This simple weeknight Mongolian Beef Stir-Fry has thin slices of steak, fried until crispy and tossed in a savory sauce of fresh ginger and garlic, brown sugar and tamari (or soy sauce). Served with roasted broccoli or a medley of your favorite veggies for an easy dinner any day of the week.

Weeknight Mongolian Beef Stir-fry

Meal planning is hard you guys and I struggle with it more often than you would think.

I’ll spend hours meal planning and creating a grocery list on Saturday, shop on Sunday evening or early Monday morning so I can cook dinner Sunday through Thursday. Friday and Saturday dinners are left up in the air for whatever we feel like or leftovers from the week. Typically what happens is that what meal I schedule to make isn’t necessarily what I feel like making come Wednesday or Thursday. The struggle is real. But each week I do try to plan for a stir-fry dinner for at least one of those nights — sometimes twice.

As of lately, I’ve been making this Mongolian beef stir-fry and my family loves it. It could be the crispy edges of the thinly sliced steak, or the sweet yet savory, garlicky ginger sauce. Either way, my family will eat. it. all. Malloree will just have some saucy steak and roasted broccoli in a bowl (still not a fan of rice) and Haileigh, Pat and I load our bowls up and drizzle ours with a little extra Sriracha for a spicy kick.

Weeknight Mongolian Beef Stir-fry

All in all this is a easy dinner that can be made any night of the week. Prep ahead, slicing the steak, making the sauce and chopping any veggies in advance and you can save yourself even more time.

Who doesn’t love the sound of that?

ingredients for Weeknight Mongolian Beef Stir-fry

To Make This Mongolian Beef Stir-Fry You Will Need:

  • top loin (aka Strip Steak or New York Strip) or sirloin steak
  • white pepper
  • cornstarch
  • dark brown sugar
  • fresh ginger root (about one 2-inch piece, peeled)
  • garlic (about 5 cloves)
  • low-sodium beef broth
  • low-sodium tamari (or soy sauce)
  • sriracha
  • extra light olive oil
  • cornstarch slurry – 1 tablespoon cornstarch plus 1 tablespoon cold water)
  • cooked jasmine rice
  • green onion

thinly sliced beef

When making any beef stir-fry recipe, I slice the steak really thin. This makes it quick to cook, easy to pick up with chopsticks [not that you will find me using them] and let’s be real– easy to chew. To make this task a little easier, you can place the steak or steaks on a plate or small sheet pan and flash freeze for about 10 minutes before slicing. It’s easier to slice ultra-thin strips of steak (or chicken!) when it’s slightly frozen.

As far as what cut of meat to use for stir-fry, I use top loin or sirloin steaks.

Flank steak may be used and you can find it listed in most stir-fry recipes, but Pat picks up on an irony taste in the meat so I don’t typically use it for stir-fry’s.

Sliced beef tossed in white pepper and cornstarch

Place 1-1/2 pounds thinly sliced steak into a bowl, season it with 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper and 3 tablespoons cornstarch. Use tongs to toss and coat evenly. Set that off to the side while you quickly make the sauce.

Mongolian beef stir-fry sauce in bowl.

Into a small bowl, add 1/3 cup of dark brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of both finely minced fresh ginger and garlic. Next add in 1 cup of beef broth, 1/2 cup of low-sodium tamari [or low-sodium soy sauce], 1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon [or more] of Sriracha hot sauce. Whisk to combine and set off to the side.

Working in batches cooking the beef in oil.

Heat 2 tablespoons of extra light olive oil or coconut oil in a large wok or 12-inch chefs pan on medium-high heat. Working in batches, evenly place a single layer of the steak into the hot pan. Cook about 2 minutes a side or until the edges are a deep golden color and are crispy.

Crispy browned beef in pan.

A super hot pan is essential to making the steak get those caramelized edges.

Transfer cooked beef to a paper towel lined plate.

Transfer the cooked steak to a paper towel lined plate and repeat, in small batches, with the remaining steak.

remove most oil from pan and pour in sauce.

Carefully use some paper towel to wipe majority of the oil out of the pan. Leaving a little of the stuck on bits is fine, then pour in the sauce.

Simmer until thickened

Bring to a boil and while stirring, slowly pour in a cornstarch slurry [1 tablespoon cornstarch plus 1 tablespoon cold water].

add crispy beef back into pan with sauce.

Once thickened, add in the crispy fried steak.

Toss beef in sauce

Toss to combine and serve immediately. Adding the steak right before serving will help maintain the crispy texture.

Weeknight Mongolian Beef Stir-fry

I serve the Mongolian beef with roasted broccoli [which I’ll be sharing with you soon!] on jasmine rice with a sprinkle of thinly sliced green onions.

Weeknight Mongolian Beef Stir-fry

Dinner just got delicious!

Forget picking up take-out! Make your own Mongolian beef stir-fry in the comfort of your own home! This will not only save you money all the while wearing your pj’s. Which I pretty much live in most days, but that’s a story for another day.

Simple yet flavorful, I’m positive you will love this recipe.

Weeknight Mongolian Beef Stir-fry

Enjoy! And if you give this Mongolian Beef Stir-fry recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!

Weeknight Mongolian Beef Stir-fry

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Yield: 6 servings

Mongolian Beef Stir-Fry

This simple weeknight Mongolian Beef Stir-Fry has thin slices of steak tossed in cornstarch and quickly fried until crispy. Fresh ginger and garlic add a ton of flavor to the thickened sweet yet savory, brown sugar and tamari (or soy) based sauce. An easy dinner for any day of the week.

Ingredients

FOR THE BEEF:

  • pounds top loin, aka Strip Steak or New York Strip or sirloin steak, sliced very thin
  • 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch

FOR THE SAUCE:

  • 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root, about one 2-inch piece, peeled
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic, about 5 cloves
  • 1 cup low-sodium beef broth
  • 1/2 cup low-sodium tamari, or soy sauce
  • 1/2 to 1 teaspoon Sriracha
  • 2 to 4 tablespoons extra light olive oil, for frying
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch, plus 1 tablespoon cold water for cornstarch slurry
  • 2 cups cooked jasmine rice, for serving
  • 3 green onion, sliced thin, for serving

Instructions 

  • Toss the thinly sliced steak with white pepper and cornstarch until coated evenly. Then set off to the side.
  • In a bowl combine the sugar, ginger, garlic, broth, tamari and Sriracha.
  • Heat oil a large wok or 12-inch chefs pan on medium-high. Once hot, work in small batches and evenly place an single layer of the steak into the hot pan. Cook about 2 minutes a side or until the edges are a deep golden color and are crispy. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and repeat (still in small batches) with the remaining steak.
  • Use paper towel to carefully wipe most of the oil out the pan. Pour in the sauce and bring to a boil, then pour in the cornstarch slurry while whisking. Once the sauce has thickened, add the crispy steak back into the sauce and serve immediately with your favorite cooked veggie over cooked rice.
  • Garnish with thinly sliced green onions.
Serving: 1g, Calories: 343kcal, Carbohydrates: 35g, Protein: 30g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 67mg, Sodium: 1232mg, Potassium: 598mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 12g, Vitamin A: 61IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 54mg, Iron: 3mg