DISH RESEARCH · Main dish
Mongolian beef
Nagi Maehashi’s selected American Chinese Mongolian beef coats flank slices in a light marinade and separate cornstarch before frying. Its own broth, soy, wine and brown-sugar sauce coats the crisp beef and scallions, with rice served separately.
About Mongolian beef
Research draft based on the references below. These notes describe particular recipes and presentations; ingredient connections are still being reviewed.
Maehashi’s crispy sticky Mongolian beef follows an American Chinese restaurant style. This selected version uses thin flank-steak slices with a light marinade, a separate cornstarch coating and a sweet-salty own sauce.
Soy sauce, a little cornstarch and vegetable oil coat the beef for marinating. A separate mixture combines more cornstarch, water, selected light soy sauce, prepared chicken broth, Chinese cooking wine and brown sugar.
A third cornstarch portion lightly coats the marinated beef. It fries in batches in a selected quarter-cup of vegetable oil, then drains on paper towels.
Most of that frying oil is discarded, leaving about a tablespoon in the wok for ginger and garlic. The separate sauce simmers until glossy and sticky before the beef and scallions return for a short toss.
The beef is served immediately with rice alongside. Maehashi credits a Woks of Life recipe for the version she developed after trying Mongolian beef in a Los Angeles Chinese restaurant, and describes its contrast of crisp beef and thick, sticky sauce.
Ingredients in Mongolian beef
Recorded ingredient connections, rather than a complete recipe. Explore an ingredient for more detail.
Ingredient connections are still being added.
Ingredient connections awaiting review. Versions and preparation vary.
Origins & food traditions
Explore the countries and cooking traditions associated with this dish. These connections do not establish a single birthplace or limit where the dish is eaten today.
Countries
Cuisines & regions
Cuisine and regional connections are still being added.
Associations in the cited sources
These describe source-specific cultural or geographic connections. Catalogue links may still need review.
- Countries & places
- United States
- Cooking traditions
- American Chinese