Mongolian Beef Slow Cooker (Printer-friendly)
Tender beef in rich savory-sweet sauce with garlic, ginger, and soy. Ready in 4 hours.
# What You'll Need:
→ Beef
01 - 2 pounds flank steak, thinly sliced across the grain
→ Sauce
02 - 3/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
03 - 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
04 - 1/2 cup water
05 - 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
06 - 1 tablespoon sesame oil
07 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
08 - 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
09 - 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
→ Slurry
10 - 1/4 cup cornstarch
11 - 1/4 cup cold water
→ Garnish
12 - 4 green onions, sliced
13 - 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
# How To Make It:
01 - In a medium bowl, whisk together soy sauce, brown sugar, water, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes until sugar dissolves completely.
02 - Place sliced flank steak in a large zip-top bag. Add cornstarch, seal bag, and shake vigorously to coat all beef pieces evenly with cornstarch.
03 - Transfer the cornstarch-coated beef to the slow cooker. Pour the prepared sauce over the beef and stir thoroughly to combine.
04 - Cover and cook on low heat for 4 hours, or until beef reaches fork-tender consistency.
05 - During the last 30 minutes of cooking, mix 1/4 cup cornstarch with 1/4 cup cold water in a small bowl to create a slurry. Stir into the slow cooker and cook until sauce thickens.
06 - Serve hot over steamed rice or noodles, garnished with sliced green onions and toasted sesame seeds.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The sauce thickens into this gorgeous glossy coating that clings to every single piece of beef
- Your slow cooker does all the heavy lifting while you go about your day
- Leftovers somehow taste even better, making tomorrow lunch something to actually look forward to
02 -
- Slicing the beef against the grain is the single most important step for tenderness, look for the lines running through the meat and cut perpendicular to them
- Adding the slurry during the last 30 minutes prevents the sauce from becoming too thick or gloppy
- Low and slow is essential here, high heat will make the beef tough and dry instead of meltingly tender
03 -
- Partially freeze the flank steak for 30 minutes before slicing, it makes cutting those thin slices so much easier
- Use tamari instead of soy sauce to make this gluten free without sacrificing flavor