Mongolian Beef
Serves 4
Adapted from The Woks of Life
8 ounces flank steak, cut into thin strips
1 teaspoon vegetable oil, plus more for frying
1 teaspoon + ¼ cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons cornstarch, divided, plus ¼ cup for dredging
2 tablespoons brown sugar
¼ cup hot water or stock
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
5 dried red chili peppers
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 green onions, thickly sliced on the diagonal
Rice, for serving
In a medium bowl, combine the steak slices, vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Let it marinate for one hour.
In a small bowl, add ¼ cup cornstarch and dredge the beef slices until coated. Set aside.
In another small bowl, mix the brown sugar and water, or stock, until the sugar has dissolved. Stir in ¼ cup soy sauce (or, for a lower sodium version, add an additional 1-2 tablespoons of water).
Heat ½ - ⅓ cup vegetable oil in a pan, or wok, over high heat. Once hot, add the beef and spread them evenly across the pan and let them sear until a brown crust begins to form on the bottom, about 1-2 minutes. Turn the slices over and let it sear for an additional minute, until a crispy brown crust forms.
Make sure your pan has about 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in it, so either add or drain a bit of oil depending on what’s left. Once the oil is hot again, quickly stir fry the ginger and dried chili peppers for 15 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the garlic, stirring constantly for an additional 15 seconds, and mix in the soy sauce mixture.
Let the sauce simmer for 2 minutes. While the sauce simmers, combine 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl to make a slurry. After the 2 minutes, slowly pour in the slurry. Stirring regularly, cook the sauce until it thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon.
Add the beef and green onions and mix everything together until the sauce coats everything. Serve with rice.
Enjoy!
