Mongolian Beef Vs Pepper Steak

Mongolian Beef is a combination of juicy beef steak, seared peppers, onions, and green scallions all brought together with a sweet & savory Mongolian beef sauce. Serve it over steamed rice for a meal that your whole family will enjoy. Who needs takeout when you can make it yourself in 30 minutes or less?

PEPPER STEAK VS MONGOLIAN BEEF: Pepper Steak has more of an umami taste whereas Mongolian Beef is more mildly-sweet. Both recipes use some of the same ingredients such as soy sauce and brown sugar but Steak and Peppers replaces the sweeter hoisin sauce with more savory oyster sauce.

What is Mongolian sauce made of?

Mongolian sauce is a blend of brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger and minced garlic. This sauce is great as a dip and also as a marinade.

Szechuan Beef vs Mongolian Beef Origins

You might be surprised by the origins of Szechuan beef and Mongolian beef. There is a lot behind these two seemingly simple dishes.

Szechuan is not just the name of its respective beef dish. It is actually a type of regional cuisine.

Chinese cuisine is actually composed of eight traditional types of cuisines, and each cuisine corresponds to a different province in China. These eight provinces are Anhui, Cantonese, Fujian, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shandong, Szechuan, and Zhejiang. These cuisine styles are an integral part of Chinese culture, and they are regarded as exemplars of Chinese cuisine. Even though most Chinese food in the US differs from its Chinese counterpart, almost all American Chinese food is derived from one of these eight traditional cuisine types.

Szechuan (also known as Szechwan or Sichuan) originated from the Sichuan Province which is located in the southwestern part of China. One of the key features of Szechuan cuisine is the prominence of chili peppers, garlic, and Szechuan peppercorns in its sauce.

Szechuan cuisine is the most consumed style of cuisine in China, and the Sichuan Province was acknowledged in 2011 by UNESCO for its renowned food culture. It was declared a “City of Gastronomy.” This is notable because it was the first time that a city in Asia won that distinction. Even though Szechuan cuisine is clearly favored in China, globally Cantonese cuisine is much more popular.

Szechuan is famous for its distinctive numbing flavor which is called ma la in Chinese (which translates to “numbing hot”). This flavor is due to the Szechuan peppercorn which is not even a type of pepper! It is a spice that is derived from the husks of seeds from prickly ash shrubs. The Szechuan peppercorn spice is derived from two species of the genus Zanthoxylum: Zanthoxylum simulans and Zanthoxylum bungeanum.

Szechuan peppercorn is not only the main ingredient in Szechuan cuisine but one of the spices in the ever popular Chinese five-spice powder. The other five spices are cinnamon, star anise, fennel, and cloves. Szechuan peppercorn is part of the citrus family which explains its citrusy taste, and its aroma is considered to be comparable to the smell of lavender.

Szechuan cuisine has a diverse range of flavors which contribute to its complicated taste, and it can vary vastly in its level of spiciness.

Traditional Mongolian cuisine, of course, originated in Mongolia, and it consists mainly of meats, animal fats, and dairy products. Authentic Mongolian cuisine typically uses boiling and stewing.

However, Mongolian cuisine in China (or even the US) is not even Mongolian!

Mongolian as we know it originated in Taiwan in the 1950s and was heavily influenced by the Japanese style of teppanyaki which was popular at the time. Teppanyaki is a style of Japanese cuisine that utilizes an iron griddle at very hot temperatures to cook food. It actually has very little in common with authentic Mongolian cuisine from Mongolia.

In China, Mongolian cuisine was thought to be luxurious, exotic, and containing a lot of meat. Therefore, a lot of dishes in China had Mongolian in the name, but they were in no way related to Mongolian culture. So Mongolian beef is actually Taiwanese stir-fry!

Why is my pepper steak tough?

Pepper steak can easily get tough, especially when you use cuts like shank or chuck. These cuts come from the legs and shoulders of the cow, so the muscles are used a bit more than the sirloin and flank, for example. The more a muscle is used, the tougher the meat tends to be.

FAQ

What is the difference between Mongolian beef and beef and broccoli?

Mongolian beef relies entirely on stir-frying. The beef and vegetables are always thinly sliced for quick cooking. Usually, all the ingredients, sauce, and beef are stir-fried in a large, round iron griddle or wok in oil or water at high temperatures.

What does Mongolian style beef taste like?

Difference between Beef and Broccoli and Mongolian Beef

Mongolian beef is made with spicier sauce. It also does not have broccoli in it, but a lot of green onions are added. You can also add green onions to beef and broccoli, if you’d like, even though the recipe doesn’t call for it.

Is Mongolian beef sweet or spicy?

Mongolian Beef Recipe Details

TASTE: This Mongolian Beef has a mild, sweet flavor. It gets lots of tastiness from the onion, soy sauce, and ginger. TEXTURE: This tender beef is juicy and delicious. The cornstarch gives it an amazing crust that adds a little crunch to every bite.

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