let’s take a look at how to make each part of the recipe separately and then you will see how quick and easy it really is to make this meal.
To make the marinade:
- Combine all the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl and whisk together well, making sure there are no lumps of cornstarch or spices. You may want to add the 1/16 cup cornstarch slowly to ensure it doesn’t clump.
- Place the marinade in a large zip-lock bag or bowl along with the sliced beef strips (we have found that flank steak works best!) and then put in the fridge to marinate for at least an hour or as long as overnight (the longer the beef marinates, the better!).
- The beef is ready to cook!
To make the sauce for the Mongolian beef:
- Add all the ingredients for the sauce in a small sauce pan or skillet and whisk together over medium-low heat. You may want to add the 1/16 cup cornstarch slowly to ensure it doesn’t clump.
- Bring the mix to a boil, whisking constantly, until the sauce begins to thicken.
- Turn off the heat and set the sauce aside.
To put the Mongolian beef recipe together:
- Place the marinated beef in a large skillet or wok along with the marinade and cook over medium-high heat for about 5-7 minutes, tossing the beef frequently like a stir fry to ensure that it cooks evenly.
- Add about 1/2 cup of the sauce to the beef and cook, stirring to coat the beef.
- Serve the stir fry Mongolian beef over rice along with the extra sauce.
When you break the recipe down into easy to envision sections, you can see that it really isn’t too hard to make! A lot of flavorful ingredients and a few minutes cook time and you will have a delicious dinner in no time!
Mongolian Beef Side Dishes
Our sweet, easy Mongolian beef recipes is essentially for the marinated flank steak beef and the delicious sauce that is really what this classic, Asian dish requires. However, you likely want something to pair with the beef. Here are a few ideas for you, giving you some great options to pair with the cooked, sweet, easy Mongolian beef.
- Cook some brown rice or white rice in a rice cooker or on the stove. Read the package directions, checking the cup water needed as well as the minutes total time to cook the rice. Once cooked, add a tiny bit of olive oil, hoisin sauce or vegetable oil to the rice to prevent it from sticking and then serve the cooked Mongolian beef over the top of the rice. For some extra taste, add some chopped green onions to or extra garlic and ginger to the rice.
- Make some udon noodles to go alongside the sweet, cooked flank steak. Udon noodles cook quite quickly, only taking a few minutes cook time to give you soft Asian noodles.
- Cook the beef completely and serve with an Asian inspired side salad. A mandarin orange salad with a light ginger and garlic dressing is a fantastic option to serve with Mongolian beef.
While these ideas are great inspiration and easy sides to serve with Mongolian beef, you may have a few ideas of your own. Leave a reply in the comments below and let us know what you served with this easy recipe.
FAQ’s
Everyone loves our sweet flank steak Mongolian beef and we receive lots of questions and inquiries about our recipe. Hopefully, these answers to some frequently asked questions will help you perfect your beef and enable you to never order take out again!
What does Mongolian beef taste like?
Mongolian beef has a lot of various flavors layered into the sauce and in the marinade. The dominant flavors are the soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, ginger, and garlic. The dish is nice and sweet while also having a delicious salty taste mainly from the soy sauce. The garlic and ginger give the beef a nice spice that we know you will love!
What kind of meat is Mongolian beef?
Our easy Mongolian beef recipe is made using flank steak. Flank steak beef is tender to eat yet still has enough proteins to help hold it together when you stir fry. Flank steak also has lots of juicy flavor and is still an inexpensive steak option. If you do not have flank steak, you can use a sirloin beef or any other quick-cooking beef option.
Is Mongolian beef healthy?
Mongolian beef is full of protein and fairly low in carbs. There are also a few ingredient choices that you can make to improve the nutritional content of this recipe as well. Choose to use 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce to cut back on salt. Add olive oil in place of vegetable oil which is said to have more beneficial fats and less saturated fat. Add all fresh ginger in the sauce recipe rather than part ground ginger. Fresh ginger is said to be very healthy and have lots of antioxidative properties.
We hope that you love this sweet, easy Mongolian beef recipe and use it in place of take out often. In just a few minutes total time, you can be eating a fresh, flavorful, homemade meal! 30 minutes is all it takes. A few minutes, servings of fresh Mongolian beef on the table and a much cheaper option to take out Mongolian beef sounds like a total win!
If you are interested in more time-saving recipes, all of which only take minutes, servings for a whole family and taste amazing, browse our site as you are sure to find lots of easy recipes that you love. We are always adding new recipes to our site so be sure to check back– Easy, quick and delicious recipes are what we are all about!
PrintSweet Mongolian Beef
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
This recipe is better than any take out you could ever order- make it fresh and with more flavor right in your own kitchen!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds beef, cut into strips (we used flank steak)
- For Marinade:
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- Juice from ½ fresh lime
- For Sauce:
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 tablespoons minced garlic
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons cold water + 1 tablespoons corn starch
Instructions
- Combine marinade ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until combined. Pour marinade into a zip-lock bag, add beef strips, seal and chill for at least 1 hour (or overnight).
- Combine sauce ingredients in a skillet over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Meanwhile, whisk corn starch and water in a small bowl until corn starch dissolves.
- Once sugar dissolves, bring sauce to a boil, reduce to medium-low heat and stir in corn starch-water mixture. Allow sauce to thicken slightly, then remove from heat.
- Cook beef strips in a large skillet over medium-high heat for about 5-7 minutes. Reduce to medium heat and add up to ½ cup of sauce until beef is fully coated. Stir and continue to cook for a few more minutes.
- Serve over rice or noodles with any additional toppings you prefer.
Notes
Pro Tips:
- If your sauce cooks for too long, it may get a little too thick. Add a half cup water to the sauce and whisk in well. This should help with the texture of the sauce and, thanks to the strong flavors like garlic and ginger, it won’t take away from the taste of the sauce.
- To cut back on prep time, make the sauce in advance then store it in individual containers in the freezer. Anytime you’d like to enjoy this recipe, take out a container of sauce and thaw it in the microwave. The sauce is then ready to use and will still taste fresh and homemade!
- Add some chopped green onions or sesame seeds to the sauce, giving it a little extra flavor. Sesame seeds and green onions are staples in Asian cooking and both ingredients add a lot of flavor and very easy additions. Be sure to buy nice, fresh green onions and chop them right before you use them for the strongest taste for the sauce.
- Rather than using beef, try making the recipe with chicken breast. Not only is sweet Mongolian chicken amazing, but chicken cooks faster which will reduce the 30 minutes total time and have your meal on the table even quicker. It is like a whole new easy recipe!
- Low sodium soy sauce and cutting back on the vegetable oil in the marinade are two easy ways to make this recipe healthier. It will cut back on sodium and saturated fat. You can also cut back on the brown sugar which will reduce the sweet taste but don’t worry, the recipe will still be great! Easy Mongolian beef can be simple and healthy!
This was really good. Next time I plan on adding broccoli to it. In the recipe it says to add up to 1/2 cup of the sauce. Do you pour the rest on afterwards or discard? I just drizzled a little bit on top when serving since it is a little salty and the meat tastes good on it’s own when you’re done.
★★★★★
thanks, simple to make and you do not have to have much in the pantry to put it together. I really liked it, but think I will try adding some heat through chili flakes or something else, next time I do it.