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Mongolian beef with green onion over rice on a plate.
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4.95 from 39 votes

P.F. Chang's Mongolian Beef Copycat

Our copycat P.F. Chang's Mongolian Beef is pan fried and coated in a delicious sweet and savory sauce. It tastes just like the restaurant at a fraction of the price!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: Asian
Keyword: Beef, Mongolian Beef
Servings: 8
Calories: 536kcal
Author: Erica Walker

Equipment

  • Stove Top
  • Fry Pan/Skillet

Ingredients

  • 4 teaspoons vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons ginger minced
  • 2 tablespoons garlic minced
  • 1 cup soy sauce
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup brown sugar packed
  • 1 cup vegetable oil for frying *see notes above
  • 2 pounds flank steaks
  • ½ cup cornstarch
  • 3 large green onions

Instructions

  • Make the sauce by heating 4 teaspoons of vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium/low heat. Don’t get the oil too hot. Add ginger and garlic to the pan.
    Saucepan with oil, garlic, and ginger. Wooden spoon on the side.
  • Quickly add the soy sauce and water before the garlic scorches. Dissolve the brown sugar in the sauce, then raise the heat to medium and boil the sauce 2-3 minutes or until sauce thickens a little bit. Remove sauce from heat.
    Saucepan with soy sauce, mixture for Mongolian beef. Wooden spoon on the side.
  • Slice the flank steak against the grain into 1/4 inch slices. Tilt the blade of your knife at about a 45 degree angle to the top of the steak so you get wider cuts.
    Cutting board with steak and a knife.
  • Dip the steak pieces into cornstarch to apply a very thin dusting to both sides of each piece of beef.
    Sliced flank steak dipping into a shallow bowl of cornstarch.
  • Let the beef sit about 10 minutes so the cornstarch sticks.
    Bowl of sliced steak covered in cornstarch.
  • As the beef sits, heat up 1 cup oil in a wok (or skillet). Heat the oil over medium heat until it's hot, but not smoking. Add the beef to the oil and saute for just 2 minutes, or until beef just begins to darken on the edges. Stir the meat around a little bit so that it cooks evenly.
    Skillet of oil frying sliced steak.
  • After a few minutes, use a large slotted spoon to take the meat out and onto paper towels, then pour most of the oil out of the skillet.
    Resting fried steak on paper towels.
  • Put the pan back over the heat, add the meat back into it and stir-fry for 1 more minute. Add the sauce to the pan and stir the meat around in the sauce until it is fully coated.
    Mongolian beef in a skillet.
  • Remove the beef from the sauce with a slotted spoon or tongs onto a plate for serving and sprinkle on some sliced green onions. You can discard the sauce (this is what P.F. Chang's does) or save the extra sauce and serve it over rice with the beef.
    Mongolian beef with green onion over rice on a plate.

Video

Notes

  • Recipe adapted from Top Secret Recipes
  • Mongolian Beef freezes beautifully! I like to freeze it in the sauce, then thaw completely in the refrigerator before heating. Just heat it in a pan on the stove until hot, but not simmering, as you don't want to risk your meat getting tough.
  • For an extra kick of heat, add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the sauce.

Nutrition

Calories: 536kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 68mg | Sodium: 1983mg | Potassium: 534mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 1198IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 73mg | Iron: 3mg