Many recipes for Mongolian beef specify that you need to marinate the beef, but you do not have to do that in this recipe, which makes it quick and easy to prepare for a weeknight meal. But ease of preparation is only one good feature of this recipe.

The other is that it tastes great! The ginger and vinegar create a savory sauce and the brown sugar and hoisin sauce lend sweetness to the mix. This is truly better than takeout, which tends to get a little soggy by the time you get it to your house. By preparing this fresh, in your own home, you will get the full authentic taste.

 

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds beef tenderloin/beef chuck, cut into strips

½ cup cornstarch

Oil, for deep frying

 

For the Sauce

2 Tbsp. cooking oil

1 Tbsp. finely chopped ginger

1 Tbsp. finely chopped garlic

½ cup soy sauce

½ cup rice vinegar

½ cup water

1 tsp hoisin sauce (optional)

½ cup brown sugar

1 tsp cornstarch, diluted in 3 tsp water

1 tsp red chili flakes (optional)** See Quick Tip before adding

½ cup green onion, chopped into 1 inch pieces

 

DIRECTIONS

Start off by tossing the beef strips in cornstarch. Make sure the strips are coated evenly with cornstarch.

Deep fry the beef strips for 4-5 mins, drain the oil and set cooked strips aside.

In a saucepan, heat 2 Tbsp. oil on high heat setting. Quickly add in the ginger and garlic. Stir quickly for 10 seconds. Immediately add in the soy sauce, water, rice vinegar and hoisin sauce. Bring the sauce to a quick boil.

Add in the brown sugar and cornstarch mixture. Mix thoroughly.

Now add in the beef strips and let cook for 2 minutes.

Add the green onions and cook for an additional minute.

Serve hot with rice.

 

USE RED NEXT PAGE LINK BELOW

NEXT

Quick Tip:  If you want the sauce to be thicker and stickier, dissolve an additional teaspoon of cornstarch into 2 teaspoons of water and stir it into the sauce mixture.

Recipe and photo courtesy of Arvin and Aena at the Scrambled Chefs