Mongolian Beef good off the stove or as leftovers
Jon’s Rating:
This Cattleman’s Advocate Test Kitchen team is great. The cook just keeps delivering winning recipes. This one was not only good right off the stove; it warmed up nicely for a quick microwaved leftovers lunch. The ginger and the brown sugar clinging to the beef pieces was pretty tasty.
On my 4 hat rating scale this one is a strong 3 and a half hats.
Mongolian Beef
Source: thewoksoflife.com
1 pound Savannah’s Farm Fresh stew meat
1 tsp. vegetable oil (plus 1/3 cup for frying)
1 tbsp. corn starch (plus ¼ cup, divided)
2 tbsp. brown sugar
¼ cup hot water (or hot low sodium chicken or beef stock)
¼ cup low sodium soy sauce ½ tsp. ginger, minced
5 dried red chili peppers, (optional) I omitted this
2 cloves garlic, chopped (used less)
1 tbsp. cornstarch (mixed with 1 tbsp. water to make a slurry)
Combine the beef with 1 teaspoon oil, one teaspoon soy sauce and 1 tablespoon cornstarch in a large Ziploc bag. Marinate for 1 hour. The beef should still be quite moist after it has marinated.
Next, dredge the marinated beef in the remaining ¼ cup cornstarch until lightly coated.
In a small bowl, mix brown sugar and hot water until the sugar is dissolved. Mix in ¼ cup soy sauce. If you don’t have low sodium soy sauce, substitute 2 ½ tbsp. of regular soy sauce and 1 ½ Tbsp. water.
Heat 1/3 cup vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Just before the oil starts to smoke, spread the meat pieces evenly in the pan, and sear for 1 minute (depending upon the heat of your pan). Turn the meat over and let the other side sear for another 30 seconds. Remove to paper towel to drain. Repeat with the rest of the meat.
Drain the oil from the pan, leaving 1 tablespoon behind, and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the ginger and dried chili peppers, if using, stirring. After about 15 seconds, add the garlic. Stir for another 10 seconds and add the premixed sauce.
Let the sauce simmer for about 2 minutes and slowly stir in the cornstarch slurry mixture. Cook until the sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Add the beef and toss everything together for another 30 seconds. There should be almost no liquid, as the sauce should be clinging to the beef. If you still have sauce, increase the heat slightly and stir until thickened. Plate and serve with steamed rice.
I added shoestring carrots and broccoli to add color to the dish. Savannah’s Farm Fresh has a recipe for freezing this meal prior to cooking.