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Mongolian beef in a wok.

Mongolian Beef

By Jennifer Segal
Adapted from The Woks of Life by Bill, Kaitlin, Judy, and Sarah Leung, copyright © 2022. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC.
Savory, slightly sweet, and packed with flavor, this Mongolian beef recipe hits all the right notes. Best served over rice.
Servings: 4
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes , plus 1 hour to marinate

Ingredients

For Marinating the Beef

  • 1 lb beef flank steak, sliced against the grain into ¼-in (6-mm) thick slices
  • 2 teaspoons vegetable oil (or other neutral oil)
  • 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
  • 1 teaspoon regular soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda

For the Sauce

  • ¼ cup (packed) light brown sugar
  • ¾ cup hot water
  • ¼ cup regular soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce (see note)

For Coating and Searing the Beef

  • ½ cup cornstarch
  • ⅔ cup vegetable oil (or other neutral oil)

For the Rest of the Dish

  • 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
  • 8 dried red chilies, optional
  • 3 medium cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 scallions, white and green parts separated and cut on an angle into 2-in (5-cm) pieces
  • 1½ tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons water
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Marinate the Beef

  • In a medium bowl, combine the beef with the oil, Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry), regular soy sauce, cornstarch, water, and baking soda. Marinate for 1 hour.

Make the Sauce

  • In a small bowl, dissolve the brown sugar in the hot water. Mix in the regular soy sauce and dark soy sauce.

Coat and Sear the Beef

  • In a medium bowl, dredge the marinated beef slices in the ½ cup (70 g) cornstarch until thoroughly coated.
  • Heat the oil in a wok or large nonstick skillet over high heat until just before it starts to smoke. Working in batches so as not to crowd the pan, spread the beef slices evenly in the pan and shallow-fry them undisturbed for 1 minute on each side to achieve a crusty coating. Transfer the beef to a plate and turn off the heat.

Assemble the Dish

  • Drain most of the oil from the pan, reserving 1 tablespoon. Wipe the pan clean with a paper towel, then add the reserved tablespoon of oil. Over medium-high heat, add the ginger and whole dried chilies (if using—if you’d like the dish spicier, break 1 or 2 chilies in half). After 15 seconds, add the garlic and the scallion whites. Stir-fry for another 15 seconds. Add the sauce and simmer for 2 minutes.
  • In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch with the water to make a slurry, then slowly stir it into the pan.
  • Add the beef and the green parts of the scallions. Toss everything together for 30 seconds, until the scallions are wilted and there is almost no standing sauce. Serve.

Notes

Dark soy sauce is saltier, sweeter, and a bit thicker than regular soy sauce. It is used to flavor dishes and also darken the color of sauces, and you only need one to two teaspoons. Dark soy sauce is available at Asian markets or online. If you don’t have any, you can simply omit it. However, your dish will be lighter in color. If you want your dish to look like the photograph, don’t leave it out. (Alternatively, you can make a substitute by combining 2 teaspoons soy sauce, ½ teaspoon molasses, and ⅛ teaspoon sugar.)

Nutrition Information

Per serving (4 servings)Calories: 760kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 25gFat: 60gSaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 70mgSodium: 1149mgFiber: 1gSugar: 9g
Nutritional Data Disclaimer

This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.