Name: Easy Mongolian Beef (Sous Vide or Grill)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 95 min
Ingredients: 3/4 pound steak (Note 1); seasoning: salt, pepper, garlic powder; 1 teaspoon olive oil; 3 green onions, sliced on diagonal ((1-2 inches pieces)); Garnish (optional): 1-2 tsp orange zest; 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds (Note 2); 1/4 cup soy sauce, low sodium; 1/4 cup water; 1/4 cup brown sugar ((or maple syrup)); 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger ((or 2 tsp if you like)); 2 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 tsp) ((or 1 tsp pureed garlic)); 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes (optional); 2 teaspoon cornstarch

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Serve your next steak dinner with an Asian flare. This appealing and easy Mongolian beef is bathed in the typical sweet and salty sauce, but skips the frying by cooking the steak sous vide or on the grill.

By they way, Mongolian beef is actually from Taiwan.

Cooking Methods for the Beef

The most common way to cook Mongolian beef is to coat the beef in cornstarch and stir fry it in oil. You may have tasted the PF Chang version. With the right technique, this method creates a crispy brown surface instead of the medium rare beef you see in the pictures.

If done well, it’s delicious. But the downside is a lot more oil and frying (not my fave). And often chewier meat.

The sous vide or grill method in this recipe is a twist on the more typical dish. Easier and less smelly 🙂 The other big advantage is that you can pause for awhile if you need to before the final step.

Both methods work great and you’ll find instructions for both in the recipe. There are some trade offs.

With the sous vide method, you plunge the steak into a water bath and walk away for an hour or more. No fuss, zero stress and a forgiving timetable. But longer cooking time and the extra optional step of browning the meat.

With the grill method, the steak only takes 2-5 minutes per side to cook and another 10 minutes to rest. So quick turnaround (dinner can be ready in 20 minutes). And no fry smell!

Whatever version you choose, it’s the sauce that makes the dish. The core ingredients of any sauce you’ll find for Mongolian beef include soy, water, brown sugar, ginger and garlic. I also add a pinch of cornstarch to give the sauce more body. And orange zest and toasted sesame seeds to amp up the flavors.

Serve this easy Mongolian beef over rice, quinoa or, for a lower calorie option, lemon herb cauliflower rice.

Tailor To Your Taste

Steak options

Most recipes use flank steak. Rib eye, tenderloin or New York Strip are my preferred choices.
Instead of beef, try chicken or shrimp. To sous vide a chicken breast, check out one of our sous vide chicken recipes.

Flavor additions

Try adding a tablespoon or two of hoisin or oyster sauce for extra flavor.
Vary the heat with chili flakes or sriracha if you like spicy.
For a more complex flavor profile, I love to add orange zest and toasted sesame seeds as garnish. Lime or lemon zest would be great too.

Stretch the dish or add nutrition

Stir fry vegetables such as broccoli, red pepper, mushrooms, snow peas,.
Add sliced water chestnuts for crunch.

Another serving option

Use the sauce on a whole steak or chicken breast instead of slicing it up.

Shortcut

Frozen cubes of garlic and ginger are easy substitutes for fresh. And no chopping or grating.

Make Ahead

This dish is best made the same day to maintain its medium rare temperature. However, if you need to, cook the steak and mix the sauce ingredients up to a day or two ahead, Keep the sauce and steak separate. The instructions to cook the steak ahead with the sous vide and grilling methods are in the recipe notes.

If you love sous vide cooking, try our best sous vide recipes. With lots of beginner tips.

How to make Mongolian Beef (sous vide)

Gather ingredients: steak, green onions, maple syrup, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, cornstarch, water.

steak in sealed bag — Place seasoned steak in seal-able bag and place in water bath for sous vide method.

steak after removed from sous vide water bath on a paper towel — Steak is fully cooked to medium rare. Remove from water bath and bag and pat dry.

sous vide steak pan fried — If desired, pan fry one or both sides of steak for a minute to brown (this is optional)

beef sliced, cut of green onion and orange zest on cutting board — Slice steak and prepare green onion and orange zest garnish

mongolian beef sauce in pan — Boil sauce ingredients to thicken. Add green onions.

mongolian beef in pan ready to serve — Add beef to sauce to warm for a minute, then add garnishes like toasted sesame seeds and orange zest

Other sous vide recipes you might enjoy:

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