Our favorite restaurant is not open on Sundays.
And that sucks because Sunday is my laziest day.
It’s the day I want to lay in bed and cook exactly nothing for myself, and only eat things that go in bowls with shovelfuls of rice.
Couldn’t I just order my favorite food the day before and eat the leftovers every Sunday?
I mean yeah, probably.
But, I never remember, and also- no actually that’s it. I’m unorganized and tired and can someone please just just get me some fooooood.
All the best recipes come from me acting like a damn werewolf during a full moon, scrounging around to fill a craving.
I am a food driven monster.
It’s one of my best qualities.
The beauty of Mongolian Beef is that it’s a little bit sweet, a little bit spicy, a little bit chewy, and super comforting.
It’s a comfort food for me, and I want to share that comfort with you.
Sirloin, sweet onion, green onion, ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, soy sauce, brown sugar, corn starch and some oil.
It looks like a lot, but nah, this is easy and cooks up real quick.
There are two easy points of prep work: the sauce and the beef.
My Mongolian Beef shares the same sauce base as my fried rice, so if you’ve made that, this might seem really familiar to you.
Normally, I am not shy about using pre-minced garlic from a container (as you may know by now), but there’s something about this dish and big ol’ chunks of garlic.
I want to eat it, then not be able to kiss on anybody for a few hours.
The sauce is made up of brown sugar, ginger, garlic, soy sauce and water… oh and red pepper flakes!
These are, of course, optional. Want it spicier? Add more, boss!
Stir it up, then let it sit to get all up in itself with flavor.
Moving on.
You know, it took me a while to figure out how to make strips of beef that were both crispy and chewy at the same time.
Then I started dusting them in a coat of corn starch and tossing them in a wok with some oil.
The trick here is to fry them up enough to sear them on each side, and then pull them.
As a general FYI, I use olive oil to fry these. Sesame oil is too strong of a flavor, and I’ll use it when it comes to putting this all together at the end, but for now, I use olive oil.
You don’t want them to cook through, you’re going to toss them back into a wok and cook them again with the sauce at the end.
The goal here is crispy and chewy, not rubbery and overcooked.
Slice up the sweet onion.
Slice up the green onions.
I like chunks.
Add some sesame oil, and start frying those onions up.
I don’t like mushy vegetables, so this is going to be a preference call for you.
I cook my onions until they soften, but still have a slight crunch to them.
When they soften up just a bit, it’s time to bring it all together. Add that beef back in.
Add in that delicious sauce that’s been sitting there all flavorful.
Let things boil up a bit to truly mix, and then you’re done.
Guys. Guys.
Serve this up with some rice, and then settle into that couch and binge some Netflix.
You got nowhere important to be, baby.
Sweet & Spicy Mongolian Beef
Oh yeah, I'm coming for you take-out with this perfectly crispy and chewy Mongolian Beef!
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb Top Sirloin
- 1 large Sweet Onion
- 1 bunch Green Onion
- 1/2 cup Soy Sauce
- 1/2 cup Water
- 2 tbsp Brown Sugar
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tbsp Ginger, minced
- 1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
- Corn Starch
- Olive Oil
- Sesame Oil
Instructions
Sauce Prep
- Add garlic, ginger, brown sugar, and red pepper flakes (optional) to a small mixing bowl.
- Add soy sauce and water to bowl, and stir to combine.
- Set aside.
Beef Prep
- Slice beef on the diagonal into bite size pieces.
- Lightly coat each piece in corn starch.
- Add a few teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil to a heated wok.
- Fry beef 1-2 minutes on each side over medium high heat, until crust forms, but not cooked entirely through.
- Set seared meat aside on a plate.
Instructions
- Add sesame oil to a heated wok, and fry up sweet onions over medium heat, until partially cooked through.
- Add green onion to wok, and cook through.
- Add meat, and mix with onion until all cooked through.
- Add sauce, bring to a boil, and then remove from heat.
- Serve over rice.
Made this tonight-it was excellent!