P.F. Chang’s Mongolian Beef Copycat Recipe
Craving the sweet and savory flavor of restaurant-style Mongolian beef? This P.F. Chang’s Mongolian Beef copycat recipe brings the popular Chinese-American restaurant dish to your home kitchen in about 30 minutes. Thinly sliced flank steak is coated in cornstarch, fried until browned, and tossed in a rich garlic-ginger sauce made with soy sauce, water, and dark brown sugar. Chopped green onions finish the dish with a fresh, savory touch.
The secret to getting great results starts with how you slice the beef. Cut the flank steak thinly against the grain, using a slight angle to create wider, bite-sized pieces. Coat each piece lightly with cornstarch and let it rest for 10 minutes so the coating adheres. When cooked, the coating helps the beef brown and gives the sauce something to cling to.
While the beef rests, prepare the sauce. Gently heat a little vegetable oil in a saucepan, then add the minced ginger and chopped garlic. Quickly add the soy sauce and water to prevent the garlic from scorching. Stir in the dark brown sugar and briefly boil the mixture until it thickens. Keep an eye on the sauce as it cooks, since garlic can burn quickly and an over-reduced sauce can become too concentrated.
Wok Pan
Blue Diamond Hybrid Nonstick Stainless Steel 12” Wok with Lid, PFAS-Free Ceramic Diamond Bond Stir-Fry Pan, Induction Ready, Dishwasher & Oven Safe, Metal Utensil Safe, Stay-Cool Handle, Silver.
For the beef, heat the frying oil until hot but not smoking. Cook the coated slices until browned, working in batches if needed to avoid crowding the pan. Drain the beef on paper towels, then combine it with the sauce and chopped green onions. Warm everything together and serve immediately.
Serve this homemade Mongolian beef over steamed white rice or Sriracha and SPAM Fried Rice to soak up the glossy, sweet-savory sauce. Steamed broccoli, sautéed green beans, or stir-fried vegetables make excellent accompaniments. A wok is useful for frying the beef, although a suitable deep skillet can also work.
With familiar ingredients, straightforward steps, and four servings, this copycat recipe is a convenient way to bring takeout-inspired flavor to a weeknight dinner without waiting for delivery.
Print
PF Chang’s Copycat Mongolian Beef
- Total Time: :30
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon ginger, minced
- 1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ½ cup water
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar
- vegetable oil , for frying (about 1 cup)
- 1 lb flank steak
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 2 large green onions, chopped
Instructions
Sauce
- Heat 2 tsp. of vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium/low heat, without letting it get too hot.
- Add ginger, garlic, soy sauce and water to the pan, being careful not to scorch the garlic.
- Dissolve the brown sugar in the sauce, then increase the heat to medium and boil the sauce for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Remove it from the heat and set aside.
Beef
- Slice the flank steak against the grain at a 45 degree angle into 1/4″ thick bite-size slices.
- Dip each piece into cornstarch and then let sit for 10 minutes.
- As the beef sits, heat up one cup of oil in a wok over medium heat. You want it hot enough, but not smoking.
- Add the beef to the oil and sauté until brown, cooking evenly on all sides.
- After a couple of minutes, remove the cooked meat and place on paper towels.
- Dab excess oil off meat and add to medium saucepan with the sauce in it. Put the pan back over medium/low heat.
- Add chopped green onions and let sauce simmer until warm. Serve over rice.
- Prep Time: :15
- Cook Time: :15
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stove top / wok
- Cuisine: Chinese