Mongolian Beef

If I had to pick a type of food that I would have to eat for the rest of my life, it would be Asian food. Not really specifically focused on one cuisine, but I LOVE all like Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, or Thai. Any of those will suffice, I just love sauteed chicken or beef with yummy vegetables, a sweet & savory sauce, and some filling rice. I mean it really just does not get any better for me. I eat Asian food so much, I might turn Asian (I'm kind of singing that really annoying song from Beverly Hills Ninja with Chris Farley in it... I think I'm turning Japanese, I'm turning Japanese, I really think so; yes, I'm cheesy, but at least I own up to it). Well, I came across a recipe for Mongolian Beef on the internet this week, and I had never attempted to make my own chinese food at home because why should I when I can order it and it will be delivered to my doorstep within a hour, I have the "it's not broke, so don't fix it" kinda attitude. I finally came to the conclusion that this was the day to attempt making my favorite delivery dish. It turned out great, I'm really surprised. And I substituted a lot of the ingredients for more figure-friendly items, you'll see on my recipe below. The original recipe that I used is listed below, but I told you what I substituted to save some calories because I mean greasy, hearty Chinese food could have a tiny little face lift, and make it just a little bit lighter on the tummy. I'll definitely be making this again, and probably will be having it for dinner since I have so much leftovers. And I mean isn't that what all Asian food is about... eating the leftovers the next day? Yes, I think so. I'm pretty sure that's a part of their mission statement or something. Well, I hope you enjoy!

Mongolian Beef on White Rice with Green Onions & Toasted Sesame Seeds

For the Mongolian Beef:

2t Vegetable Oil (I used 1t Vegetable Oil)

½t Fresh Ginger, Minced

1T Garlic, Chopped

½C Soy Sauce (I used ½C Low Sodium Soy Sauce)

½C Water

¾C Brown Sugar (I used ¾C Splenda Brown Sugar)

1C Vegetable Oil, For Frying (I used ¼C Vegetable Oil)

1lb Flank Steak

¼C Cornstarch

1 Medium Onion, Thinly Sliced

2 Green Onions, Sliced

Salt & Pepper, To Taste

Directions:  

1. Make the sauce by heating 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over med/low heat. Add ginger and garlic to the pan and quickly add the soy sauce and water before the garlic scorches. Dissolve the brown sugar in the sauce, and then raise the heat to about medium and boil the sauce for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Remove it from the heat.

2. Slice the flank steak against the grain into 1/4" thick bite-size slices. Tilt the blade of your knife at about a 45-degree angle to the top of the steak so that you get wider cuts. Dip the steak pieces into the cornstarch to apply a very thin dusting to both sides of each piece of beef. Let the beef sit for about 10 minutes so that the cornstarch sticks.

3. Heat up one cup of oil in a wok or large skillet until it's nice and hot, but not smoking. Add the beef to the oil and sauté for two minutes, or until the beef just begins to darken on the edges. You don't need a thorough cooking here since the beef is going to go back on the heat later. Stir the meat around a little so that it cooks evenly. After a couple minutes, use a large slotted spoon to take the meat out and onto paper towels, and then pour the oil out of the wok or skillet.

4. Put the pan back over the heat; dump the meat back into it. Add the onion and sauté for one minute. Add the sauce; cook for one minute while stirring, and then remove the beef and onions with tongs or a slotted spoon to a serving plate, leaving the excess sauce behind in the pan.

5. Serve on top of white rice and garnish with the sliced green onions and toasted sesame seeds.

Never EVER Forget Sriracha

source: mongolian beef