Mongolian beef is a dish that is served in Chinese-American restaurants.  It consists typically of thinly sliced flank steak.  Flank steaks are also primarily used for making fajitas.  They are best when sliced thin and against the grain.  Flank steaks are lean and very flavorful.  When making Mongolian Beef, the steak is stir-fried with vegetables (usually scallions) and cooked in a savory dark brown sauce.  The sauce is usually made with hoisin, soy and chili peppers.   Most restaurants serve Mongolian Beef over crispy fried noodles or steamed rice.   My husband and I have tried Mongolian Beef in many restaurants over the years.  It is one of our favorites dishes, when ordering Chinese food.   It is fun to order a few different dishes to share when ordering Chinese food, but somehow the Mongolian Beef is always the first to get eaten!

I have been wanting to give this a try at home but for some reason my supermarket has been out of flank steaks lately.  Since I couldn’t find the flank steaks, I started to look at other cuts of beef.  The next closest cut of meat to the flank steak would be a Skirt Steak or Hanger Steak.   However, the supermarket did not have these either.  Maybe I am not the only one trying to make Mongolian Beef or maybe these cuts of beef are just so popular.  I wasn’t going to let that stop me from trying to make this dish so my search for the perfect steak had to continue.  When I think of steak, I tend to gravitate towards the Filet Mignon.  Filet Mignon is the most tender cut of beef; it is lean yet succulent which makes for an elegant cut of beef.  It has a buttery texture, subtle flavor and compact shape.  If cooked right, it just melts in your mouth.  The filet mignon is a more expensive cut of beef therefore I tend to buy it for special occasions.  Instead of the filet, I chose a Beef Mock Steak that my supermarket had.  I have never bought a Beef Mock Steak so I thought I would give it a try.  This cut of meat resembles a beef tenderloin in shape, but is usually smaller in size.  It is a more economical and flavorful cut of beef.   It can be a tougher piece of meat, however, cooked just right it is perfect in this type of dish.

Instead of rice or crispy fried noodles, I chose some nice Rice Noodles.  Rice Noodles are so simple to make; you boil water then add the noodles and turn the stove off.   The noodles cook up in no time (up to 10 minutes, depending on how thick they are) in the hot water.  Rice noodles are available fresh, frozen, or dried and in various shapes and thicknesses.  The rice noodles I used in this dish were on the thicker side; they held up nicely against the beef and sauce.   By using the rice noodles, this dish can also be gluten free.  Just be sure to read the labels to make sure you find rice noodles that are gluten free.  Instead of using Soy Sauce, I use a low-sodium, gluten free Tamari sauce.  Tamara is a great gluten free option for Soy Sauce.  It is a Japanese form of soy sauce, traditionally made as a byproduct of miso paste.  Again, just make sure you read the labels because not all Tamari is gluten free.

Mongolian Beef over Rice Noodles

Makes approx. 4 Servings

Ingredients

12 oz., (3 individual steaks), Beef Mock Tender Steaks

1/4 cup, Cornstarch

5 Scallions, green & white parts, cut on a bias *(plus extra for garnish)

2 Cloves, Garlic, minced

1/2 Teaspoon, Fresh Ginger, minced

2 Tablespoons, Olive Oil

1/2 Cup, Tamari

1/2 Cup, Water

2/3 Cup, Dark Brown Sugar

1 Shallot, finely chopped

1 Package, Rice Noodles

Instructions

Cut the steaks against the grain, cutting them into thin strips.  Place the cornstarch and beef into a bowl and toss to evenly coat the meat.  Set aside for about 10 minutes to allow the meat to soak in the cornstarch and so that it adheres to the meat.

Thinly sliced Beef

Make the Sauce:  While the meat is sitting, heat a wok or large pan on the stove over medium heat.  Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan then add the garlic and ginger.  Add the Tamari, water, dark brown sugar and mix well.  Cook for approximately 3 minutes, just until the sauce starts to thicken.  Remove the sauce from the pan.

Scallions-Cut on a Bias

Cooking Beef:  Return the pan to the stove.  Add another tablespoon of oil, add the beef and cook just until the meat starts to brown (about 1-2 minutes).  Remove the beef from the pan.  Return pan to stove again, add 1 more tablespoon of oil and add the shallot and saute for about 30 seconds to a minute.  Then add the beef back to the pan and pour the sauce over the meat and stir well.  Add the scallions and stir.  Simmer for about 1 minute longer.

Mongolian Beef

Rice Noodles:  cook according to package.

Plating:  place a serving of rice noodles into a bowl, top with the beef mixture and garnish with some scallions.

Mangia! Enjoy!

Notes

More about the Steak:  My supermarket has been out of Flank Steaks, which is the cut of meat that you would typically see in a Mongolian Beef recipe.  Flank Steaks are lean and very flavorful.  They are primarily used for fajitas and should be sliced thin against the grain.  Since my supermarket was out of Flank Steaks, I started to look at other cuts of beef.  I love a filet mignon steak; they are the most tender cut of beef. They are lean yet succulent which makes for an elegant cut of beef.  They have a buttery texture, subtle flavor and compact shape.  If cooked right, they just melt in your mouth.  The filet mignon is a more expensive cut of beef therefore I only buy it for special occasions.  Instead of the filet, I chose the Beef Mock Steak.  This cut of meat resembles a beef tenderloin in shape, but is usually smaller in size.  It is a more economical and flavorful cut of beef.   It can be a tougher piece of meat, however, when cooked just right it is perfect in this type of dish.

If you don’t want to use the Rice Noodles, you can substitute with any kind of rice that you like.