I’ve seen recipes for PF Chang’s Mongolian Beef all over Pinterest for some time and since PF Chang’s is one of my favorite restaurants, I knew I had to try making Mongolian Beef at home.
Usually when we go to PF Chang’s, I am all about the Kung Pao Scallops, but Mongolian Beef is also a favorite of mine.
Crispy but tender pieces of beef coated in a thick, sweet and a little salty sauce. It’s almost like eating beef candy! Add some red pepper flakes if you want to balance the sweetness with some heat.
We don’t go to PF Chang’s often since it is a little pricey and the drive can take a lot of time when there’s traffic. So I am thrilled to be able to make this dish at home and it is so easy!
You don’t have to eat at PF Chang’s to enjoy a fabulously delicious Mongolian Beef. It’s easy to make at home and can be served over white rice for a meal that is sure to become a family favorite.
And your kids will think you have suddenly developed restaurant chef skills. 🙂
Tips for Making Mongolian Beef:
- Try adding some broccoli or asparagus.
- Sirloin steak can be used instead of flank steak
- Some people think this recipe is too salty or too sweet. If you tend to not like salty foods, try using low sodium soy sauce. If you don’t have much of a sweet tooth, cut back on the sugar but keep in mind that the sugar helps balance the salt and cutting back on the sugar may cause the sauce to taste saltier.
Try these other take-out favorites:
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Mongolian Beef (PF Chang's copycat)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Vegetable oil
- 1-2 teaspoons minced ginger
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 cup Vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 pounds flank steak
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
- 1 bunch green onions, cut on diagonal into 2-inch pieces
Instructions
- Make the sauce. Heat 1 tablespoon Vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add ginger and garlic and stir for 30 seconds.
- Add soy sauce, water, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil and simmer until thickened some, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Slice flank steak against the grain into 1/4-inch slices with the knife held at a 45 degree angle. Some of the really long pieces I cut in half to make them more bite-sized.
- Toss flank steak with cornstarch and let sit 10 to 15 minutes.
- Heat 1 cup Vegetable oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.
- Add beef (I cooked it in 2 batches) and cook 2-3 minutes, until brown and crispy, flipping pieces over to cook both sides.
- Remove meat with a slotted spoon and discard cooking oil. Place meat back in pan along with sauce and cook over medium heat for 1 minute, stirring to coat meat.
- Add red pepper flakes and green onions and remove from heat.
- Serve over rice.
Nutrition
Recipe Adapted from: Food.com
Originally published April 14, 2015
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Much too sweet for my taste. Cut the sugar down to 2Tbs and then you will have something
This is a really nice recipe. My family loves it. Thanks.
Tastes identical to PF Chang’s if not better. I don’t only use beef but chicken, shrimp, and that idea I got from Chang’s. I also add more veggies. The heavy oil is for browning the beef after you coat with cornstarch. Then pour off oil. I personally don’t have luck doing it that way so I stir fry it in wok oil. I do not think it is too sweet I think the flavors balance themselves out. I do add extra garlic, at least double, but my family likes garlic.
I added two healthy table spoons of garlic chili to spice it up and the flavor turned out delicious!! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Birthday present Air fryer. So of course had to try. Used flank picked the steak setting 2 minutes flip 2 more per batch. I did coat and let steak sit per recipe. Family loved it. No extra oily taste or extra calories. Added to sauce on stove. Yummy
Delicious!! I have made this several times now, along side steamed broccoli and jasmine rice.my family loves it!!
This recipe is awesome! My family loved it so much that we don’t have any leftovers! I added a little oyster sauce to the beef while cooking it just to balance the sweef/savory flavors. I’ll be bookmarking this to make it again.
Can you
Excellent with a couple minor alterations. I don’t know why I didn’t think to add broccoli. Yum! I don’t buy brown sugar so I used 1/2 cup coconut sugar which is a great substitute. It was pretty messy frying the meet so I too wonder about broiling or grilling without the cornstarch (or arrowroot). Next time I will just add the cornstarch to the cold water part and then add to the sauce. Thank you for sharing.
It really is like beef candy!
I add broccoli to this recipe and it is so good!
Made the Mongolian Beef and it turned out awesome! Will definitely make again and also try something similar with chicken. Thanks for the great recipe!
