Best cut of beef to use
The greatest beef cut for fast stir-fry recipes is flank steak. It’s less expensive but still tasty, and a small amount of baking soda will help to tenderize it. Though they are typically drier, you could also use skirt steak, chuck roasts, and eye rounds. The fact that flank stead has an excellent fat ratio, which prevents the beef from tasting dry, is another reason we suggest it. Just be sure to cut the beef against the grain, into slices no thicker than ¼ inch.
If your budget permits, you may also choose more costly cuts like beef tenderloin, ribeye, and new york strip.
What is Mongolian beef?
One of the most well-liked Chinese takeout beef dishes is Mongolian beef, which is thought to have originated in Taiwan. It is stir-fried with onions and green onions and has a sweet and savory flavor. It can be served over fried vermicelli rice noodles or just with rice.
But what makes Mongolian beef so popular and addictive?
As a result of marinating and velveting, the beef is incredibly tender and flavorful. Then, a ton of onions and Shaoxing rice wine are stir-fried into it, giving it an extremely fragrant taste. After that, the beef stir fry is seasoned with soy sauce and sugar to mimic the charred, caramelized flavors of BBQ beef, a technique known as “wok hei,” which turns the dish into something sweet, savory, and incredibly difficult to resist.
What is Mongolian Beef – and what does it taste like?
For readers from Australia, Mongolian beef is comparable to Szechuan Style beef and Peking beef. Thinly sliced beef, coated in a sticky sauce after being shallow-fried until golden brown.
It is not the same as what is commonly known as Mongolian lamb because it is not crispy or fried, and the sauce is less sweet.
The perfect balance of crispiness and stickiness is what makes Mongolian beef so delicious. The sauce is thick and caramel-like, as you can see in the photo on the right, which shows it bubbling away and coating the beef. Heaven in a pan, that’s what this is. .
As you may have noticed, I made it in a skillet rather than a wok. To be honest, I usually make it in a wok, but I wanted to try it in a skillet as well so I could give instructions for that as well.
Making it in a wok is simpler because the beef can be shallow-fried there. However, because the beef only needs 1/4 cup of oil to cook, I suggest frying it in a small saucepan if you don’t have a wok. When using a skillet, the oil spreads too thinly, resulting in a different level of crispiness. Complete the remaining ingredients in a skillet after the beef has finished cooking. Easy!.
I have to admit that this is on par with Buffalo Wings in terms of how crispy and sticky they are. In other words, I’m not sure which dish I would choose if it were presented to me alongside a plate of buffalo wings.
Actually, I do know. Probably both at the same time. .
– Nagi x
PS I got side tracked and forgot to mention that I tried a few recipes I found on a mission to get the closest match to the Mongolian Beef I had at a Chinese restaurant in LA, not PF Chang’s which I didn’t enjoy very much. A few were close, but didn’t nail it. This recipe is from a blog called Woks of Life which is run by a Chinese family who used to run a Chinese restaurant in America. It’s my “go to” source for American Chinese recipes. Every single recipe I have tried has been an absolute ripper. Honestly!
