Mongolian Beef - 30 Minute Recipe

This Mongolian Beef recipe is a copycat version of PF Chang’s famous Mongolian beef but even better! It’s an incredibly delicious dish made of simple ingredients like soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and dark brown sugar which coats tender pieces of flank steak in a sweet and tangy sauce!

If you’re like me and crave any kind of Asian-style takeout, this recipe is exactly what you need. Served on a bed of white rice with a side of steamed broccoli, and it's heaven!

I tried this Mongolian beef recipe for the first time at my neighbor’s house and I’m so excited to share this flavorful dish with you all. I just know you’ll love it as much as my family does. 

Making it from home is so easy to do because most of the items you’ve probably got in your kitchen and we all know that as delicious and convenient as ordering takeout can be, it comes with a ton of added sugar and high sodium ingredients. This way you can control what goes in and what stays out.

Plus, it’s ready in 30 minutes!

The answer to your weeknight dinner dilemma is always a quick and easy dish and this one is the best! Besides the fact that this flank steak recipe is mouthwatering and crazy delicious, it’s also budget-friendly because flank steak is not an expensive cut of beef.

Once you know how to cook flank steak this way, the sky’s the limit to what you can do with it next time!

Lets start cooking.

Ingredients

• For the sauce - Olive oil, ginger, garlic, soy, sauce, dark brown sugar, and water. Combined, these ingredients make the dark, sweet and tangy, glossy sauce that coats the beef.
• Olive oil - Used to pan-fry the steak.
• Flank steak - I use about 1 ½ lbs of flank steak cut into strips.
• Cornstarch - A thickening agent that coats the steak before it gets cooked. Not only does it make a really nice coating on the steak which is texturally amazing, but it helps to thicken the sauce as it cooks together with the meat.
• Green onion - Cooked along with the Mongolian beef as part of the dish but save a little extra for garnish!

How to make PF Chang's Mongolian Beef Recipe:

Step 1: Combine all the sauce ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and then set it aside.

Step 2: Grab your flank steak and slice it diagonally against the grain. I make mine about ¼” thick, but you can cut yours to your desired thickness.

Step 3: Place cornstarch in a shallow bowl and dip each piece of steak into the cornstarch, making sure it’s all evenly coated. Place the pieces on a plate and let them sit for about 5-10 minutes.

Step 4: Take the steak and cut them further into 1” bites.

Step 5: Heat oil in a pot or skillet over medium heat. Add the beef slices and cook for 2 minutes, stirring and flipping the meat so that it cooks evenly.

Step 6: Remove the beef from the oil using a slotted spoon and transfer them to a paper towel-lined plate to rest.

Step 7: Drain the oil (or grab a new skillet) and add the meat back onto the pan, still over medium heat. Add the sauce and bring to a boil uncovered. Cook for 1 minute.

Step 8: Add the green onion and cook for an extra minute before turning off the heat.

Serve immediately over cooked rice and garnish with some extra green onion. Enjoy!

Cooking Tips

• Cutting beef across the grain means you’re cutting across the tough muscle fibers, cutting them short. This makes it more tender and easier to chew.
• If your pan is a little on the smaller side, be sure to cook in batches to avoid overcrowding.
• For simplicity, you can actually buy a flank steak that’s already pre-cut into strips.
• Not a fan of beef? Use chicken, pork, or even tofu for a twist!
• Use low sodium if you’re concerned about the sodium levels. You could also use an alternative like tamari or coconut aminos.
• Brown sugar is what caramelizes and creates that beautiful sweet and sticky, dark-colored, sauce, but if white sugar is what you have, go ahead and use it. It’ll still caramelize nicely, without the additional color.

What to Serve with Mongolian Beef

Most often, I’ll serve this dish over plain white rice and a side of steamed broccoli, but you can definitely switch it up to your liking.

• Try serving it on a bed of noodles (egg noodles, or udon noodles are great), brown rice, or quinoa.
• Cauliflower rice or spaghetti squash is another brilliant way of serving this dish when you’re on the hunt for a low-carb meal.
• These zucchini noodles with pesto would be great without the pesto sauce added!
• Skip the broccoli and serve with green beans with bacon, or mixed grilled veggies instead.

How to Store Leftovers

Keep any leftovers stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days. If you happen to have a lot of leftover sauce, don’t throw it out! Keep it in a separate container in the fridge. It will keep for up to 2 weeks which means you can use it again for other dishes.

More Beef Recipes to Try

Easy Beef Rice Pilaf

Tastefully Simple Beef Stroganoff

The Best New York Strip Steak

How To Cook A Ribeye Steak

Beef Barley Soup

Q. Did YOU like this Dinner Recipe?

Let me know in the comments below, I would love to hear from you!

Have an awesome day!

This post was updated January 5, 2022, the recipe is still the same!