Mongolian Beef is easy to make in just 30 minutes, crispy, sweet and garlicky with flavors you love from your favorite Chinese restaurant.
When it comes to favorite Chinese takeout, Mongolian Beef is at the top of the list. The delicious sauce of this popular Beef Dish can be used to make Ground Mongolian Beef and Mongolian Beef Burritos too!
Mongolian Beef is very flavorful and takes just 30 minutes to make from start to finish including all the slicing of the meat! It also uses basic pantry ingredients, so you don’t need to worry about running to the store today for oyster sauce or hoisin sauce. Everything in this recipe is available in every grocery store, so it makes the perfect weeknight dinner idea!
It will blow you away how much flavor you can get in less than half an hour and without any marinating or tons of ingredients. Thin cut steak is quick-fried with a cornstarch coating to give it the signature crispy edges that makes this dish so amazing. Some aromatics are sauteed in the beef fat and then sauce is added to soak up the savory, beefy flavor. Finally the beef gets coated in the amazing sauce and it’s finished with some crisp fresh onions.
This authentic stir fried Mongolian Steak recipe is popular with adults and kids alike for a number of reasons. One, people love anything that tastes like Chinese takeout. Two, the sweet flavor of the dark brown sugar mixed with the salty soy sauce and the strong ginger and garlic is incredibly addicting. Three, you get to enjoy it over a mountain of Steamed Rice, which soaks up all the savory sauce and will take you to your happy place.
What is Mongolian Beef?
Mongolian Beef is a Taiwanese dish that originated where Mongolian BBQ cuisine was popular. In American-Chinese restaurants, it consists of thinly sliced red meat, usually flank steak, that is wok seared with green onions in a savory, sticky sweet sauce made with soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic and ginger. It is usually not spicy, and it can be paired with other vegetables and served over white rice.
Why should you make Mongolian Beef at home?
There are many benefits to making copycat versions of your favorite take out dishes at home. The obvious one is to stretch your dollar. You can typically serve an entire family at home for the cost of one or two restaurant entrees. You can tailor the seasonings and ingredients for dietary and taste preferences. Your homemade recipe will typically be much healthier than the takeout version, and the best part is you don’t have to sacrifice any of the flavor!
How to Make Mongolian Beef
- Steak: Cut the flank steak into ¼ inch thick pieces, slicing against the grain. Place the meat and cornstarch in a large sealed plastic bag and coat the meat completely.
- Fry: Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium high heat. Sear the coated steak pieces in batches. Do not overcrowd the pan or your meat won’t get crispy. Transfer the seared steak to a plate.
- Sauce: In the same pan, cook the ginger and garlic until fragrant. Add the soy sauce, water, and brown sugar and let the mixture come to a boil.
- Finish: Stir the steak back into the sauce and allow the sauce to thicken. If your sauce isn’t thickening, add a cornstarch slurry and let the mixture simmer for a minute. Add green onions to the beef mixture and stir. Serve over rice and a side of steamed veggies
Classic Chinese Takeout Sides
FAQs for Mongolian Beef
Flank steak is the common cut for Mongolian Beef recipes. You can use any quick cooking beef cut such as skirt steak, top round, or tri-tip steak.
Mongolian Beef sauce contains soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, water and cornstarch to thicken. The sauce ingredients are simple and you probably have most of it in your pantry right now.
This Mongolian Beef recipe will have crispy seared edges and tender beef on the inside due to cutting the flank against the grain and quick cooking it. You want to make sure not to overcrowd the pan when you are frying or it will create steam and you won’t get crispy beef.
You want to slice the flank into ¼ inch strips against the grain. If you feel uncomfortable with cutting the steak thinly enough and have an hour or so notice, place the steak in the freezer for one hour. This will freeze it just enough that slicing it will be as easy as slicing a vegetable. The meat will firm up enough that you can slice it even thinner if you’d like.
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Key Ingredients
- Steak: Flank steak works well for this recipe because it cooks quickly while staying juicy and flavorful. Plus it’s a pretty inexpensive red meat. You can also use skirt steak, hangar steak, or other thin cut of steak for the same amazing flavors in this recipe.
