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Tender-yet-crispy slices of sirloin steak in a rich Asian-style sauce, this Mongolian beef recipe is a fantastic stir-fry.
There’s no chilli-heat, so it’s mild enough for the kids to enjoy too. I like to sprinkle a pinch of chilli flakes on top of mine right at the end.
“Still cannot comprehend how tasty and easy to make this meal was! Thank you Thank you Thank you!”
Tweaked to perfection
This is one of those recipes I’ve tweaked over time. The first version I published 10 years ago had lots of added veg. As much as I like shoehorning a few extra veg into our meals, I feel the beautiful steak and sweet-salty sauce in this stir fry just needs to be enjoyed in its own right. I haven’t tweaked it since!
What makes this so good:
- Irresistible juicy beef: the beef is dusted with seasoned cornflour and shallow‑fried so the edges crisp just right.
- No spicy heat (but still big on flavour) – so it’s great for the whole family
- It’s quick (25 mins including prep)!
Table of Contents
📋 Ingredients for Mongolian Beef
Abbreviated Recipe
***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card below***
Coat the strips of beef with seasoned cornflour, fry in oil till crispy, then transfer to a plate. Fry garlic and ginger, then add soy sauce, pepper, sugar and water. Simmer, then stir through the beef and spring onions.
Recipe Tips
- Place the steak in the freezer for 30 minutes before slicing as this will make it easier to slice nice and thinly.
- Turn down the heat to medium and allow the oil to cool a little before adding the ginger and garlic – this will help to prevent it from burning and turning bitter.
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Easy Mongolian Beef
Ingredients
- 5 tbsp oil (I use avocado oil)
- 1 ½ tbsp cornflour (cornstarch in USA)
- pinch salt and black pepper
- 400 g (14 oz) sirloin steak sliced into thin strips (visible fat removed)
- 1 tbsp minced ginger
- 3 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) reduced sodium soy sauce I use dark, but all-purpose is fine too *see note
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 6 packed tbsp light brown muscavado sugar
- 90 ml (1/3 cup) water
- 8 spring onions (scallions), sliced
To Serve:
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan until very hot.5 tbsp oil
- Mix the cornflour with a good pinch of salt and pepper and toss the steak strips in the cornflour.1 1/2 tbsp cornflour, pinch salt and black pepper, 400 g (14 oz) sirloin steak
- Cook the steak strips in the oil (turning occasionally) until very dark and crispy. You can do this in two batches, but I usually manage this in one. You just need to make sure the oil is really hot, and then leave the steak cooking in the oil for a good 5 minutes before turning. Don't keep moving it around the pan, or you won't achieve that dark, crunchy coating.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove the beef from the pan. Place it on a plate with some kitchen roll on to drain off excess fat.
- Pour out all but 1 tbsp of oil from the pan, turn the heat down to medium and allow the oil to cool a little. Add the ginger and garlic to the pan and cook for 1 minute – stirring often to avoid burning the garlic.1 tbsp minced ginger, 3 cloves garlic
- Add in the soy sauce, pepper, sugar, and water into the wok.120 ml (1/2 cup) reduced sodium soy sauce, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 6 packed tbsp light brown muscavado sugar, 90 ml (1/3 cup) water
- Give it a good mix and turn up the heat and bring to the boil. Simmer for 2-3 minutes.
- Then add the crispy beef back to the wok and cook for a further 2 minutes.
- Then turn off the heat and stir in the spring onions (scallions).8 spring onions
- Serve over boiled rice.boiled rice, or egg fried rice
Video
Notes
Soy Sauce
I originally used regular dark soy sauce in this recipe, but the salt amount can vary so much between brands that some readers were finding it too salty. For example Amoy dark is 15.8g of salt per 100ml, compared to Pearl River Bridge which is 23.5g salt per 100ml.A low sodium soy sauce is now my favourite choice (Amoy reduced salt, Kikkoman green cap) or I’ll use regular Amoy dark, as it’s naturally a bit lower in salt.
Can I make it ahead?
This stir fry tastes best when made right before serving as that’s when the beef will be most tender.However, you can quickly cool, cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to a day in the refrigerator.
Reheat in the microwave until piping hot.
I can’t find muscovado sugar. Can I use something else instead?
Muscovado sugar has a beautiful roasted flavour. So it’s preferable that you use it. But if you absolutely cannot find it any light brown or dark brown sugar will work. Nutritional Information is per serving, without the serving suggestion of boiled rice.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This post was first published in October 2015. Updated later with improvements and housekeeping.
🍽️ What to serve it with
? Frequently Asked Questions
Yep, this is based off that tasty takeaway.
They are all the same thing. Here in the UK, we call them spring onions, in the US, they are called green onions or scallions.
Sirloin is the best cut to use for this stir fry as it’s tender and tasty and holds up well to being quickly fried.
Flat iron, tenderloin and rib-eye are good swaps if you want to use a different cut.
🍲 More fantastic Stir Fry recipes
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Absolutely delicious. Well worth the little bit of effort to make.
1st time of trying this particular recipe. It does what it says. Quick simple and very tasty. Better than out local Chinese takeaways.
I did add:
chilli flakes 1tsp.
Extra cornflour 2tsp.
I did do it with egg fried rice but the flavours over powered the rice so next time it’ll be plain boiled rice.
A quick go to event meal for after work.
Amazing tasty recipe
Good recipe but know your soy sauce!! I know my dark is way saltier than my light so I used only 1/3 cup total and did half dark half low sodium light. Also if you are like me and are using regular brown sugar, REDUCE THE AMOUNT! I would recommend to halve the total amount personally. I used 4 or 5 tbsp and it was much too sweet. Still a hit with the husband and kids would love this too