Mongolian Beef

Not long ago the Vegetarian introduced me to a pretty cool site called Pinterest. The concept is simple. You find cool recipes, pictures of places you want to travel, tech gadgets,  you want to buy, etc. and you “pin” them to your various boards. You can follow your friends boards and find new stuff — the main idea is to share with others. I have mostly used Pinterest for recipes, including a version of Mongolian Beef. The dish is a take on a dish you see at many Asian restaurants, including the chain P.F. Changs. I’ve actually had it there and this version puts it to shame. I didn’t stray much from the original recipe from Pink Bites, but I think you could easily toss on some sesame seeds, add some other veggies or swap out the type of meat. The recipe is all about the sauce.

Ingredients:
Serves 2
Recipe courtesy of Pink Bites

1 pound of flank steak, thinly cut (I used rib eye, pre-sliced)
1/4 cup of cornstarch
3 teaspoons of canola or vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon of grated ginger (about 1/2 inch piece)
1 tablespoon of chopped garlic (about 2 -3 large cloves)
1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup of light low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
3 large green onions, sliced crosswise into thirds

If you have meat already sliced, your job is easier. If not slice the steak and then pay dry. Mix with corn starch in a bowl making sure to coat all of the beef. Place beef slices in a strainer and shake off excess corn starch.

Heat half of the oil in a large wok or skillet at medium-high and add the garlic and ginger. Cook for one minute and then add the soy sauce, water, brown sugar and pepper flakes. Cook the sauce for about 2 minutes and transfer to a bowl.

Turn the heat up to high and add the remaining oil to the wok or pan. Add the beef and cook, stirring until it is all browned, about 2-4 minutes, depending on the thickness of the meat. Pour the sauce back into the wok and let it cook along with the meat. Cook for just a few minutes until meat is cooked for a thinner sauce or for 5 minutes or so for a thick sauce. Add green onions during last minute to keep them crunchy.

Serve with white rice, though in my case I used quinoa. Enjoy!!