Mongolian Beef with savory onion on top of crispy fried rice vermicelli noodles give an old-school touch to a Chinese restaurant classic.
Mongolian Beef
By Sue Lau | Palatable Pastime
Mongolian Beef is my recipe of the day with the blogging group “From Our Dinner Table”. We meet weekly to post on various subjects and the topic of the week is “All about the Onion”.
For my recipe, I decided to make Mongolian Beef, which is a retro Chinese restaurant favorite of mine, stir-frying slices of velveted and marinated beef with tons of onions and scallion. This is then served on top of a bed of crispy fried rice vermicelli (meehoon) noodles for the ultimate crunch.
Velveting, as I mentioned, is a technique in which beef is coated with corn starch before it is fried to help tenderize it. If you ever see a menu listing that mentions “velvet” that is exactly what is going on there.
Of course, in recent years, most restaurants get cheap and won’t give you the fried noodles, even though it always came that way. But I always loved it and they are easy enough to make.
I am reminded of how General Tso’s always used to come with broccoli that is now mostly missing. Or the worst: sweet and sour that will appear with no veggies or fruit at all. Pfft.
All About the Onion
- Caramelized Onion Chip Dip by A Day in the Life on the Farm
- French Onion Soup by Making Miracles
- German Onion Cake by That Recipe
- Gruyere and Caramelized Onion Tarts by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
- Homemade French Onion Dip by Cheese Curd In Paradise
- Mongolian Beef by Palatable Pastime (You are Here!)
- Onion Bagels by Art of Natural Living
- Pork and Green Onion Chow Fun by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Quick Pickled Green Onions by Veggies First Then Dessert
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Mongolian Beef
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This one is the full platter of Mongolian Beef- which I put in the middle and surround with the noodles. If the noodles get wet from the sauce, they don’t have long before they go limp, so be careful.
Mongolian Beef

Mongolian Beef
Equipment
- Wok skillet
Ingredients
Marinade:
- 2 tablespoons rice wine
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons grated ginger
Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon hot bean paste
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1-1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
Stir-Fry
- 1-1/2 pounds flat iron steak thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup corn starch
- cooking oil
- 1 large onion chopped
- 1 bunch scallions chopped
- Rice vermicelli dried or steamed rice
Instructions
- Thinly slice the steak against the grain and marinate in the marinade for a few hours or overnight.
- Drain off the marinade and save it.
- Coat the drained steak in cornstarch, shaking off excess.
- Add the reserved marinade to the additional sauce ingredients.
- Stir-fry the beef in oil in a wok and drain.
- Stir-fry the onion in a tablespoon of oil,then add the cooked beef, scallion and cooking sauce.
- Cook until thickened.
- Fry the dried rice vermicelli (separate it into a single layer so it doesn't clump) in hot oil, it will puff up pretty much immediately; drain. Don't cook ahead, cook the stir-fry first.
- Serve the stir-fry alongside or on top of the crisp noodles. Or serve with rice.
This looks amazing. It is going on the menu very soon. YUM
I know I’ve seen Black bean paste here, but not sure I have seen hot bean paste. The rest of the ingredients I know I can get easily.
The black bean is likely Korean doenjang. If you can, find the ones called Pixian douban jiang or the Korean gochujang. You want ones that are very spicy and salty. I think doubanjiang is chunkier and saltier than gochujang (which is very smooth) but what you are aiming for is the umami of salt and spice. There are some sweet bean pastes used to fill buns and other things- definitely do not use those in this. I would ask for the Pixian douban jiang at the market or look for that name in an online shop.
Oh, this used to be one of my favorite meals at a Chinese restaurant, before I started getting sick from the MSG they use in most of their dishes. I am totally going to try this soon.