This Mongolian Beef recipe has a sweet and savory sticky sauce with tender bites of beef and dried red chilies. It tastes just like takeout and is perfect with rice!

Mongolian Beef in a white bowl with rice and sliced green onions.

Mongolian Beef

I am a huge fan of making takeout recipes at home, and this Mongolian Beef really tastes like it came from a restaurant! You’ll see what I mean when you take your first bite. Your family and friends will be super impressed when you serve them this!

The sauce is a combination of sweet and savory, (with more savory than sweet for the perfect balance). The beef is tender, juicy, and smothered in that sticky, glossy sauce. (I’m getting hungry just thinking about it.)

Don’t miss my PRO TIPS below!

How to Make It

Note: This is an overview. See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.

Pound each side of the beef with a meat tenderizer, then slice it into thin strips against the grain. Pat it dry and season with salt and pepper and toss with cornstarch.

A plate of thinly sliced beef next to a plate of sliced beef coated in cornstarch.

Sear in batches for 3-4 minutes, until browned and cooked through. Deglaze the skillet with wine and reduce by half. Add dry red chilies during the last 30-60 seconds (optional).

A plate of seared strips of beef next to a skillet being deglazed with wine.

Add the sauce mixture and bring to a boil until thickened. Reduce to a simmer, add the meat and toss to coat and thicken more, 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and garnish with green onions. Serve with rice!

Adding sauce to a skillet of Mongolian Beef.

Pro Tips

  • Cuts of Beef: Flank steak, strip steak, skirt steak, or top sirloin are your best options for this recipe. Be sure to slice it against the grain so it’s easy to chew!
  • Wine: Pinot Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, and Sauvignon Blanc are great wine options to deglaze the pan with. An equal amount of chicken or beef broth may be used if you don’t cook with wine.
  • Dried Red Chili Peppers: These are optional but are commonly found in Mongolian beef. They have varying levels of heat which should be indicated on the package. To reduce their heat, soak them in water and remove the seeds. 
  • To Control the Sodium in this recipe, consider using low sodium soy sauce and/or reduced sodium broth.
  • Sriracha: The sriracha in this recipe doesn’t make it hot/spicy, it’s just a small amount that is used to enhance the other flavors. I use Frank’s Sriracha Sauce.
  • Toasted sesame seeds can be used as a topping as well.

Storage

  • Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Leftovers do freeze pretty well. 

Mongolian Beef in a skillet with green onions and dried red chilies.

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A bowl of Mongolian Beef and white rice with sliced green onions and toasted sesame seeds.

Mongolian Beef

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
5 from 1 rating
Servings: 4 people
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This Mongolian Beef recipe has a sweet and savory sticky sauce with tender bites of beef and dried red chilies. It tastes just like takeout and is perfect with rice!

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

Sauce

  • ¾ cup beef broth
  • 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
  • 4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon sriracha, can sub hot sauce
  • ¼ tsp ground ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon sesame oil

Beef, etc.

  • 1 lb. Flank steak, can also use Skirt, Sirloin, or Strip Steak. See notes.
  • Salt/pepper, to taste
  • ¼ cup cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons avocado oil, can sub olive oil
  • ¼ cup dry white wine, see notes
  • 3-4 dried red chili peppers, optional. See notes.
  • 3 green onions, sliced

For Serving

  • Steamed rice, see notes

Instructions

  • Combine the sauce ingredients and set aside in a cool place. (Make sure the liquid isn’t warm so that it doesn’t activate the cornstarch.) Measure out the remaining ingredients before beginning.
  • Place saran wrap over the beef and use a meat tenderizer to pound it on each side. This makes it much more tender. Cut away any large areas of fat if needed.
  • Slice the meat (against the grain) into strips ¼-inch thick, the meat will plump up more when cooked. Pat it completely dry, sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cornstarch and toss to coat on all sides.
  • Heat the oil over medium-high heat. Sear the meat in batches for 3-4 minutes per batch, (overcrowding the pan will cause the beef to steam instead of fry). Set aside.
  • Turn the heat off and add the wine, then set the heat to medium. Use a silicone spatula to “clean” the bottom and sides of the skillet, this will add more flavor to the sauce. Reduce by half, 2-3 minutes. If using dried red chilies, add them during the last 30-60 seconds.
  • Stir the sauce and add it to the skillet. Bring it to a boil. Once thickened, reduce to a simmer. Add the beef back and toss to coat in the sauce for 2-3 minutes, it’ll thicken a little more. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with green onions and serve with rice!

Notes

Pro Tips:
  • Cuts of Beef: Flank steak, strip steak, skirt steak, or top sirloin are your best options for this recipe. Be sure to slice it against the grain so it's easy to chew!
  • Wine: Pinot Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, and Sauvignon Blanc are great wine options to deglaze the pan with. An equal amount of chicken or beef broth may be used if you don’t cook with wine.
  • Dried Red Chili Peppers:These are optional but are commonly found in Mongolian beef. They have varying levels of heat which should be indicated on the package. To reduce their heat, soak them in water and remove the seeds. 
  • To Control the Sodium in this recipe, consider using low sodium soy sauce and/or reduced sodium broth.
  • Sriracha: The sriracha in this recipe doesn’t make it hot/spicy, it’s just a small amount that is used to enhance the other flavors. I use Frank’s Sriracha Sauce.
  • Toasted sesame seeds can be used as a topping as well.
Storage:
  • Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. 
My process for perfectly cooked rice:
  • Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. (I add 2 chicken bouillon cubes to the water for enhanced flavor.)
  • Add 1 cup of white long grain rice and let the liquid come back up to a boil. Cover tightly and reduce heat to a gentle simmer for 15 minutes. (I set my heat to low.)
  • Remove from heat and let it stand in the pot for 10 minutes with the lid on, any rice stuck to the bottom will release.
  • This yields 3 cups of flavorful, perfectly cooked rice. I use a Dutch oven for this which conducts heat well.
  • Note that other varieties of rice may require different liquid measurements and/or cooking times.
Nutritional information is an estimate and is per serving. There are 4 servings in this recipe.

Nutrition

Calories: 363kcal, Carbohydrates: 31g, Protein: 27g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 68mg, Sodium: 1026mg, Potassium: 554mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 18g, Vitamin A: 92IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 55mg, Iron: 3mg
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Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Chinese
Author: Stephanie