Do you possibly have a Instant Pot recipe guide for this Mongolian beef recipe?
This was a great recipe. I followed except added a few steamed veggies at the end. Big hit. Will be serving again soon.
Delicious!! My alterations: subbed light brown sugar for dark brown, only used 1/2 cup oil for frying the steak and served jasmine rice with it. Very much like PF Chang’s…and NOT to sweet at all! Thank you for sharing!!
Delish! I followed the recipe, and it came out amazing! Will definitely be making it again 🙂
I use top round steak because that’s all they had and the meat was tough. Is there a different kind of meat that’s a bit more tender?
Try a trip tip steak if it’s available
I used thick cut sirloin, sliced it thin, put it in a bag with the corn starch, shook it, put it in the crock pot and put everything else in the crock pot . It’s always tender this way. I am going to add broccoli florets at the end.
Can you use ground ginger in the place on minced and how much
Yes, I would use maybe 1/2 teaspoon.
I have made this many times before using a different recipe. The secret to making the sauce thick is to NOT use WATER!!! The recipe for the sauce calls for water however I made this recipe tonight using the water and my sauce never thickened even after reducing it for a very long time, so please if you’re going to make this do not add water.
You are supposed to add the STARCH too in order to thicken the sauce after you add water
My sauce thickened once I added it to the pan with beef because the need had the corn starch on it.
Very Yummy!!! Was a little to sweet but that’s ok
Seems like a lot of people think it is too sweet, but I am glad you enjoyed it!
I actually made this using leftover London broil and it was great!
Made this tonight. My son said it was his new favorite dinner but by the end of the meal we all thought it was too sweet. Maybe I will add broccoli next time and cut the sugar down. Thanks for the recipe!
It definitely is on the sweet side. Great idea to add the broccoli!
I added broccoli and it was still WAY to sweet.
This recipe was originally created by Todd Wilbur for his cookbook “Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2” (Penguin/Random House 2007). Kindly give the author credit and link back to the original source here:
http://topsecretrecipes.com/PF-Changs-Mongolian-Beef-Copycat-Recipe.html
Thank you for your support!
Made this with thick cut round steak. Partially frozen, cut on the bias. I added fresh picked asparagus and fresh pineapple. My guests were delighted and my “planned” leftovers weren’t, tho no one actually licked the dish. I think secret to thickness is reducing the sauce slowly. Make first and let it simmer while you prepare balance of recipe…old ISU food science grad
This is just Todd Wilbur’s recipe from topsecretrecipes.com with slight modifications. It’s good to make this recipe more well-known because it’s a good recipe, but give the creator credit where credit is due.
Delicious recipe! I added 1/4 cup of vinegar to soy sauce to lessen sweetness. frying in vegetable oil makes it unhealthy so I have to try baking next time. Someone mentioned baking the meat in earlier post but not sure for how long and at what temperature? On rack or directly on baking sheet? Let me know if you’ve done it! Thanks 😉
I’d recommend broiling the meat on skewers for just a few minutes if you don’t want to fry it. It closely resembles grilling it and will cook really quickly!
Thank you for the recipe! The dish turned out great!
Made it last night. The family loved it!
Made this for the second time tonight. It is delicious!
Glad it is a winner!
I made it last night using a ribeye that I couldn’t finish the night before and it was delicious
Made this tonight and it was AMAZING. I followed the recipe to a T and it turned out great. We will definitely be eating this regularly. Thanks so much – excellent job!
I just made this yesterday and it was delicious. I found a clip on You Tube from PF Chang’s showing how they make theirs and they added some sesame oil right before plating. Thought I would share. Thank YOU for sharing this recipe with us…love it!
Hello ..This is my first comment on this board . But I just finished making this fantastic mongolian beef recipe and I have to say it was one of the tastiest dishes I ever made. The sauce was sooo sweet, then the red pepper flake kicked in.. Had it with Broccoli with Asian Garlic Sauce and Jasmine rice … Life is Good …when eating this dish !!!
That’s quite the review Myles! Glad you enjoyed it!
Hi, made this tonight and it was one of the best recipes so far on Pinterest. Sauce thickened , meat was tender. I used top sirloin and added asparagus but everything else followed your directions. Will definitely be making again. Thanks for sharing
So glad you enjoyed it Laura! I will have to try adding asparagus next time I make it!
