Authentic Mongolian Beef Copycat Recipe Like PF Chang’s
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This copycat Mongolian Beef recipe is simply amazing! Nobody will believe this Mongolian Beef is homemade – it tastes exactly like the one from Chinese restaurant!
This delicious recipe makes authentic Mongolian beef that tastes exactly like the Mongolian beef from your favorite Chinese restaurant. This dish is a copycat version of Mongolian beef served by PF Chang’s. Thinly sliced pieces of beef are cooked in the delicious sweet and salty sauce, and garnished with sliced green onions. Once you taste this amazing Mongolian beef recipe, you won’t be able to tell the difference between this homemade version and the PF Chang’s!
If you are reading it and thinking that “Authentic” and “PF Chang’s” shouldn’t be used in the same sentence, here’s some background on Mongolian beef. Mongolian beef recipe in the form that we know didn’t originate in Mongolia or China. According to Wikipedia, it is a Chinese-American creation by the Chinese restaurants in the US. In China, they have numerous dishes of stir-fried beef with green onions and other vegetables, but they don’t use the same sauce and don’t have the same taste as what we in the US know as a classic “Mongolian beef”.
So my goal is to recreate the recipe of Mongolian beef that we, as Americans, perceive as authentic – the taste of Mongolian beef that comes to our mind when we are craving one. And PF Chang’s version of Mongolian beef hits the spot :)
Ever wondered how to achieve that unique flavor of Mongolian beef sauce? That sauce tastes mysteriously deep even though it’s not spicy, so what is the secret ingredient? If you thought it’s MSG, it is not :) This recipe doesn’t include MSG, but has the amazing and complete flavor you are looking for. The Mongolian beef sauce ingredients are soy sauce, garlic, fresh ginger, water and dark brown sugar – the ingredients that aren’t very unique on their own, but work wonders when combined together in the right proportions.
Making Mongolian beef at home is pretty easy – you just combine the sauce ingredients in a blender, stir-fry the beef and add the sauce. From start to finish this recipe takes less than 20 minutes – that’s faster than getting a Chinese takeout. Not to mention that it will cost you a fraction of the restaurant meal!
Serve Mongolian beef over rice (I always cook rice in my rice cooker, so it will be ready by the time I’m ready to serve the Mongolian beef). Feel free to double the portion, as Mongolian beef reheats very well and makes great leftovers! We need to have leftovers to truly replicate the Chinese restaurant experience :)
Authentic Mongolian Beef Copycat Recipe Like PF Chang's
Ingredients
- 1 lb beef flank steak or top round
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 bunch green onions
- 3 garlic cloves peeled
- 1 piece of fresh ginger 1/2-inch size, peeled
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
Instructions
- Slice the beef across the grain as thinly as you can.
- Put the beef in the bowl and add cornstarch to it. Toss beef and cornstarch with your hands until all beef pieces are covered in cornstarch.
- Slice the green onions and set aside in a separate bowl.
- Combine soy sauce, water, garlic, ginger and brown sugar in a blender (or a food processor bowl fitted with a steel blade). Process for 1 minute or until smooth.
- Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat.
- Add the beef to the frying pan and cook, stirring every 30 seconds, for 4 minutes.
- Add the sauce mixture to the beef in the frying pan and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes, or until the sauce thickens.
- Add the green onions and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
- Remove Mongolian beef from heat and serve over rice.
If you like Mongolian Beef, you will also like my Orange Chicken recipe. Click on the picture below to check it out:
I rarely go to PF Chang’s anymore because it isn’t close to me, but their Mongolian beef was my fave! I can’t believe how simple this recipe is – definitely going to try it out!
If you can’t go to PF Chang’s, you just have to bring PF Chang’s to your house by making this Mongolian beef at home ?
Oh I love ginger Melanie! That is the secret. How delicious. Can’t wait to make this for my tribe of boys, they all love PF Changs!
Ginger has quite a unique flavor, I love it! Hope you and the boys enjoy this Mongolian beef!
I used to love PF Changs, so I can’t wait to try this. It sounds really easy to make too!
Yes, the recipe is pretty easy, you should definitely give it a try! Let me know how it turns out!
This is so great to know, we are all big PF Chang’s fans in this house! I love that it has no msg, too :)
At the Chinese restaurants I always feel like everything is loaded with MSG and who knows what other creepy chemicals! I’m so excited that I can replicate the taste of Mongolian beef with all natural ingredients!