- Brown Sugar: The addition of molasses to the dark brown sugar adds to the depth of flavor in this dish. You can use light brown sugar if that is what you have on hand, and you’ll still have a tasty meal. However, the slightly bitter molasses flavor does make a noticeable difference in the sauce.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic adds a lot of aromatic flavor to Chinese cuisine, and complements the sweetness of the Mongolian beef sauce.
- Ginger: Freshly grated ginger gives a slight kick to the recipe to balance the sweetness. If you don’t have fresh ginger, you can substitute ½ teaspoon ginger powder, and add it with the soy sauce.
- Soy Sauce: Always use low sodium soy sauce in Asian dishes, as it allows you to control the amount of salt. You can always add a little more to your taste.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch acts as a thickener when the sauce comes together at the end of this recipe. By coating the beef in it, the cornstarch will cook with the meat and add a crispy coating as well.
Can you make Mongolian Beef ahead of time?
While you can technically make Mongolian Beef ahead of time, it is definitely better when you make it fresh. This dish is known for the signature crispy beef and you will lose that tasty crispy goodness when the dish is reheated. However, one way to make the steak easier to cut is to cut it while it’s really cold, so you can pop the beef in the freezer an hour ahead of starting the dish.
Variations
- Spicy: Make the sauce spicy by adding some red chili flakes, some fresh Thai chiles, or chili garlic sauce. You can also serve it with some Chinese hot mustard or Horseradish Sauce for a spicy creamy blend.
- Meat: Instead of beef, thinly sliced pork, chicken, or even baked tofu would all taste amazing with this savory sweet sauce. Keep in mind that chicken and pork need to be cooked all the way through instead of just being seared like beef. You could also use ground beef or other ground meat.
- Veggies: For a quick and easy one-pan beef dinner idea, you can toss in some popular stir fry veggies like pea pods, shredded carrots, broccoli, and bok choy. Cook the veggies until crisp tender, then toss in at the end with green onions.
More Classic Asian Beef Dishes
How to Store
- Serve: For the best flavor and texture, serve this dish right away while the edges of the beef are still crispy and the onions are still slightly crunchy. It can be at room temperature for up to 2 hours.
- Store: Let any leftover Mongolian Beef cool down and then store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in an airtight container. It’s best to reheat it on the stove in a skillet.
- Freeze: Freeze Mongolian Beef up to 3 months in a sealed container. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
Ingredients
- 1 pound flank steak
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger , minced
- 1 tablespoon garlic , minced
- 1/3 cup lite soy sauce , low sodium
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 4 stalks scallions , green parts only, cut into 2 inch pieces
Instructions
- Slice the flank steak against the grain (the grain is the length of the steak) the long way in ¼ inch thick pieces and add it to a ziploc bag with the cornstarch.
- Press the steak around in the bag making sure each piece is fully coated with cornstarch and leave it to sit.
- Add the canola oil to a large frying pan and heat on medium high heat.
- Add the steak, shaking off any excess corn starch, to the pan in a single layer and cook on each side for 1 minute.
- If you need to cook the steak in batches because your pan isn't big enough do that rather than crowding the pan, you want to get a good sear on the steak, and if you crowd the pan, your steak with steam instead of sear.
- When the steak is done cooking remove it from the pan.
- Add the ginger and garlic to the pan and sauté for 10-15 seconds.
- Add the soy sauce, water and dark brown sugar to the pan and let it come to a boil.
- Add the steak back in and let the sauce thicken for 20-30 seconds.
- The cornstarch we used on the steak should thicken the sauce, if you find it isn’t thickening enough add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to 1 tablespoon of cold water and stir to dissolve the cornstarch and add it to the pan.
- Add the green onions, stir to combine everything, and cook for a final 20-30 seconds.
- Serve immediately.
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Photos used in a previous version of this post.
Delicious! Made this as part of our Thanksgiving meal and it was totally loved. Thank you for adding such a fun element to our meal. (We obviously didn’t go the traditional turkey route, so paired this with cashew chicken and a honey/soy/ginger green bean dish. Really a wonderful meal!)
Sounds like a great way to celebrate! So glad you all enjoyed it!
This was perfect!! So good! Exceeded my expectations!! Thank you!!
We have made it 3 times here, because it was such a big hit. The only thing is we cut the ginger back, just because we aren’t big fans. Thanks so much for sharing this great recipe.
You’re welcome, Peyton!
Really nice and very easy! Yes sweet but good.
