Ultimate Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef (Printer-friendly)
Tender beef in rich savory-sweet sauce with garlic, ginger, and soy. Easy homemade takeout favorite.
# What You'll Need:
→ Beef
01 - 2 lbs flank steak, thinly sliced against the grain
→ Sauce
02 - 1 cup low-sodium soy sauce
03 - 2/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed
04 - 1/2 cup water
05 - 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
06 - 1/4 cup cornstarch
07 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
08 - 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
09 - 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
10 - 2 tablespoons sesame oil
→ To Finish
11 - 4 green onions, sliced
12 - 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
# How To Make It:
01 - Toss the sliced flank steak with cornstarch in a large bowl until evenly coated.
02 - Transfer the cornstarch-coated beef to the slow cooker.
03 - Whisk together soy sauce, brown sugar, water, hoisin sauce, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, and sesame oil until smooth.
04 - Pour the sauce over the beef in the slow cooker. Stir to coat evenly. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours, or until the beef is tender and the sauce has thickened.
05 - Stir in sliced green onions during the last 10 minutes of cooking.
06 - Serve hot, garnished with extra green onions and toasted sesame seeds. Pair with steamed rice or your favorite vegetables.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The sauce develops this incredible depth that takes hours in a restaurant but happens effortlessly while you go about your day
- Your beef comes out impossibly tender, like it spent all day being babied by a professional chef
02 -
- The sauce thickens dramatically in the last hour, so do not panic if it looks thin at the 3-hour mark
- Resist the urge to lift the lid too often—every peek adds 15 minutes to your cooking time
03 -
- Freeze the flank steak for 20 minutes before slicing—it becomes firm and makes thin, even slices effortless
- The cornstarch coating on the beef is what creates that restaurant-style texture, so do not skip this step