Faster than phoning for takeout, this saucy, flavourful Mongolian Ground Beef is a easy, budget friendly, and delicious riff on the classic Chinese American takeout dish. Serve over rice or in lettuce leaves as wraps for a dinner that will please even the pickiest eaters!
Mongolian Ground Beef
Mongolian beef is a Chinese American restaurant staple dish. It’s usually made of thin strips of stir-fried beef in sweet and savoury sauce. The sauce is redolent with garlic, ginger, and soy sauce and is actually based on a preparation that started in Taiwan rather than Mongolia as the name suggests.
This much faster, less fussy version takes advantage of the quick cooking properties of ground beef. Steak is expensive! Instead of buying a pricey flank steak, just grab a pound and a half of readily available and wallet-friendly lean ground beef.
Ground beef cooks up in a fraction of the time of the steak. And there’s a bonus to using ground beef, too!
The irresistible sauce is build right in the pan around the cooked beef. This recipe is what everyone needs to have in their back pocket for those nights when the schedule has you running ’til you drop!
Mongolian Ground Beef Recipe
I love to slice the green onions using two different types of cuts for this recipe. Cook the thinly sliced, more strongly onion-y whites of the scallion get along with the ground beef to tame any lurking fire.
Add the longer pieces of green onion to the finished dish for a lovely textural element. If you’re serving super picky eaters who can’t stand visible vegetable matter, though, you have options.
Feel free to finely mince the white part of the green onion to better hide it in the ground beef. Serve the longer pieces on the side for those who want it.
Mongolian Beef with Ground Beef
If you love this quick take on classic Mongolian beef, please check out some of our other fake-out take-out dishes! Cheater Sesame Chicken is everything you love about takeout Chinese sesame chicken but is made in your own kitchen. Using ground chicken,it takes mere minutes without any deep frying.
Slightly spicy, saucy, and reminiscent of Korean bulgogi (Korea’s famous barbecue beef), 15 Minute Korean Style Beef takes significantly less work and puts significantly less strain on the budget. It’s so good, too!
Taco seasoned beef is smashed directly onto corn tortillas and cooked ’til crisp-edged on a screaming hot griddle in this smash tacos recipe. Top with all your favourite taco toppings for a taco night that is next level with this marriage of smash burgers and tacos. And believe it or not, these smash tacos come together faster than regular old ground beef tacos!
Mongolian Ground Beef
Rate RecipeEquipment
- 1 everyday pan or stainless skillet
- liquid measuring cups
- dry measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- chop and stir or sturdy wooden spoon
- fork or whisk
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds ground sirloin or other lean ground beef
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 6 cloves garlic minced, or 1 tablespoon garlic paste
- 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 3/4 cup low sodium soy sauce or Bragg's liquid aminos
- 1/3 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 8 green onions greens cut into 1-inch pieces, whites thinly sliced separately
- 1/3 cup water
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds optional, but tasty
Instructions
- Crumble the ground beef into a stainless steel skillet or everyday pan over medium high heat. Scatter the minced ginger, minced garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, and black pepper over the beef.
- Use a chop and stir or a sturdy wooden spoon to break up the beef as it cooks, working the seasonings in as you go. When the beef is cooked through thoroughly, drain any excess fat from the beef if needed and return the pan -with the beef- to a medium high burner. Stir in the thinly sliced whites of the green onions for 30 seconds.
- Use a fork or small whisk to stir together the low sodium soy sauce, brown sugar, hoisin sauce, and sesame oil until well blended. Pour this over the beef and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce the heat to medium, allowing it to simmer for 2 minutes.
- Use a fork or small whisk to stir the cornstarch into the water. Add this mixture into the beef and sauce, stirring well to combine. Return the mixture to a steady simmer or low boil, stirring constantly, until it has thickened and become glossy, about 3 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the 1-inch sections of the green onions. Serve over cooked rice, barley, or riced cauliflower. If desired garnish with sesame seeds.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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