Tried it with less expensive (cheaper) cuts – marinated beef in pineapple first was perfect!
So yummy! First time making it turned out perfectly!
Quick, easy and very close to PF Chang’s. Delicious.
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed it!
Great recipe, it was very delicious. One question I have is: do you have any tips about coating the beef in cornstarch? I find as soon as I mix the beef in cornstarch the moisture in the meat makes everything wet and gooey.
Sounds like your meat might have too much moisture. Try patting it down with a paper towel prior to adding it to the cornstarch to help remove some of the extra liquid. Hope this helps!
Can i marinate the flank steak and with what. Thanks
Yes, but just make sure that it’s cut very thinly against the grain.
I was nervous about making this because usually “easy” recipes that are restaurant favorites are code for “gross.” But my husband loves mongolian beef, so I thought I would give it a try. Well, it was one of the best meals we have had at our house in a long time. Simply delicious and satisfying. I felt like a real chef serving it. We ate the whole things. I did use dark brown sugar, and the meal was indeed very easy to make. It took me longer than 30 minutes to brown all the meat in several batches. I used a cast iron skillet to make mine. Some of the meat stuck to it, but then got stirred in when I made the sauce. It just turned out so good I can’t say enough about it!
So glad you decided to try!
Best meal EVER! On a few ingredients. Very easy. And EVERY person in my household will eat it (including three teen girls!). My husband requests this weekly. ***We also substituted CHICKEN instead of been and it was equally as fabulous! *** Also, I now pay no attention to the measure of corn starch for the coating. I just put it all in bag like ‘shake n bake’. No biggie. LOVE IT!!!
Thank you so much for the compliment!! So glad you all love it!
Thanks for this recipe. We made it tonite and it was awesome! I think next time adding some chilli peppers for added heat. It was so easy and fast to make. LOVED IT!
I made this last night and all I can say is….OMG!!! So good, I will never buy it at a restaurant again. I will be making this often. I wish I could post a picture as it looked just like the picture posted here. Thanks!!! Oh, I didn’t have flank steak, so I used Sirloin, after I pounded it with my meat mallet, it was so tender.
I tried this after noting that my son kept ordering this at the take out restaurant. I gotta say, this was a lot simpler and healthier than I anticipated. I don’t use cornstarch, so I opted for almond flour and coconut sugar (only comparable ingredients I could find in my pantry lol). Trader Joe’s does a shaved beef that I used, which worked out perfect. Recipe was spot on,I appreciated that! Lol
So glad you gave it a try!
Hi Sabrina-
Can’t wait to try this recipe! Quick question, did you use the wok to fry the steak in?
You can just use a skillet if you don’t have a wok.
Great recipe! I followed the recipe exactly and it was delicious. I have 4 very picky little kids ages 5-10 and all 4 of them went back for seconds and declared this meal their favorite meal over all others. It was a WIN in our home for sure!
Can you double this recipe – I’m sure it won’t be enough for my family? Can’t wait to try it!!
Yes 🙂 Enjoy!!
This recipe was so easy and DELICIOUS! I only had top round steak and it worked perfectly. Definitely will be on rotation.
It wasn’t a 30 minute recipe. Frying the beef was 30 minutes alone. It was easy though.
The outcome was pure excellence.
Really really tasty meal. I served it over instant brown rice. Next time I will add some orange and hot peppers.
Good recipe but too sweet for my taste. If you don’t like too sweet Asian food I would recommend decreasing brown sugar to 1/3 a cup. Also I was missing a lil bit of spice here so added 1/2 tsp crushed red chili pepper. Would def try again.
Feel free to adjust to your liking!
Great recipe on the Mongolian beef
This looks delicious and (my favorite part) easy! I can’t wait to try it. Thank you for sharing.
Just stumbled upon this site. I just made the Mongolian beef. Excellent!!!! Highly recommend!
My family absolutely loved this dinner! I added broccoli and carrots to the sauce in the skillet and not one morsel was left. You are a life saver!
This is so good! I couldn’t believe I made it and it tasted like it came from a restaurant. Thank you!
Absolutely delicious!!!! Served with sticky white rice and buttered peas with a squirt of lemon…yummy!!
Made this tonight and it was great! I added sliced white onion and mushrooms bc my family lives them, and it was a hit. Thanks for the great recipes!