I grilled my meat instead of frying. It came out perfect. Tender and delicious. Thanks.
What a great idea!
Hi, I made this recipe and while I loved the flavor and the meat came out nice and tender, my sauce never thickened up. Any suggestions?
Im thinking she didnt put the right veg oil so i would put 1/3 or 1/2 cup she only put the 1cup vag oil for cooking the meet. She needs to fix that.
1/3, 1/2 cup or a cup of vegetable oil? I think you mean 1 tablespoon, right?
I must have done something wrong. My meat tasted saturated in oil. Ugh… my family didn’t like it.
Sometimes that happens if the oil is not hot enough Becky.
You have to make sure the oil is at maximum heat. You can also get away with less oil if you want to.
I baked my beef in oven 450 degrees until brown, turned pieces over and cooked until well brown. Delicious recipe.
Thank you for sharing! I made this tonight for my family & got a thumbs up from everyone. Definitely a recipe we will use again!
Made this tonight. Holy cow, it is SO good!!!! Thank you for sharing this recipe! (My family is already asking to have it again.)
So happy your family enjoyed it Stacy!
Just made this, way too salty!!!! Wont make this again.
Delicious! My family loved it.
Mongolian beef my son’s fav. I had been searching for a recipe and this one is easier to prepare. Thanks for sharing ?
I added a small amount of green pepper and broccoli to this and a bit more red pepper flake . This was and easy amazing dish will be making this more often.
Tried this tonight! Delicious! It is definitely being added to my favorite dinners file!
I favor a savory dish so I could see lessening the sugar, but I think everyone else in my family favors sweet. It is all about personal taste. 🙂
I love PF Changs and LOVE making delicious dishes in my own home. Nothing like it!
Thank you for sharing this!
Any way to cut back on the oil? 1/4 cup of oil per person seems an awful lot.
Thank you 🙂
It doesn’t seem the oil is used in the actual dish, just to cook/fry the meat to make it crispy. You discard the remaining oil after the meat is removed. This dish looks amazing AND super easy! Thanks!
Just finished making this. Followed the directions to the letter. I let the sauce cook down longer so it was thicker. Didn’t season the meat and when combined with the sauce found it was not overly salty. However next time I’ll use 1/4 c. regular soy and 1/4 c. sweet thick soy. I think it’ll add depth to the sauce. And maybe a bit of sesame oil for the flavor. This is really good.
Thanks so much for leaving your feedback Cheryl!
Made this tonight and it was so tasty;however, way too salty. I recommend using a low sodium soya sauce. I will certainly make it again with that adjustment! Yummy!
Tried to make, IDK if it was the soy sauce i used but it was really salty, will try again at another time, but i will add less soy sauce and more brown sugar.
Recipe was good only thing was that it was way too sweet. My sauce also didn’t thicken on it’s own. I recommend adding a 1/4 cup of brown sugar and a couple teaspoons of cornstarch to the sauce while it is simmering.
Never had real PF Changs before, I’ve tried the frozen stuff but I know it wouldn’t be the same. I made this last night and LOVED the flavor of the sauce! I only have one problem, the sauce NEVER thickened and I have no idea why I added a bit of cornstarch but it didn’t help any, other than that no complains except my meat wasn’t very tender after cooking it.
I made this last week since we are obsessed with the PF Chang’s version and live 3 hours away from one. It is absolutely amazing and I had a very happy family last night:) Thank you so much!
Cooked this in my crockpot for 4hrs, worked great. I will cut down the sugar next time and add more heat, but that is just me.
I’m glad to know it worked well in your crockpot Rusty. It seems a lot of people like it with less sugar. I do have a pretty strong sweet tooth. 🙂
Christine, this Mongolian Beef is just as good if not better than PF Chang’s. Thank you so very much for sharing this with us 🙂 And you are right, PF Chang’s is way to pricey, but the Mongolian Beef is what my Wife and I like the best. And you nailed it perfectly. Actually I like yours better lol. Now if I could get the recipe for Dynamite Shrimp*
crispy shrimp tossed in a zesty sauce, I’d be in hog heaven lol
Hi Larry, thank you so much for leaving such a nice comment. I might have to give that crispy shrimp a try at home. 🙂
How did you prepare to cook in crock pot? Mix sauce and all all ingredients to crockpot? Thanks
I’ve never tried this recipe in the crock pot Kim.
