Mongolian steak

Serves 4    

prep: 15 mins     cook time: 15 mins     other: 1 hour

A simple stir fry of tender beef in a sticky sauce is easy to make. Very flavoursome – you can have it on the table quicker than ordering a takeaway. Basic pantry ingredients allow you to prepare the dish quickly without unnecessary shopping trips. I like it with a little bit of spice but you can omit the chillies.

500 g (1 lb) flank steak, cut very thinly across the grain

About 1 cup of cornstarch

3 Tbsp vegetable oil

½ tsp black pepper

1 small onion, thinly sliced

3 garlic cloves, minced

2” ginger, minced

2 green chillies, sliced or minced (optional)

½ cup soy sauce (low sodium)

½ cup water

2 Tbsp dark brown sugar

4 spring onions, green parts, sliced

 

1. Mix 1 Tbsp of cornstarch with 1 tsp of oil and 1 tsp of soy sauce and marinate the beef for 1 hr. Then cover the beef with the rest of cornstarch.

2. In a wok, heat the oil and fry the beef in batches – about 20-30 seconds on each side (I use chopsticks to turn the meat).

3. In the same wok, fry the sliced onions for about 2 minutes (or until softened), add garlic, ginger and chillies and fry for another 20 seconds. Do not allow the garlic to burn.

4. Add soy sauce, water and dark brown sugar to wok and allow to reduce. Add the beef sliced to the sauce and mix well. Cook for another minute or so.

5. Serve with hot sticky rice and spring onions sprinkled over the beef, as well as stir-fried Mongolian vegetables.