Mongolian Beef is a take out favorite and even better made at home! It’s so easy, you can have this dish on the table in about 20 minutes. Tender slices of beef are flash fried and then coated in a sweet soy ginger garlic sauce.
This copycat recipe for PF Changs rivals anything you could find in a restaurant. Serve this stir-fry recipe over rice with steamed broccoli or bok choy.
Easy Take-Out at Home
I love Chinese food from chicken lettuce wraps to a simple cashew chicken and even more so when I can make them at home.
Making takeout at home is easy and best of all you know exactly what ingredients go into it.
This recipe shares my favorite tips for extra tender beef and heaps of flavor!
What is Mongolian Beef? It’s a simple stir fry with thin slices of beef simmered in a soy, brown sugar, garlic and ginger sauce. The brown sugar quickly caramelizes in the soy to make a slightly sticky sauce that coats the beef.
How to Make Mongolian Beef (PF Changs style)
You won’t believe how quick and easy it is to make this take-out at home (and how much better it tastes).
- Coat the slices of beef in cornstarch, stir fry and set aside.
- Prepare the sauce. When the sauce has thickened, add the beef to the pan.
- Serve hot over rice.
Flank steak is best for this recipe because its flavor stands up to the sauce. If cut properly the beef is tender.
How to Make Beef Tender in Stir Fry
- Add Cornstarch Toss the beef with cornstarch before cooking. A technique called velveting creates the most tender meat (a combination of egg white, cornstarch, oil and often other additives) as cornstarch is a natural tenderizer. In this recipe, we use just cornstarch for both a tender meat and a nice crust.
- Choose the Right Cut Choose a type of beef that is intended for quick cooking such as flank steak or sirloin. More expensive cuts (such as filet) can also be used. (Avoid tougher cuts like stewing meat).
- Cut Across the Grain Always cut beef across the grain and slice thinly.
- Cook in Small Batches Don’t overcrowd the pan, cook in small batches as needed. Overcrowding the pan can cause the beef to steam rather than sear.
TIP For Cutting Beef
For easier cutting, place the beef in the freezer for about 20 minutes before slicing. Cut beef across the grain into 1/4″ inch slices.
You will see the long fibers in the meat, you want to cut across the fibers for tender meat. If you cut with the fibers the beef will be tough.
What to Serve with Mongolian Beef
Like most stir-fry recipes, rice is a perfect choice for soaking up that garlicky ginger sauce. Steamed or baked white rice will do the trick. Add in a fresh steamed veggie, some bok choy or even some stir-fried veggies.
How to Store Leftovers.
Store leftovers in the freezer for four months or in the fridge for four days. Freeze in single portions for a quick packable lunch to bring to the office. They can be reheated straight from the freezer in the microwave or oven.
More Take-Out Favorites
- Sticky Bourbon Chicken
- Lemon Chicken
- Easy Beef Stir Fry
- Crispy Homemade Egg Rolls
- Homemade Wonton Soup
- Crab Rangoon
Easy Mongolian Beef
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons + 2 tablespoons oil (vegetable or olive)
- ½ teaspoon ginger minced
- 4 cloves garlic finely minced
- ½ cup soy sauce (low sodium is best)
- ¼ cup water
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 pound flank steak (or your favorite cut of beef thinly sliced)
- ⅓ cup cornstarch
- 2 green onions sliced
Instructions
- Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a small pan over medium low heat. Add ginger and garlic and stir just until fragrant (about 1 minute). Add soy sauce, water and brown sugar and bring to a boil. Let boil 3-5 minutes or until slightly thickened. Set aside.
- Slice the flank steak into ¼" slices and toss with cornstarch. Gently shake off any excess.
- Place 1 tablespoon at a time of oil in a pan or wok and heat over medium high heat. Cook the beef in small batches for about 2 minutes. (It doesn't need to cook all of the way through, it will cook completely when combined with the sauce).
- Once all the beef has been cooked, combine with the sauce and heat over medium until hot and bubbly. Remove from heat and stir in green onions. Serve over rice.
Video
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Chinese© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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More Asian Inspired Beef Recipes
- Beef and Broccoli – classic!
- Sesame Chicken – Quick to make
- Asian Beef Skewers – perfect for a crowd
- Beef & Bok Choy Stir Fry – kid friendly
- Easy Ramen Stir fry – great for weeknights
- Easy Beef Stir Fry – so fast
Excellent Dish! I added snow peas to pan with beef and increased ginger to one teaspoon.
Can’t wait to add some mushrooms and an 1/8 tsp of hot pepper.
I love your mongolian beef recipe which I fixed for the first time. My husband loves it too. Thank you Holly.
i just made this with cilantro rice. i added julienned onion, rice vin. and hoisin. i only had powdered garlic/ginger but it srill turned out great. thanks Holly
I added shredded carrots for color and taste. Love all the flavors in this recipe. Very easy to make.
Tastes great. Restaurant quality. I modified the recipe to make it sugar-free by using no calorie granulated sweetener from Walmart and just added a bit more flour to thicken the sauce and it turned out great. I’ll definitely be using this recipe again.
My family loves this recipe!
I followed the recipe, but I think it needs to clarify that the oil is divided and that a smaller amount is added to the sauce. I added all at the beginning, and that is clearly too much. And then later it says to sauté the beef in oil. Otherwise, very tasty.
Thank you, I have updated the recipe to reflect this.
This is my first time making the easy Mongolian beef. I’m not the best with cooking but the only time consuming part of this recipe For me was cutting the meat. I have never done that before so it was difficult. I got it done measured my soy sauce and other ingredients. It was very good I would definitely be making this again <3 belly is full and happy!
This was delicious! I had a pound of diced beef(labeled as taco beef) out and didn’t want those flavors. Even though the recipe calls for thinly sliced flank steak, I followed the recipe exactly only substituting the meat I had. After just the short flash cooking time it was tender and delicious. I added some thin sliced onions because I didn’t have scallions. I flash cooked them with each batch of meat. So yummy! Served it over rice. Will definitely make again. Thanks for sharing this.
Sounds delicious, Cheryl! Glad to hear this recipe worked so well for you.
Really delicious
At $9.99 a pound for flank steak, I use a thin sliced, tenderized , chuck steak. It works very well.
I have made this at least twice a month since being newly married for the past 9 months! My husband loves this simple & delicious meal & so do I! Thank you so much for sharing :)