Mongolian Beef
Crisp-edged strips of flank steak tossed with a sticky, sweet-salty tamari and ginger glaze and a big handful of scallions — the takeout favorite without brown sugar or cornstarch.
Nutrition per serving
about 1 cup- Net carbs
- 3.7g
- Calories
- 415kcal
- Protein
- 39g
- Fat
- 26g
- Total carbs
- 14 g
- Fiber
- 1.2 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient (optional ingredients excluded). Brands vary — check your labels if you track closely.
Ingredients
Mongolian chicken: Thin-sliced chicken thighs get the same crisp sear and sticky scallion glaze.
- Sear the chicken strips 2–3 minutes per side, until browned and 165°F (74°C) in the thickest piece, before tossing with the sauce and scallions.
Soy-free (coconut aminos): Coconut aminos replace the tamari. They are sweeter and much less salty, so the sweetener is cut back and a little salt goes into the sauce.
- Use coconut aminos wherever the recipe calls for tamari, cut the sweetener to 1 tablespoon and add the salt to the sauce. Taste once it has thickened and adjust.
- Beef
- Sauce
- To finish
- Nice to have (optional)
- Beef
- Sauce
- To finish
- Nice to have (optional)
- Beef
- Sauce
- To finish
- Also add
- Nice to have (optional)
Estimated cost $22.36 for 4 servings ($5.59 each) · how we estimate
Instructions
-
Slice the steak against the grain into thin strips (20 minutes in the freezer makes this easy), toss with 1 tablespoon tamari and set aside while you make the sauce.
-
Heat 1 teaspoon of the avocado oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the ginger, garlic and pepper flakes and sizzle 30–60 seconds, until fragrant. Add the remaining tamari, the water, sweetener and sesame oil and simmer 2 minutes.
-
Sprinkle the xanthan gum over the sauce and whisk hard until smooth, then simmer 1 minute more, until syrupy. Take off the heat.
-
Pat the beef dry with paper towels. Heat half the remaining oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat until it just starts to smoke. Add half the beef in a single layer and sear without moving for 1½–2 minutes, until deeply browned and crisp at the edges; flip and cook 1 minute more. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining oil and beef. Strips this thin are well past 145°F (63°C) by the time they brown.
-
Return all the beef to the pan, add the green onions and pour in the sauce. Toss over high heat for about 1 minute, until the sauce bubbles and coats the beef and the onions just wilt.
-
Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve right away, over cauliflower rice if you like (about 3 g more net carbs per cup).
Tips for success
-
Restaurant Mongolian beef is usually coated in cornstarch and fried, and the sauce is mostly brown sugar. Searing the strips hard in a very hot pan gives you crisp edges without the starch. - Allulose turns glossy and sticky like brown sugar. An erythritol-based brown sweetener works too but can recrystallize as leftovers cool.
- Cook the beef in two batches. A crowded pan steams it gray instead of crisping it.
Nice to have, not needed
- A carbon-steel wok over high heat gives the crispiest edges — a large cast-iron skillet is a close second.
Storage & meal prepMeal-prep friendly
- Keeps 3 days in the fridge
- Doesn’t freeze well
Reheat: Toss in a hot skillet 2–3 minutes to bring back some crispness; the microwave works but softens the edges.
Prep tip: Make the sauce ahead — it keeps 5 days in the fridge — so the beef is a 10-minute job on a weeknight.
Refrigerate up to 3 days. Reheat in a hot skillet for 2–3 minutes to bring back some of the crispness.
Variations
2 variations, each with its own ingredients and macrosMongolian chicken
ProteinThin-sliced chicken thighs get the same crisp sear and sticky scallion glaze.
- flank or sirloin steak → boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3.7 g net · 340 kcal · 36 g protein · 19 g fat · ≈$2.58 per serving (same net carbs as the original)
Soy-free (coconut aminos)
DietCoconut aminos replace the tamari. They are sweeter and much less salty, so the sweetener is cut back and a little salt goes into the sauce.
- tamari or soy sauce → coconut aminos
- tamari or soy sauce → coconut aminos
- allulose or brown keto sweetener → allulose (reduced amount)
- + ½ tsp salt
5.9 g net · 417 kcal · 37 g protein · 26 g fat · ≈$5.51 per serving (+2.2 g net carbs vs the original)
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