Mongolian Beef

So I'm a pretty big fan of P.F. Chang's, but it's a bit on the pricey side to go to on a regular basis. Then, while browsing Pinterest one day, I came across what seemed to be a fairly easy recipe for a copycat P.F. Chang's Mongolian Beef from Damn Delicious' Blog. I decided to go on and give it a try the other night for dinner, per my boyfriend's request.

The gathering up of the ingredients. The recipe called for flank steak, but I didn't have any... so I substituted what I actually had in the fridge and just made sure to cut it down to the right size.

After giving it a good mix, I put it into a small pot and heated it up for a bit so it would thicken. This is how my sauce mixture looked before heating it. Just a side note: because I used a garlic-ginger seasoning, I reduced the fresh garlic down from 3 cloves to 2 cloves. I didn't realize I had run out of ginger, and that seasoning was my only option (but a tasty one).

The most time consuming part of this process was the cutting up of the steak into the nice, thin strips. Once this was out of the way, I could do the quick cornstarch coat and throw it into the heated oil to cook. They cooked pretty quickly, so be careful not to leave them in the pan for too long.

The original recipe recommended putting the cooked beef onto a paper towel lined plate after removing from the oil, and I strongly agree (unless you want an oily mess).

Because I wanted a little more substance with my meal, I quickly sauteed some water chestnuts and carrots in a little bit of the sauce before adding the beef. I then added the meat and sauce to the pan and let it simmer for a bit to thicken it up a bit. To serve, I paired it with jasmine rice.

Conclusion: This dish came out amazing! It was a total winner for both my boyfriend and I. This Mongolian Beef recipe may become a regular rotation in our household.

Copycat P.F. Chang's Mongolian Beef Recipe

Ingredients:

1 pound flank steak, thinly sliced (can substitute for a different cut)
1/4 c. cornstarch
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. water
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp. grated ginger
2 tsp. vegetable oil
Optional: vegetables to mix with the beef

Instructions:

- Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, 2 tsp. vegetable oil, and water in a medium bowl. Whisk together and place into saucepan and heat for about 5-10 minutes. Once sauce is thickened, remove from heat and set aside. 

- In a large bowl, combine steak and cornstarch so that steak has a light coating.

- Heat 1/2 c. vegetable oil in a large saucepan. Add beef and fry until brown and cooked through, about 1-2 minutes (depending on steak thickness). Remove beef from oil and place on a paper towel lined place to drain. Discard excess oil from pan.

- If adding vegetables, put into the large sauce pan with a little bit of the sauce and cook to desired consistency.

- Add beef and sauce to the pan and cook at medium heat until sauce thickens, about 2-3 minutes.

- Serve immediately. 

Yields about 4 servings