Mongolian beef Stir fry is a Taiwanese dish, popular in Chinese-American restaurants. It really has nothing to do with Mongolia, but it will most definitely assuage one’s cravings for Chinese food.

It is crispy pieces of beef glistening with a sticky sweet and salty velvety sauce with a side of rice or fried noodles. With Chinese food outrageously overpriced in Nigeria, cook your very own delicious Chinese food and make everyone around happy. The ingredients for Mongolian beef Stir fry are readily available and inexpensive.

This recipe has less oil, and more sauce and is not cloyingly sweet like what you get in some Chinese takeout. It has just enough sugar to balance out the saltiness of the soy sauce. It suits the Nigerian palate to a T. If you use low-sodium soy sauce, you can even reduce the sugar further.

Prepare all your ingredients before starting to cook.

To prepare Mongolian Beef Stir fry

250g tender beef

Marinade
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon soy sauce 
1 tablespoon + 1/4 cup corn flour

Stir fry
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup light soy sauce
1/4 cup water
dry chili powder
3-4 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon corn flour
2 spring onions
few drops of sesame oil (optional)

Slice beef thinly, no bigger than 1/4 inch thick.

Mix one tablespoon cornflour with one tablespoon water and set aside.

Cut spring onions into 1 inch long slices, cut diagonally.

Place beef pieces in a bowl, add 1 teaspoon vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon soy sauce and 1 tablespoon cornflour.

Mix well and set aside to marinate for one hour.

Sprinkle 1/4 cup cornflour over the marinated beef. Mix to coat lightly, remove the meat and set aside.

Heat oil in a wok or frying pan over high heat.

Just before it starts smoking, add half of your beef. Try to lay them out in a single layer in the oil.

Sear one side till it browns then turn the other side and sear. There should be a crust on the beef now.

Drain on some kitchen napkins.

Fry the 2nd batch of beef. Drain and pour out the oil in the frying pan leaving about 1 tablespoon or less.

Reduce heat to medium, add ginger, stir around then add garlic, stir till you can smell it. Be careful, garlic burns easily.

Add soy sauce, water, sugar and chilli pepper. Stir and reduce heat to a simmer.

Continue stirring until sugar dissolves. Simmer for 2 minutes.

Slowly stir in the cornflour slurry (corn flour and water mixed earlier, make sure to stir it before adding to the wok).

The sauce should begin to thicken, thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Add beef and spring onions. Toss from time to time for even cooking till no liquid is remaining.

Take off the heat, add a few drops of sesame oil and serve with white rice or fried noodles.

You can also check out my awesome Chinese stir-fried rice.

Note

If you have only dark soy sauce use 2 tablespoons soy sauce.
I use white sugar sometimes and it is fine.
If there is too much liquid still in the stir-fry when it is done, crank up the heat to evaporation.
Other vegetables can be included e.g bell peppers, broccoli, carrot, onions, leek etc.

If you enjoyed my Mongolian Beef Stir fry, you would also enjoy my Easy homemade Middle-Eastern Shawarma, Peppered mixed meat in tomato relish, Fried barbecue turkey wings, Beef Liver sauce and Asun spicy goatmeat.