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. 🙂
Sweet and Salty
This recipe is fairly sweet and salty. If you don not like salty foods, try using low-sodium soy sauce. Likewise, you can reduce the sugar by 1/4 cup.
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
- Thai Chicken Pasta
- General Tso’s Chicken
- Instant Pot Mongolian Beef
- Spicy Mongolian Beef and Pineapple
For more mouth watering recipes follow Spicy Southern Kitchen on Pinterest and Instagram.
Subscribe to Spicy Southern Kitchen’s Youtube Channel.
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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Adapted from: Food.com
Originally published April 14, 2015
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
I made this for dinner for my parents. It was super good I followed the recipe exactly. Only thing I recommend is using lite soy sauce. The meal was way too salty for me even served with rice!
Of course when you’re incorporating soy sauce into many recipes, you should lean more on using the lite soy sauce because if not the food usually salty.
This recipe is spot on, and so delicious!! I’ve made it probably three times now and it’s a big hit with our family! I was curious if I can marinate the beef strips ahead of time in the soy sauce mix to make them even more flavorful? Or if that will make things complicated when I later add the cornstarch element before I fry them ? Thanks so much for sharing this gem of a recipe!
I love stir fry food and thought I’d try my hand at this recipe which seemed uncomplicated. To my surprise it was very easy and so tasteful. My husband couldn’t believe it was not a take away delivery. Thank you
This is by far the BEST recipe I have ever had! The only thing I get from PF Chang’s is this and I feel like I was there while eating this. Straight up identical! Instead of cutting the meat myself, I used shaved beef. Just coated it really good and fried it in my wok. Came out amazing. Thank you for this life-changer! 😉
Hi April,
You had mentioned you used shaved beef for the Mongollion Beef recipe. Where would I find that in the grocery store? Is it behind the Deli counter? What meat would I ask for to be shaved – roast beef? Thanks!
huge fan of this at PF….. replaced the beef with venison and its delicious!!
Delicious! I added some broccoli, mushrooms and sliced onions. I also marinated the beef in soy sauce and sesame oil first.
Umm! Deeeelicious! It was just like PF changs if not better!. Plus, because I made it I know exactly what was in it. I used Sirloon beef instead of flank steak(they were out) and I didnt have anything green so i used red bell peppers and red onions which I sauteed. It was an absolute hit paired with jasmine rice. I am a fan of sweet and spicy, so next time I will add more pepper just to add a little more complexity to the flavor. But that is just my personal taste. This is going into the weeknight steady rotation! Thank you!
I’ve been making Mongolian beef for 3 years now. It’s our favorite.
Vegetable oil is the worst and most stinky oil you can use though. Peanut oil or sunflower oil is the best.
does the one they make at the restaurant have alcohol in it ?
No, it doesn’t have alcohol in it. Hope that helps!
Fantastic recipe; both husband and daughter raved about it. I chose sirloin steak and for the sauce I used low sodium soy sauce and started with just 1/4 cup brown sugar and then added more by the Tablespoon until it got to the sweetness I wanted. Served with brown rice and broccoli. Thanks for the recipe – definitely a keeper!
Made this yesterday. It was delicious! I did make the mistake of over cooking. Yesterday hot right out of the pan it was wonderful…today after cooled and reheated I can see a difference in texture do to over cooking. I will be careful next time. So needless to say I will defiantly be making this again! Thank you for such a scrumptious recipe!