mongolian beef

ingredients:

2lbs of beef stew tips or flank steak, cut into strips or small chunks

1/2 cup of cornstarch

vegetable or canola oil, as needed

3 bell peppers, cut into strips

1 onion, cut into strips

1/4 cup of green onion, chopped, optional

mongolian sauce:

2 tsp of ginger powder

5 garlic cloves, minced fine

3/4 cup of low sodium soy sauce

3/4 cup of water

4-5 dashes of sesame oil

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1 tbsp of samba chili paste or sriracha sauce (more or less depending preferred spice level)

cooked rice or noodles, for serving

supplies:

plastic bag

large skillet

mixing bowl

2 plates

directions:

add the beef strips/chunks and cornstarch to a plastic bag and shake until the beef is evenly coated in the corn starch. set aside.

heat a large skillet over high heat with about 2 tbsps of oil, then add the bell peppers to the skillet, cooking them for about 3-4 minutes, or until slightly charred. once cooked, remove from the skillet to a plate. next, cook the onions the same way, for about 3-4 minutes, then adding to the plate with the peppers. leave the oil in the pan.

keeping the skillet on high heat, add the beef to the pan in a single layer to sear. you will need to cook the beef in batches so it doesn’t steam. sear and cook the beef on all sides before moving to a plate. add oil to the skillet as needed for each batch.

once all the beef is cooked and removed from the skillet, turn the heat down to medium-low. mix the ingredients for the sauce together and add to the skillet. add the beef, peppers, and onions back to the skillet, and simmer everything together for 3-4 minutes, or until the sauce is thickened and the beef is coated well. top with chopped green onions, if desired before serving. serve over/with rice or noodles.

note: you can switch out the protein for chicken, shrimp or pork. if using chicken or shrimp, you won’t need to coat in cornstarch, but will still need to cook separately and in batches.