Mongolian Beef (Without Using a Wok)
This easy Mongolian beef recipe features beautifully caramelized beef with a juicy, tender texture. And a gingery, garlicky, sweet and savory sauce makes this dish irresistible! You won’t believe how easy it is to make this restaurant-style stir fry in your own kitchen without a wok! {Gluten-Free adaptable}To make this dish gluten-free, use dry sherry instead of Shaoxing wine, and replace the soy sauce with tamari.
- Prep time
- 15 min
- Cook time
- 5 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1 lbs (450 g) flank steak (, sliced against the grain into 1/4” (1/2 cm) thick pieces (*Footnote 1))
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine ((or dry sherry))
- 1 teaspoon ginger (, grated)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup chicken stock ((or water))
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce ((or soy sauce))
- 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce ((or soy sauce))
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons peanut oil ((or vegetable oil))
- 2 teaspoons ginger (, minced)
- 3 cloves garlic (, minced)
- 4 green onions (, cut into 2” (5 cm) pieces, then halved lengthwise)
Instructions
- 1
Combine flank steak, Shaoxing wine, ginger, and salt in a large bowl. Gently mix well with your hand. Let marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes.
- 2
Mix all the sauce ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.
- 3
When you’re ready to cook, add the cornstarch to the marinated beef. Mix to coat all the beef pieces with cornstarch.
- 4
Heat peanut oil in a large nonstick skillet until hot. Spread the steak with minimal overlapping (*Footnote 2). Use a pair of tongs to rearrange the beef, if necessary. Let cook for 1 minute without moving, or until the bottom turns golden brown. Flip and cook the other side, 40 seconds or so, until golden but the inside is still a bit pink. Transfer the steak to a big plate.
- 5
If there is a lot of oil left in the pan, use a couple layers of kitchen paper towel held in a pair of tongs to remove any extra oil, leaving 1 tablespoon of oil in the pan.
- 6
Add the ginger, garlic, and the white part of the green onion into the skillet. Cook and stir for 30 seconds to release the fragrance.
- 7
Stir the sauce again until the cornstarch is fully dissolved. Pour it into the pan and immediately stir with a spatula. The sauce will thicken very quickly, in a couple seconds. Return the cooked beef to the pan, along with the green part of the green onion. Cook and stir a few more times to mix well. Transfer everything to a plate immediately. Serve hot over steamed rice as a main.