I absolutely adore recreating Chinese takeout at home. For our large family it saves us a ton of money and is hands down healthier. Sometimes we will order just egg roll from the local Chinese restaurant since I have not had a chance to try to make those, and honestly not sure if I will. Somethings are just meant to be greasy and fried somewhere else.
The great thing about this recipe is that you can double it easily to feed a crowd. You can also add any vegetables of choice. Different colored peppers, more onions, or the whites of scallions, celery, peppers, snap peas, you name it, just add it in. Even broccoli.
Chef’s tips: If you freeze your flank steak for about 20-30 minutes before slicing it will be easier to slice. You can also use a large ziplock bag to toss your meat with the corn starch. Don’t forget to let it rest with the cornstarch on it before cooking. Cook in several batches so you don’t crowd the pan. You will not get a good sear if you do.
If I am short on time, or we ate too much beef that week, you can sub out the flank steak for lean ground beef or turkey. Just add the cornstarch in at the end of cooking to thicken that sauce, starting with one tablespoon at a time.
You can also make this spicy if you would like. Just add red pepper flakes to the sauce, or in my house we add it at the table, trying to keep everyone happy. Sesame seeds are also another nice addition.
I can’t wait to hear if you give it a try!
Mongolian Beef
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons canola oil
- 1 teaspoon ginger, grated or chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic, grated or chopped
- 1/2 cup soy sauce - I used low sodium gluten free soy sauce or you could use coconut aminos as well
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup - brown sugar
- vegetable oil, for frying (about 1 cup)
- 1 lb flank steak, thinly sliced, or you can substitute ground beef
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 8 large green onions, sliced on the diagonal into one-inch lengths
- Extra veggies - snap peas, carrots(shredded is great for this), red peppers,
- onions
- optional red pepper flakes
Instructions
Make the sauce by heating 2 tsp of oil in a medium saucepan over med/low heat. Don't get the oil too hot. Add ginger and garlic to the pan and quickly add the soy sauce and water before the garlic scorches. Dissolve the brown sugar in the sauce, then raise the heat to about medium and boil the sauce until the sauce
thickens. Remove it from the heat.
Slice the flank steak against the grain into 1/4" thick bite-size slices (Tilt the bladeof 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. As the beef sits, heat up canola oil in a large saute pan, or cast iron. Add enough to cover the entire bottom of pan. Heat the oil over medium heat until it's nice and hot, but not smoking.
Add the beef to the oil and sauté for just two minutes, or until the beef just begins to darken on the edges, Flip and cook other side. 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. After a couple minutes, use a large slotted spoon to take the meat out and onto paper towels, then pour the oil out of the wok or skillet. It may take a couple of batches of cooking to cook all of the meat.
If using other veggies, like carrots add them and cook for a little while to soften. Put beef back in skillet, Add the sauce, cook for one minute while stirring, then add all the green onions and snap peas
Cook for one more minute, then remove the beef and onions with tongs or a slotted spoon to a serving plate.
** if using ground beef. .. brown the beef, remove from pan, set aside. Add veggies, saute, then add beef and sauce back in. You will need to add a corn starch slurrry (waster and corn starch) to thicken sauce.
Start with two tablespoons of corn starch and add more as needed.
Serve over rice, cauliflower rice, or just in bowl.
Notes
If you freeze your flank steak for about 20-30 minutes before slicing it will be easier to slice
You can also use a large ziplock bag to toss your meat with the corn starch. Don't forget to let it rest with the cornstarch on it before cooking. Cook in several batches so you don't crowd the pan. You will not get a good sear if you do.
Cook Well, Eat Well, Live Well
Happy Cooking, Courtney
Leave a Reply