(Chinese recipes, prepare authentic Chinese food now!)
Last month during the Beijing Olympics, I shared many popular American Chinese food recipes and the responses were overwhelming. I got numerous emails from my readers trying out my recipes with great success. They thanked me profusely with some of the sweetest emails I’ve ever received and requested more popular Chinese recipes such as Mongolian beef and orange chicken. Mongolian beef is probably one of the most popular beef dishes in the United States, perhaps right after beef and broccoli. Mongolian beef–as the cover shot above suggested–is not a traditional Mongolian dish. I am personally not sure about the origins of this recipe but according to Wikipedia, Mongolian beef is a Chinese-American creation. However, I have a Shang Palace Cookbook (Shang Palace is the signature Chinese restaurant at Shangri-La Hotels) and Mongolian beef is featured. I believe Mongolian beef is a legitimate Chinese dish that has been adapted by overseas Chinese restaurants…
Near my office at Beverly Hills–where Chinese restaurants are almost non-existent–I have to go to PF Chang when I need my Chinese lunch fix. While I am not a fan of PF Chang and chain restaurants, I have to say that PF Chang does a decent job with its Mongolian beef. In fact, Mongolian beef is probably one of the few redeeming items on their menu.
My Mongolian beef recipe is very close to the taste of PF Chang’s, except that I used leeks instead of scallions. If you are not a fan of leeks, or can’t get them where you live, scallions work, too. Now, tell me if your local Chinese restaurants (in the UK, Australia, Canada) serve Mongolian beef? I am really curious to know.
Adapted from The Essence of Shangri-La
Ingredients:
8 oz beef tenderloin (thinly sliced)
2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 stalks leeks (sliced diagonally)
1 inch ginger (finely chopped)
3 cloves garlic (thinly sliced)
1 stalk shredded scallion (white part only for garnishing)
Marinate:
1 teaspoon corn starch
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon Chinese cooking wine (rice wine or Shaoxing wine)
Sauce:
2 teaspoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons sweet soy sauce (ABC Kecap Manis)
1/2 teaspoon dark soy sauce
3 dashes white pepper powder
1/8 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon Maggi seasoning
Salt and sugar to taste
Method:
Marinate the beef slices with the seasonings for 30 minutes. Heat up a wok with 1 tablespoon of oil and stir-fry the marinated beef until they are half-done. Dish out and set aside.
Heat up another 1 tablespoon of oil and saute the garlic and ginger until aromatic. Add the beef back into the wok and then the sauce. Continue to stir-fry until the beef slices are almost done, then add the leeks into the wok. Do a few quick stirs, add salt and sugar to taste, dish out and garnish with the shredded scallions.
Serve hot.
Related Posts:
- Bo Luc Lac (Vietnamese Shaking Beef)
- Banh Hoi (Vietnamese Rice Noodles with Beef)
- Beef Massaman Curry Recipe
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{ 40 comments… read them below or add one }
looks amazing, the close up is beautiful. Can tell you are a good chef just by the way you slice the scallions & leeks, so thin and so consistent (mine some thick, some thin :/)
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Hmm, I’m not sure if we call it Mongolian beef here. Anyway, that looks really good and simple too!
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I think I need to ask my sister to try this. She is also in the US. For me, I am not good at cooking. I am lazy. :)
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Im a Malaysian studying in Melbourne.
Mongolian beef is way toooooo common here! I work in an Asian kitchen in uni. The Aussies love it!
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I love Mongolian beef, this is something I always order at Chinese restaurant. I didn’t think that Mongolian beef recipe is not that hard. This is great!
Kevin
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I am in the US-Baltimore and I’ve never seen Mongolian Beef on a menu at a Chinese food place-take out or sit down.
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This looks amazing! I have to try it! Speaking of PF Chang’s, have you tried their Hot and Sour soup? Its heavenly! Do you have any recipes for this soup?
Thank you!!!
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That is some gorgeous mongolian beef! I would love to eat that any day!
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I’m in Brisbane, Australia, and I think that Mongolian Lamb is more popular/common than Mongolian Beef here. Or that may just be my personal preference! :D
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In Sydney down under, I’ve seen Mongolian beef and Mongolian lamb from the Chinese shops. They tend to favour adding onions, capsicums and carrots to it
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Mongolian beef is popular in Aussie land here. Some restaurant even serve it in sizzling plate to create more “wow” effect! :)
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Mongolian beef is a pretty common dish on the Chinese restaurants that cater to primarily Western clientele here in New England.
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Great recipe. Will try it soon. The photos look great too.
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Ooo -I’ve been looking all over for a (reliable) recipe for this. Thanks!
Yep, here in Australia, we serve this dish at most Chinese restaurants (although Mongolian lamb is probably more common than Mongolian beef. Very tender).
Ce’nedra
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This mongolian beef sure look better than beef w broccoli. I think im gonna like this mongolian beef. ;)
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I’m sorry. I tried it and my boyfriend “BigBear” (David Wyers) wouln’t eat it.
Of course, everytime I serve something “chinese” he gets all bent out of shape.
Louise
Clearwater, Florida
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Your version looks really good! I’m not a fan of PF Chang’s either, hehe, but I think another redeeming item on their menu (for me at least) will be their deep-fried prawns with garlic and chilli peppers..:)
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this beef dish is a winner!! love it!!
