Experience the mouth-watering flavour of Gluten-Free Mongolian Beef in the comfort of your own home. Featuring tender beef cooked with ginger, garlic, and onions and finished with a sticky, sweet, and salty sauce, it's easy to make and perfect for a weeknight meal. Trust me, once you try it, it'll become a new favourite in your recipe collection.
Jump to:
Mongolian Beef
Traditionally, flank steak is used for this Mongolian Beef as it is a flavourful and affordable cut of meat that becomes tender when sliced thinly across the grain and quickly cooked. But don't limit yourself to just flank steak, as any cut of beef can be used in this recipe, like a cross-rib roast, as in the case of this recipe. You can also experiment with other meats, such as thin strips of pork butt, chicken breast, or even ground meat to make a different variation of the dish.
I used about one pound of cross-rib roast for this recipe, cut into thin strips (½ cm wide) across the grain. The cross-rib roast worked perfectly, providing a tender and delicious final product.
Why cut meat across the grain?
When it comes to cutting meat, the direction in which you slice it can have a big impact on its texture and tenderness. The "grain" that is referred to in the context of meat refers to the direction in which the muscle fibres run. Cutting meat across the grain means that you're slicing it perpendicular to the direction of these fibres while cutting with the grain means you're slicing in the same direction as the fibres.
Cutting meat across the grain is important for a few reasons. Firstly, it helps to shorten the muscle fibres, which in turn makes the meat more tender. When the fibres are shorter, they are not as tightly wound and don't require as much chewing to break down. This makes for a more enjoyable eating experience and can make a big difference when it comes to tougher cuts of meat.
Additionally, cutting across the grain also helps to redistribute the marinade and coating evenly across the meat, ensuring that each bite will have the perfect balance of flavours.
Prepping The Mongolian Beef
Once the meat has been cut and sliced thinly across the grain, it's time to prepare it for cooking.
In a medium mixing bowl, beat one egg and season it with salt and pepper. Once the egg is seasoned, add the thinly sliced meat to the bowl and stir the meat so that each piece is evenly coated.
The next step is to add two tablespoons of cornstarch to the bowl. The cornstarch will help to create a crispy and slightly thickened coating on the meat as it cooks and will also help to thicken the sauce. Mix well until all the meat is coated evenly with the egg and cornstarch mixture.
Once the meat is fully coated, set it aside in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook it. This will allow the coating mixture to bind to the meat and create a crispy texture when cooking.
By following these simple steps, you'll be on your way to making a delicious and gluten-free version of Mongolian beef that is sure to please even the pickiest of eaters. Remember, thinly slicing meat and cutting it across the grain, and using cornstarch to thicken the sauce are crucial steps to making this quick and easy Mongolian beef.
Flavourings
The flavour for this Mongolian Beef recipe includes ginger, garlic, onions, and green onions. These ingredients provide a balance of flavour, sweetness from the brown sugar, savoriness from soy sauce, and a hint of spiciness from ginger and garlic.
Ginger, in particular, is a key ingredient that adds a warm, spicy and slightly sweet flavour to the dish. Garlic, on the other hand, provides a strong and pungent flavour that complements the ginger perfectly.
Onions are used in this recipe, adding sweetness and depth of flavour to balance out the savoury and spicy flavours. They provide a nice contrast in colour to the dish. Lastly, green onions are added to the recipe to give a bit of freshness to the dish and also a pop of green as a garnish.
Gluten-Free Mongolian Beef Sauce
The Mongolian Beef sauce is a quarter cup of gluten-free tamari. You can use soy sauce if you don't need it to be gluten-free, but opt for a quality brand like Kikkoman rather than a bargain bottle. It is going to have a much better taste and less harsh saltiness. To the soy sauce, add two tablespoons of brown sugar and one teaspoon of rice vinegar or white wine vinegar. Mix the soy sauce, sugar, and vinegar and set aside.
Cooking Mongolian Beef
To make the Mongolian beef, start by heating a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add one tablespoon of canola or sesame oil. Then, add the beef and cook it until brown, about four minutes. Next, add the onions and continue cooking for another three minutes or until they start to soften.
After that, add the ginger, garlic, and green onions to the pan and cook for one to two minutes or until the ginger and garlic become fragrant.
Stir in the soy sauce mixture and add it to the pan. If there is any sugar left in the container, you may need to rinse it with two tablespoons of hot water and pour it into the pan as well. Stir the mixture and cook for four to five minutes or until there is no liquid left in the bottom of the pan.
When it's done, transfer the Mongolian beef to a platter and garnish it with sesame seeds. Serve it with steamed rice and vegetables. This dish also pairs beautifully with a stir-fried vegetable side.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb thinly sliced steak strips (½ cm) flank, or rib
- 1 cup thinly sliced onion
- 3 green onions sliced into 2 cm pieces
- 1 tablespoon sliced garlic
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- ¼ cup Tamari or soy sauce for non-gluten-free
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 egg beaten
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
Instructions
- Season the beaten egg with salt and pepper, then stir in the beef. Once the beef is coated in the egg, add the cornstarch and stir until each piece of beef is coated.
- In a small container mix together the soy sauce, sugar, and vinegar.
- Heat a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat until very hot. Add the canola oil and the beef. Cook until the beef is browned, about four minutes.
- Add the yellow onion into the pan and cook for another three minutes or until the onion starts to soften.
- Add the garlic, ginger, and green onions and cook for a minute or two or until the garlic and ginger become aromatic (you can smell them).
- Stir the soy sauce mixture well, then pour it into the pan. Rinse the container out with two tablespoons of hot water and add that to the pan as well.
- Cook Mongolian Beef for four to five minutes or until there is no more liquid pooling in the bottom of the pan.
- Transfer the Mongolian Beef to a platter and garnish with sesame seeds. Serve with steamed rice and vegetables.
Final Thoughts
I was genuinely surprised by how good this Mongolian Beef turned out, and how quickly the whole thing came together. It's one of those rare dishes that tastes like you spent hours in the kitchen but actually takes about twenty minutes from start to finish. If you're looking for another quick weeknight winner, my Chinese Lemon Chicken is well worth trying too.
Leave a Reply