Mongolian Beef
Did you know that the word “Mongolian”, in Mongolian Beef simply means “exotic”, and that in this Chinese-American dish there is no traditional Mongolian cooking style; interesting huh? I thought so.
It has been awhile since I have posted a beef recipe, so I decided it was definitely about time that I did. While browsing Pinterest I found a recipe for “Copycat PF Chang’s Mongolian Beef” and I have to say it looked delicious. Neither of us have ever eaten at a “PF Chang’s” but we have both heard great things about their food, so I figured why not give this recipe a shot. The recipe was originally adapted from food.com, but the link from the picture on Pinterest brought me to blissfullydelicious.com (she has a great site!) I made a few changes from the original recipe to kick up the spice level; which I am glad I did. The recipe calls for flank steak which in the past I was not so keen on, but it was very tender sliced thinly before cooking.
This is a delicious Chinese-American dinner that is definitely on the must make again list!
Mongolian Beef
Ingredients:
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger, minced
- 2 tablespoon garlic, chopped
- 1/2 cup soy sauce (we use low sodium)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- Canola oil, for frying
- 1-1/2 lb flank steak
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 cup of green onions chopped
- 10-15 Chili de arbol (optional)
Directions:
- Boil a pot of water, then remove from heat and submerge the chili de arbols in the boiling water for about 25 minutes. When done chop in 1/2 inch pieces.
- PREPARE THE SAUCE
- Heat 2 tsp of vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over med/low heat. Add minced ginger and garlic to the pan. When garlic and ginger have softened, about a minute, add the soy sauce and water.
- Dissolve the brown sugar in the sauce, then raise the heat to about medium and boil the sauce for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat.
- PREPARE THE BEEF
- Slice the flank steak against the grain into 1/4″ thick bite-size slices. Tilt the blade of your knife at about a forty five degree angle to the top of the steak so that you get wider cuts. Dip the steak pieces into the cornstarch to apply a very thin dusting to both sides of each piece of beef. Let the beef sit for about 10 minutes so that the cornstarch sticks.
- PREPARE THE DISH
- As the beef sits in the cornstarch, heat up one cup of oil in a wok (you may also use a skillet for this step as long as the beef will be mostly covered with oil). Heat the oil over medium heat until it’s nice and hot, but not smoking. Add the beef to the oil and cook for two minutes a side or until the beef just begins to darken on the edges. You don’t need a thorough cooking here since the beef is going to go back on the heat later.
- Stir the meat around a little so that it cooks evenly. Once finished take the meat out and place on paper towels, then pour the oil out of the wok or skillet.
- Put the pan back over the heat and add chopped chiles, saute for about a minute.
- Add the meat back into the wok with the chiles and simmer for one minute. Add the sauce and cook for a few minutes while stirring. Remove the beef and peppers with tongs or a slotted spoon to a serving plate. Add the 1/2 cup of the green onions on top. Leave the excess sauce behind in the pan.
- Serve and enjoy.
Tagged: Asian, beef, Chinese-American, dinner, spicy
I love Mongolian Beef! I’m glad you kicked up the spice level, because I really love spicy food. Yum!
Spicy is the best! I saw your recipe for Pei Wei Spicy Chicken on your site iwashyoudry.com, and we want to give that a shot soon, it looks amazing!