Mongolian Beef is a take-out favorite and even better made at home in about 20 minutes!
Thin slices of beef are flash fried and coated in a sweet soy sauce, ginger, and garlic sauce.
This copycat recipe for PF Chang’s rivals anything you could find in a restaurant. Serve this stir-fry recipe over rice with steamed broccoli or bok choy.
What is Mongolian Beef? It’s a simple stir fry with thin slices of beef simmered in a sauce of soy, brown sugar, garlic, and ginger. The brown sugar caramelizes in the soy to make a slightly sticky sauce that coats the beef.
Easy Take-Out at Home
I love Chinese food dishes, from chicken lettuce wraps to a simple cashew chicken, and love it even more made at home.
- This recipe is the perfect balance of savory and sweet, the whole family will love it!
- Making takeout at home is easy and best of all you know exactly what ingredients go into it.
- Making Homemade Mongolian beef is budget-friendly compared to dining out.
- It’s so versatile, add veggies like sliced red peppers and serve over rice, on a bed of noodles, or even tucked inside a lettuce wrap.
- This recipe shares my favorite tips for extra tender beef and heaps of flavor!
How to Make Mongolian Beef (PF Chang’s style)
This is a really quick and easy Mongolian beef recipe; it’s on the table in about 20 minutes.
- Coat the slices of beef in cornstarch per the recipe below, flash fry, and set aside.
- Prepare the sauce. When the sauce has thickened, add the beef to the pan.
- Serve hot over rice.
Tips for Tender Beef
- Add Cornstarch: Toss the beef with cornstarch before cooking. As cornstarch is a natural tenderizer, I use it in this recipe for tender meat with a nice crust and it helps to thicken the sauce.
- Choose the Right Cut: Choose a kind of beef that is intended for quick cooking. I use flank steak or sirloin. More expensive cuts (such as filet) can also be used but 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.
Tips 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 fridge for up to 4 days in a covered container in the freezer for up to 4 months.
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
Did your family love this Mongolian Beef recipe? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Easy Mongolian Beef
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons + 2 tablespoons oil vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon ginger minced
- 4 cloves garlic finely minced
- ½ cup low sodium soy sauce
- 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
- Slice the flank steak into thin ¼" pieces. Toss with cornstarch, shaking off any excess and set aside.
- In a 10-inch skillet, heat 2 teaspoons of oil over medium-low heat. Stir in minced ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant, about one minute.
- Add soy sauce, water, and brown sugar to the skillet, then bring to a boil. Let it boil for 3-5 minutes until slightly thickened. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a separate pan or wok over medium-high heat. Cook the beef in small batches for about 2 minutes. It does not need to be cooked through.
- Once all of the beef is browned, add the beef and sauce back to the skillet and heat over medium until hot and bubbly.
- Remove from heat and stir in green onions. Serve over rice.
Video
Notes
- Use low-sodium soy sauce for the best results.
- For a little bit of heat, add ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes.
- Cook the beef in small batches to ensure even browning. Overcrowding the pan can cause it to steam.
- Slice the beef against the grain for tenderness.
- Adjust the sweetness or saltiness of the sauce by varying the amount of brown sugar and soy sauce to taste.
- Serve with steamed broccoli or red bell pepper strips if desired.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Beef, Dinner, Entree, Main Course
Cuisine American, 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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My name is Anne Peetz. And that was the best home cooked meal I’ve ever had. My husband is the man. Our family likes to chant, “Dad’s the man, Dad’s the man”. Thank you so much.
I would give this recipe 6 stars if I could. I usually add splash or 2 of orange juice and a splash or 2 of rice wine vinegar. my roommate loves the brown sugar in this recipe. A tip I found is if you take a boring jar of crushed red pepper flakes, and run them through a coffee grinder, it really brings out the flavor of the pepper. anyway, this is one of my go to recipes for a quick weeknight dinner.
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe Jason!
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 :)