This is soooooooo GOOD!!!!! Made it today for Sunday dinner with combination fried rice, oh!!! So good! Will definitely make again!!!
I have made this 3 times. The first time, I did not have dark brown sugar, or ginger. I used light brown sugar. It turned out good anyway. The second time, I had all the ingredients, but the ginger was a but too strong. The third time, I made it with everything except the ginger. The dark brown sugar made a huge difference in the taste. It was delicious. I am making it today for the 4th time in about 3 weeks. Today, I will add some cayenne pepper for a but of a kick.
I’m going to make it tonight , it just looks so good. Easy is what I like .
I rarely review recipes but this is one of the best recipes that I have ever tried. I made this last night and it was absolutely delicious!!! My husband raved and raved about it! This is way better than takeout. It was an absolute winner. I am so excited to try more of your recipes. I would give it more than 5 stars if i could.
I’m so glad you loved it enough to come back and let me know!! Thanks for the 5 stars!!
Love this recipe. Going to make for Sunday dinner. Will it affect the taste if I use ground ginger instead of fresh ginger? Or minced glaric that’s not fresh Garlic like the brand McCormick.
You should be fine. Enjoy!
This was sooo good and so easy to make! A bit messy but a new family fav!
This recipe made tonight’s dinner a success!
I cooked this for my family just a couple hours ago. I have to say it was delicious. The only reason I gave four stars is because it was far too sweet for me. I could easily cut the sugar quantity in half, everyone has different tastes though, so what was too much for me could be just right for someone else. Besides that it was amazing, the sweet sticky sauce complimented the steak, and the rice was fluffy and helped to fill up forkfuls. Trying it again some point soon ?
Didn’t know what to make one night, made this and the whole family loved it. Including my fussy one. Thanks
I haven’t tried this…BUT I AM DEFINITELY GOING TO. Just one quick question. I thought Mongolian Beef was spicy? Am I crazy?
No, it’s not spicy!
Hey,
Awesome Beef Recipe I love Beef very much. This is my favorite food so sometimes I find new recipes on different blogs.Thank you very much for your recipe.
This recipe was amazing! My entire family loved it! And… It was really easy to make. I will definitely make it again.
So glad you enjoyed it Meg!
Oh my, I fudged this up a little (misread the instructions on my phone, ugh) and used too much cornstarch… but the flavor was so wonderful, I’m definitely trying it again. I’m sure the few shortcomings my dish had tonight were due to my own mistakes.
Glad it still ended up working out for you!
Very good recipe. Followed the recipe exactly the first time. The second time I made it I went to1/3 cup sugar and added a bit of sriracha to the sauce. Could also add red pepper flakes. Delicious!
Could the sauce be made alone and kept in fridge till needed
Yes, you can make this sauce ahead of time. 🙂
This is really good I used flour coz I didn’t have cornstarch and regular soy sauce came out delicious. Thank you for the recipe
I made this recipe for my employers tonight and it was so easy to prepare. Absolutely delicious over rice. This was a big hit and definitely a recipe I’ll prepare again. Yummy!!
Made this last night & it was a hit! Might add broccoli and mushrooms next time. I’m also curious to see if this sauce would work with shrimp.
So glad you enjoyed it Cristina!
Hello! Can we serve this dish with creamy garlic mashed potato?
Sure 🙂
can i use regular sugar?
If you’re going to use regular sugar, I would suggest adding 1 tablespoon of molasses to keep the deeper flavor.
This was amazing! I went with light brown sugar and sirloin steak strips… came out perfect! My son said it was hands down the best Chinese he’s ever eaten! Thanks for sharing!
Hint** The butcher at most grocery stores will slice the flank steak for you at no cost if you tell them how you want it cut. Just find the cut you want and take it to the counter and tell them how you want it slices.
Delicious! Thank you! This is moving to the top of the repeat list.
I’m a little confused about the sauce. It says after the meat is in the bag with the cornstarch to let it sit while you make the sauce. What sauce might that be? Because the next step says to cook the meat then after you take the meat out and add the other ingredients. I’m just confused if I make a sauce then add that sauce to the pan or if I just add the ingredients after the meat is cooked like it says sorry if that sounds stupid.
Not quite sure how that got in there. Thanks for catching that. I’ve updated it to show correctly now.