It’s always a good feeling to be able to duplicate a recipe- I recently tried to duplicate Trader Joe’s ‘Kansas City Barbeque Sauce.’ I almost got it, but not quite! Thanks for the info on the origin of Mongolian Beef!
In this case you can say your BBQ sauce is like the Kansas City one, but BETTER!
I’ve had Mongolian beef in restaurants, but never thought to make it at home. Great recipe! This will be fun to try — thanks. And Happy New Year!
Thanks John! Happy New Year to you too! I think any recipe can be replicate at home – it’s just some are not as easily as others ?
Mongolian beef was always my favorite thing to order at a Chinese restaurant when I was a kid. I think many of the dishes at Chinese restaurants aren’t “authentic” but that doesn’t mean they aren’t delicious! What a great recipe, I love that it is so quick too!
Yes, they are authentic in my eyes as they taste what I expect them to taste ? I’ve heard that the real Chinese food in China is completely different from what they serve in the Chinese restaurants in the US!
Copycat recipes are the best, and this looks so much healthier than PF Chang’s! This is a meal that I would love!
I think in PF Chang’s they deep-fry the beef, so this version is definitely healthier! I just feel no need to deep fry the beef as it tastes about the same when it’s pan-fried!
We don’t have that chain in Australia but we have Mongolian beef and it looks like that. It’s a classic on suburban Chinese menus! :D
Yes, our suburban Chinese menus are proudly featuring Mongolian beef as well ?
The flavours you have used here sound delicious ?
Thanks Tandy! I’m glad you like the recipe!
1) You got my attention firstly when I saw Mongolian Beef. It isn’t something that we have on our Chinese restaurants here (not that I’ve seen anyway) and I’m always excited about seeing and trying something new I don’t know about.
2) soy, garlic, ginger – I love that combination
and
3) “From start to finish this takes less than 20 minutes”. That’s exactly the sort of thing I love. Awesome. Thanks Melanie. :D
Thanks Neil! That’s exactly the process I go through deciding whether to try the recipes – (1) do I like the flavor of the ingredients combo (2) is the recipe easy enough for me to make. Great minds think alike ?
This sounds delicious and something my family would love! The list of ingredients is fairly simple and I always love knowing what’s in my food! This is a must try for me!
Yes, knowing what’s in your food is extremely important! Restaurants only care about profit and don’t use the healthiest ingredients, and by making it at home you are in control!
So Mongolian Beef is a US invention? You learn something every day…I had no idea! I haven’t been to PF Chang’s in forever. Not sure why. Just haven’t made the drive down there. But no need to now with this copycat recipe. Looks delicious and comforting! :-)
From what I hear, the Chinese food they eat in China is completely different from what you find in the US Chinese restaurants ? And now instead of going to PF Chang’s, you can bring it to you by making the Mongolian beef yourself!
Who needs takeout when you can make delicious copycats of your favorite dishes at home?
Exactly! And it’s faster to make this Mongolian beef than to wait for the takeout ?
I am so happy that I found your recipe. My Hubby’s favorite Chinese dish is Mongolian Beef and he will be totally surprised when I make this at home for him. Love that it’s made with all-natural ingredients too :)
Awesome! I hope you and your husband enjoy it!
Who needs to go out for Chinese when you can make delicious meals like this Mongolian Beef. Looks delicious!
Thanks Dawn! Yes, just make it a Chinese night at home!
Love these types of recipes to make at home. We don,t have that chain but I know the dish. Surprising to learn the origins sometimes. Read up on general tao.
LOL now I had to look up general Tao! Basically General Tao chicken is about as authentic as Mongolian beef ?
Mongolian Beef Is my favorite! This looks so good!
It really looks like the beef in Chinese restaurants and I love the short and simple list of ingredients. I am keeping this in mind (Pinterest). :)
The beef looks tender and juicy. OMG! The sauce is incredible, I have to try this recipe, and thanks for sharing :)
I love mongolian beef so much and love that you use fresh ginger. Always the way to go for this type of recipe. I’m afraid it would be hard to stop eating.
I reduplicated the recipe with calf liver. Slight variation in ingredients but turned out fantastic.
easy and full of flavor.