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I love mongolian beef back in the Philippines but the ones here in the chinese restaurants are too sweet and have too much sauce. Not like yours - just perfectly napped with the sacue. Can you freeze some and send it my way? ;)
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it really doesn’t matter what you call this dish, but i really does look delicious… thanks for sharing… :)
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Love the picture :)
I am in Montreal, Canada and truthfully I don’t think I have ever seen it in the menus of Chinese restaurants I got to. Maybe it is called something else…
I am going to try your recipe soon and let you know how it turns out :)
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it continues to amaze me how different chinese food is in the US compared to malaysia. i dont think i’ve ever seen mongolian beef in our local menus here. lol
but this recipe looks good. i love beef!
one day when i get my kitchen in order, i shall try out all your lovely recipes!!
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Yum! Just give me some green onion pancakes (paratha) to wrap it up in, and I’m a happy panda.
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One of the best presented beef dish I have seen for sometime.
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I like the simplicity of this dish. I think with good beef, it would be stellar, and all the flavoring show through. Great, thanks!
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Looks so tender and succulent. I’ll definitely try this one out.
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I love mongolian beef and it’s funny because before I clicked on the rest of the entry, I was thinking about how the only place I order the dish is at PF Chang’s! I haven’t had mongolian beef in ages (like over a year!), so now I’ve got a serious craving. :P
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Mongolian Beef reminds me of the hot plate beef that is quite common in SG. Your version makes me drool. ;-)
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Does anybody know a good recepy site like this one, but in chinese?
My mother would love to try new things out.
Thank you for this great site, bookmarked it :)
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I just found this through Food Blog Search!
I’ll be making this for dinner tonight :).
How many servings is this — 2?
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I’m from Utah and lots of Chinese restaurants serve Mongolian beef. It’s one of my favorites.
As for where it came from, I can tell you that several restaurants I ate at in China had a very similar dish; I don’t know the Chinese name but it translated to Iron Beef. It was beef, white onions and green peppers in a similar sort of sauce, and they served it sizzling in an iron skillet. It was one of my absolute favorite things I ate there.
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My boyfriend loves Mongolian Lamb. I never have a say when we get Chinese… we always have to have it! Actually we had it just last night. I’m from Brisbane, Australia, and like others have said- Mongolian Lamb is more common than the beef version.
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San Francisco has mongolian beef in every chinese restaurant. By reading your recipe, and others, I noticed that the restaurants in SF use small dried chili in their beef to add extra hotness to it…really brings out the flavors more. I’ll try this recipe, but definately will add chili and a bit of hoisin sauce.
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HAS ANYONE EVEN TRIED this recipe?? or any recipes from this blog??1
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hi!! I am from Mexico, I went to a chinese restaurant and the have it, but sooooooo hot!!! with alot of dry chile and green chile too
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ok b, i have your origin.
mongolian beef (or lamb) is a legitimate chinese dish, originally adapted from the cooking practices of mongolians and northern chinese muslims. there are two varieties, mongolian ‘hot pot’ which is very common, using a pot that holds broth and charcoal, or mongolian ‘brazier’ or ‘grill,’ which is basically like bulgoki in that thinly sliced meat is grilled at the table on a type of skillet. in america, early chinese restaurants weren’t equipped to provide a small stove for each diner, so a version that could be stir-fried in the kitchen and served normally or on a sizzling plate was devised. in fact, many (cheap) korean restaurants in america and thailand do a similar thing, frying the bulgoki and serving it cooked rather than having each diner do it themselves.
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Jane replied:
I am from PEI, Canada, I have never heard of this dish, but I hadn’t looked for it either. Looks great though, will try the recipe~
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Jane - thanks for dropping a comment and your compliments. Mongolian beef is very common in U.S.’ Chinese restaurants. I hope you enjoy the recipe.
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Mongolian beef in my home country Norway is not very common. But I have yet to see it in in beijing when i live there served as a authentic dish haha.
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
I am also convinced that Mongolian beef is an oversea Chinese creation. But still taste very good, nonetheless.
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Ever since visiting Florida on holiday and eating Mongolian Beef at Mings Court on International Drive my boyfriend and I have been hooked. We asked our local chinese take aways if they ever heard of it and they didnt know of it at all. I dont know of anywhere in my area in the UK that makes this. I am looking forward to trying your recipe as it looks so delicious, just how I remember it :-)
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Hi Claire, when I visited UK, I did notice the Chinese food was different from US. Mongolian beef is must have beef dish on any Chinese menu and I don’t recall seeing it in UK. If not mistaken, I remember seeing scallion beef. I’d say that’s probably the closest thing to Mongolian beef. But try out this recipe of mine, hope it satisfy you and your boyfriend as well :)
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Hi - I lived in China for a number of years. It is an authentic Chinese dish, in Chinese it’s tie ban niu rou - iron plate beef. Comes served at the table on a metal plate and sometimes has carrots, capsicum and onion. I used to like the veggies even more than the beef :)
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Leah - thanks for your confirmation. Hot plate sounds good.
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Hi Rasa, this recipe never fails to impress my husband every time I cook it for dinner. I have one question though: What is the purpose of stir frying the beef 1st and then add it back later after the aromatics? I usually skip this step cos I am lazy.
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Dorach - so you don’t overcook the beef. They should be tender but not chewy. ;)
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