Take out fake out-my take on mongolian beef

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My husband I both really love Asian food. We love it. But we are not fond of the MSG or the cost of take out, so I decided to tackle Mongolian beef to see if I could make it good, if not better ;) This recipe uses less than 10 ingredients, and took a zippy 15 minutes to whip up-and it was FABULOUS!

You can use chicken in this recipe if you are not a fan of beef, but trust me, you'll want to try the beef. You can buy a flank steak and cut it real thin, or you can buy the pre-sliced stir fry beef they sell at some supermarkets. That's what I used and the beef cooked up really nice, and remained very tender.

We went grocery shopping tonight, and we were both starving when we got home, and when I say it took 15 minutes to cook, it was seriously that fast. So this is perfect for a weeknight dinner if you are late coming home from work and need a filling dish that everyone will love (because they WILL love it). Ok, so I really only needed to buy the beef for this dish because everything that went into it I already had, and I am sure that it is the case for you as well. They are all pantry/fridge staples:

1 package of Stir fry beef
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 tsp vegetable oil, divided
1  tbsp minced garlic
1/2 cup water
1/2 soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp red pepper flakes
sesame seeds for garnish
rice to put the beef on

I always cook my rice in vegetable stock. It gives it a nice flavor, and the rice comes out really fluffy when I cook it that way-so use chicken or vegetable, or even beef stock to cook your rice. You won't regret it. I started to heat up the stock for the rice at the same time I started heating the oil in the wok for the beef. Both took about the same time, so it timed out perfectly when I was ready to plate it. OK first things first! Pat dry your strips of beef. Put 1/4 cup cornstarch in a large Ziploc bag, or tupperware container and add the beef. Shake it up real good to be sure that all pieces are evenly coated, and set aside. Heat 1 1/2 tsp of oil in a large wok, or non-stick skillet if you don't have a wok, on medium-high heat. Add the minced garlic (I had my husband mince some fresh garlic-it was divine), and cook until slightly browned and very fragrant. Add soy sauce, water, brown sugar, and red pepper flakes. When you add the liquid the wok is going to be violently bubbling, and steaming, that's normal, just be careful of flying oil! I've burned myself more than once with hot oil and it's not fun. Cook the liquid for about 2 minutes, and transfer it to a bowl, and set aside. Turn the heat to high and add the beef until browned on all sides, about 7-9 minutes. Pour sauce back in, add about a tsp more cornstarch, and cook it until it reaches the thickness you want. I cooked mine down until it was almost caramelized and it was perfect! Serve over your tasty, fluffy rice and garnish with sesame seeds.

I really hope you enjoy this as much as we did! Give it a try-using a wok is a blast! :)

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