Mongolian Beef

This is a crispy, sweet with a little heat, tender beef recipe that the kids will come back for seconds...they do at our house!

Crispy Mongolian beef made with Diamond R flank steak in a sweet and spicy sauce, garnished with cilantro

Mongolian Beef


Ingredients:


Beef Marinade:

  • 1 Diamond R Flank Steak, or 3 Diamond R Sirloins
  • 1/4c soy sauce
  • 1/4c lime juice
  • 1/4c good olive oil
  • 1T minced garlic

Sauce:

  • 1/4c brown sugar
  • 1t Better than Bouillon Beef
  • 1c hot water
  • 1t sesame oil

Remaining Ingredients

  • 1c vegetable oil
  • 1t fresh grated fresh ginger
  • 3 serrano peppers, or something similar
  • 1T minced garlic
  • 3/4c corn starch
  • 1.5T corn starch
  • 1/2c water
  • Cilantro for garnish


Directions:


Marinate the Beef:

  1. Thinly slice the beef across the grain and place it in a ziplock bag.
  2. In a bowl, combine all the marinade ingredients, stir, and pour over the beef.
  3. Seal the bag and refrigerate for 1 hour (no more than 2). Turn the bag a few times while marinating.

Prepare the Sauce:

  1. Dissolve the Better than Bouillon in hot water, stirring until fully mixed.
  2. Add the remaining sauce ingredients, stir well, and set aside.

Cook the Beef:

  1. Heat oil in a cast iron skillet or wok over high heat.
  2. Remove the beef from the marinade and let it drain for a few minutes. Discard the marinade.
  3. Put the beef and 3/4 cup of cornstarch back into the ziplock bag and toss to coat the beef evenly.
  4. Once the oil is hot (almost smoking), fry the beef in two batches. Let the beef brown, then remove it and drain on a paper towel. Careful, it will cook FAST.
  5. Discard all but 1 tablespoon of the hot oil.

Cook the Sauce:

  1. Lower the heat to medium.
  2. Add the serrano peppers and sauté for a few minutes. For extra heat, slice the peppers in half to release the seeds.
  3. Sauté the garlic until it just begins to brown, being careful not to overcook, add the ginger and cook for one minute.
  4. Add the sauce mixture you prepared earlier and let it simmer for a few minutes.
  5. Mix 1/2 cup of water with 11/2 tablespoons of cornstarch to create a slurry.
  6. Slowly stir the slurry into the sauce and cook until the sauce thickens to your liking.

Combine and Serve:

  1. Add the cooked beef back into the pan or wok with the thickened sauce.
  2. Cook for a few minutes until the beef is heated through.
  3. Garnish with chopped cilantro or green onions.

Serving Suggestions:
Serve the beef with fried rice and sautéed broccoli for a complete meal.

How to Get That Crispy, Tender Bite

Two things make this dish work. First, slice the flank steak thin and across the grain. Pop the steak in the freezer for about 20 minutes before slicing and it firms up just enough to cut clean, thin pieces. Second, coat the beef in cornstarch and fry it in small batches in hot oil. Crowding the pan drops the temperature and steams the meat instead of crisping it. Let each batch brown, then drain it on a paper towel while you cook the next.

Adjust the Heat to Your Table

Three serrano peppers give this a gentle background heat. Leave the seeds in and slice the peppers open for more kick, or swap in a milder pepper for the kids. The sweet brown sugar sauce balances the spice, so even folks who shy away from heat usually come back for seconds. They do at our house.

What to Serve With Mongolian Beef

Serve it over fried rice with a side of sauteed broccoli and dinner is done. If you like cooking flank steak this way, our beef stir-fry is another quick, high-heat favorite, and the same cut shines in our marinated flank steak fajitas.

This recipe lives or dies on the beef. Order Diamond R flank steak and start with tender, single-source, grain-finished beef raised on our family ranch in Independence, Kansas, with born here, raised here, and fed here on our family ranch in Independence, Kansas

Frequently Asked Questions

What cut of beef is best for Mongolian beef?

Flank steak is our first choice because it stays tender when sliced thin across the grain and fried fast. Sirloin works too; use about three Diamond R sirloins in place of one flank steak. Both take the marinade well and crisp up nicely in the cornstarch coating.

Why is my Mongolian beef not crispy?

The usual reasons are oil that is not hot enough and a crowded pan. Heat the oil until it is almost smoking and fry the beef in two small batches. Make sure the beef is coated in cornstarch and drained of its marinade first so it browns instead of steams.

How spicy is this Mongolian beef?

With three serrano peppers it lands at a mild to medium heat that most kids will eat. For more fire, slice the peppers open to release the seeds. For less, use fewer peppers or a milder variety. The brown sugar sauce keeps the heat balanced either way.

Can I make Mongolian beef ahead of time?

You can slice and marinate the beef up to 2 hours ahead and mix the sauce in advance. The fried beef is best served right away while it is crisp. If you have leftovers, reheat them quickly in a hot pan rather than the microwave to hold on to some of the texture.

Why Flank Steak Is the Right Cut for Mongolian Beef

Most takeout Mongolian beef is made with whatever is cheapest that day. Flank steak is the cut that actually belongs in this dish, and it is worth understanding why.

Flank comes from the abdominal muscles, so it is lean, and it has a pronounced, coarse grain running the length of the cut. That grain is the whole story. Sliced with the grain it is chewy. Sliced across the grain, thin, you shorten every one of those muscle fibers and the same piece of beef turns tender. This is a knife problem, not a beef problem.

It also carries real beef flavor, which matters in a sauce this sweet. A blander cut disappears under the soy and brown sugar. Flank holds its own.

Slice across the grain, and slice it thin

Look at the surface of the raw steak and you will see the fibers running in one direction. Turn the steak so your knife crosses those lines at ninety degrees, and cut about a quarter inch thick. If the beef is slightly frozen, roughly thirty minutes in the freezer, it firms up and the slices come out cleaner.

This single step separates good Mongolian beef from the chewy version. It matters more than the sauce.

What Single-Animal Beef Changes About This Dish

Grocery-store flank steak is pooled. One package can come from several animals across several states, which is why the texture varies batch to batch and why your results are inconsistent even when your technique is not.

Every flank steak we sell comes off one animal, born on our ranch outside Independence, Kansas, raised on our grass, and finished on corn and oats we grow in the next field over. Same animal, same feed, same handling. The cut behaves the same way every time you cook it, which is the part most recipes cannot promise you.

More Mongolian Beef Questions

Should I use flank steak or skirt steak?

Either works, and both need the same across-the-grain slicing. Flank is leaner and slightly thicker, so it is more forgiving if you overcook it by a minute. Skirt has more fat and cooks faster. If you are new to the dish, start with flank.

Do I need to velvet the beef?

The cornstarch coating in this recipe does the same job. Velveting, the restaurant technique of coating beef in cornstarch and egg white before a quick fry, exists to protect lean beef from high heat. The cornstarch here gives you the crisp exterior and tender interior without the extra step.

Can I freeze Mongolian beef?

Yes. Cool it completely, then freeze in a sealed container for up to three months. The sauce thickens as it freezes, so add a splash of water when you reheat. Reheat in a skillet rather than a microwave to hold on to some texture.

What is the difference between Mongolian beef and Beijing beef?

Mongolian beef is soy and brown sugar forward with scallions and a mild heat. Beijing beef is sweeter and tangier, usually with vinegar and bell peppers, and it is battered more heavily. Neither is a traditional dish from the place it is named after.

Back to blog