This looks delicious! Can’t wait to try it out this week, never had Mongolian beef so I am excited about this 🙂
Hope you love it Donika!!
I just made it, and it’s delicious! Thank you for sharing xo
So glad you enjoyed it Donika! 🙂
Very tasty dish and mouth-watering photos!
my family loved this dish….I used sweet soya glaze and 1/4 off the sugar, added mushrooms….delish
Saucer of milk for table 7… Meow!
I really wish people would comment on how this recipe came out rather than saying how great it looks and will try it later. That is not helpful. We can all see what the picture looks like. How about does it taste good? That is what I need to know. Thank you to the ONE person who actually made it and commented on what was wrong. Less sugar. Thanks!
Saucer of milk for table 7… Meow!
Thank you for the great pictures. Making it tonight!
I enjoyed the flavours coming out of this. We already cut back on the sugar, but we should have also used a low sodium soya sauce. It was so tasty other than being to salty for my liking. I used a roast and so doubled the sauce, I don’t think I needed to do that. I think adding broccoli would have been ok.
I LOVE MONGOLIAN BEEF
I made this today because I haven’t been to P.F Changs in a while since I am living abroad and all I can say is: it really took me back!!!
I added some broccoli and mushrooms in before the green onions making it a little more complete as a meal.
Thank you for posting!!!
It is way to sugary…once I read 3/4 cup of brown sugar the recipe lost me…cooked it ate it, spiced it up a little more to cut the sugar…I’m guessing the sugar is what keeps all the people coming back for more, right?
I need another mongo recipe one thats on the saltier side, non the less, thanks for the recipe…the kids love it!
Hey,
I was wondering if I could also cook the beef in my fryer instate?
Hi Katy! Yes, I think it would be fine to cook the meat in your fryer and do the rest of the recipe in a pan.
Wow! So yummy. I am drooling over this, it will surely be a good pair with some cocktails in hong kong from http://www.mott32.com, such as Mott St. Cooler drinks. The spicy flavour of Szechuan Chilli will be perfect for this Mongolian beef. Thanks for a great read. I truly love this =)
This PF Chang’s copycat dish looks amazing! That Mongolian beef looks SO delicious!! Pinned 🙂
I wholeheartedly agree… homemade Mongolian beef is the bomb! 🙂 My little niece who doesn’t touch beef eats this dish happily, as do our boys. Yay for homemade copycat recipes 🙂
Try adding a little bit of hoisin sauce
Oooh pf changs is always on our hit list when we visit the USA, we love it! This recipe looks fantastic!!!
I just had dinner, Christin, and I wish I’d had this! I’m making this next week — it looks irresistible! 🙂
This looks awesome!! I haven’t tried PF Chang’s version, but yours looks so good I don’t think I even need to go out! The sauce looks amazing!
The sauce definitely helps to make this dish. There is just something about that sweet and slightly salty sauce that is so addicting! PfChangs does it well and this copy looks amazing!
That looks seriously legit! I love a good copycat recipe and this must be better than pf chang’s!
Your Mongolian Beef looks absolutely incredible, Christin! So flavorful and saucy!
Omg this sounds incredible and your pics are gorgeous! I have got to try this dish!
Wow Christin…this Mongolian beef looks awesome, I love the color of it!
Enjoy your day 🙂
We love Mongolian beef! It’s about time that I try making it at home!
Thanks for the recipe! I wanted to try Mongolian beef for a while 🙂 Yummy!
This looks so delicious! I love making copycat recipes. You can save so much money, and they almost always taste better at home! Thanks for the recipe.
Recreating restaurant dishes like this at home is the best! This looks fantastic! So nice and saucy!
I’m actually going to PF Chang’s tomorrow night for dinner, though I’ve never had their mongolian beef before! This looks fantastic, Christin! This is one of my favorite dishes. Love the flavors!
This mongolian beef looks incredible, I will definitely be trying it soon! I’ve never actually been to PF Chang’s, but it’s been on our list of places to try when in the States for a long time now! There’s just too many good restaurants that we don’t have, so we haven’t made it there yet! 🙂
Mongolian beef is a favorite here! This looks so saucy and sticky — the best way!