Mongolian Beef {Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free}

Mongolian beef stir fry comes together in minutes with beef that is paper thin and ever so slightly stir fried with a variety of Asian spices and a thick and flavorful Asian glaze.

I only recently started cooking with flank steak and I love it. For a while I was pretty intimidated – especially when the recipe said “slice against the grain” — umm what on earth does that mean? What is a “grain” in a piece of meat?

I figured it was just best to steer clear of meat that had mandatory cutting instructions.

All those times I was missing out. Seriously missing out. Cutting against the cream simply means that there are legitimate lined of fat running through the flank steak cut of meat and you just want to make sure to cut perpendicular to those lines. Otherwise you’ll just end up with a thin slice of just fat, instead of the magical combination that makes flank steak so perfect — the fat that in every paper thin slice you get a thick layer of meat, then a thin line of fat, and on and on.

Since I braved my fears flank steak has become my favorite cut of meat. Mainly because it is so tender and cooks so fast and is absolutely perfect for Asian stir fry dishes.

Thinly sliced flank steak cooks in 5 minutes and just melts in your mouth (or my mouth, at least).  Trust me if you’ve never bought flank steak before you’ll understand exactly what the whole cut against the grains means as soon as you do. This cut has the perfect balance of fat to meat.

A good tip with flank steak is that if it is too soft to cut into thin strips pop it into the freezer for 15-30 minutes and it’ll be easier to slice.

This stir fry comes together in minutes and is so insanely flavorful everyone will think it’s restaurant made. And everything cooks in a flash in the wok. 1,2 and you’re done. It’s that easy.

I love the Asian sauce in this that thickens and turns into a glaze, fully coating those tender almost see through thin slices of meat.

Recipe adapted from Confections of a Foodie Bride

 Let me know what you think of this Mongolian Beef recipe in the comments below! 

5 from 1 vote

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Mongolian Beef

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

10 mins

Total Time

20 mins

 

Mongolian beef stir fry comes together in minutes with beef that is paper thin and ever so slightly stir fried with a variety of Asian spices and a thick and flavorful Asian glaze.

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Asian

Servings: 4

Calories: 310 kcal

Author: Vicky Berman

Ingredients

• 1 pound flank steak sliced thinly against the grain
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 3 teaspoons olive oil divided
• 1 teaspoon ginger grated
• 1 tablespoon garlic minced
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup gluten free tamari low sodium
• 1/4 cup brown sugar firmly packed
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2-3 green onions sliced
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Instructions

1. Mix flank steak slices with cornstarch, shaking off excess.
2. Add 1 teaspoon oil to pan and cook the garlic and ginger over medium high heat 1-2 minutes. Add soy sauce, brown sugar, water, and red pepper. Cook the mixture for a few minutes and transfer everything to a separate bowl.
3. Add 2 teaspoons oil to pan and cook the beef until browned over high heat. Add the sauce back into the pan and cook until desired consistency.
4. Serve over white rice with green onions and sesame seeds.

Nutrition Facts

Mongolian Beef

Amount Per Serving

Calories 310 Calories from Fat 90

% Daily Value*

Fat 10g15%

Saturated Fat 3g19%

Cholesterol 68mg23%

Sodium 1692mg74%

Potassium 501mg14%

Carbohydrates 24g8%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 14g16%

Protein 28g56%

Vitamin A 135IU3%

Vitamin C 1.7mg2%

Calcium 88mg9%

Iron 3.2mg18%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.