Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef

[Brenda T]

I’ve been stuck at home while recovering from a hip replacement, and didn’t really feel like venturing out to the grills.
So I tried this recipe for slow cooker Mongolian Beef that appeared in my inbox a few weeks ago. It could not have been easier.

First pic is the flank steak, as it came from Sam’s. The shape surprised me – looks like 2 big lobster tails – but when unrolled, it was flat flank steak as expected.

The Victorinox flexible boning knife recommended by Chris last Christmas was just the ticket for slicing the flank into small strips.
I put the meat in a bag with cornstarch and shook to coat it, then just added the other ingredients to the slow cooker, stirred and added the meat. I cooked it on low for 5 hours, then it sat on warm for about another hour.
Spooned it over rice, and dinner was ready. (I skipped the green onions.)

This was pretty good, but honestly it was a little too sweet for me. I like sweet flavors on chicken and pork but I guess I prefer beef to be savory. It was a nice change though and so easy to fix.

I will post the recipe in the recipes section.

 

[Joan]

Brenda, hi- I didn't know. So sorry to hear that. Hope you are feeling all right now. Please keep us updated, ok?

 

[Tony-Chicago]

Made a similar recipe but used eye of round. Yeah that's right. Dry but edible. Despite being in a Chinese house, I need an idiot proof recipe cause well you know why...

 

[timothy]

It sure looks yummy!
A trick I learned from here was to velvetize the protein first.

~ How to: Velvet (Tenderize) Protein the Chinese Way ~ - Kitchen Encounters

I love and cook Chinese food, but, it wasn't until 5-6 years ago that I learned a

kitchenencounters.typepad.com

 

[Brett-EDH]

It sure looks yummy!
A trick I learned from here was to velvetize the protein first.

~ How to: Velvet (Tenderize) Protein the Chinese Way ~ - Kitchen Encounters

I love and cook Chinese food, but, it wasn't until 5-6 years ago that I learned a

kitchenencounters.typepad.com

since flank is on the more expensive side, and most restaurants won't use a higher end cut of meat, you can use top sirloin instead. and to get that supple texture many Chinese restaurants have, i use a dash of baking soda on the protein (chicken, steak or shrimp). let it sit into the mixed in protein for 20-30 minutes (a small amount) and then cook it as desired. the texture of chicken and beef will be softer and juicier and on shrimps, they will have more bite/firmness to them, sort of a crunch versus bounce when eating them.

 

[Brenda T]

Brenda, hi- I didn't know. So sorry to hear that. Hope you are feeling all right now. Please keep us updated, ok?

Thanks Joan - oh I'm doing great! Will be going back to work in about a week - and i think im ready to pull out the Jumbo Joe for some pork chops tomorrow.
Still can't take pictures worth a darn, tho! LOL

 

[Brenda T]

It sure looks yummy!
A trick I learned from here was to velvetize the protein first.

~ How to: Velvet (Tenderize) Protein the Chinese Way ~ - Kitchen Encounters

I love and cook Chinese food, but, it wasn't until 5-6 years ago that I learned a

kitchenencounters.typepad.com

Thanks! I was surprised at how tender the meat was.

 

[Brenda T]

Made a similar recipe but used eye of round. Yeah that's right. Dry but edible. Despite being in a Chinese house, I need an idiot proof recipe cause well you know why...

This was my first time to cook flank steak and my first Mongolian beef. I just lucked out that it was edible! I credit the crock pot for the tenderness.

 

[Joan]

Thanks Joan - oh I'm doing great! Will be going back to work in about a week - and i think im ready to pull out the Jumbo Joe for some pork chops tomorrow.
Still can't take pictures worth a darn, tho! LOL

Hi Brenda, so glad to hear that. I was wondering where you've been.

 

[ChuckO]

Looks great. The worst part of Mongolian Beef is cutting it super thin. Even my meat slicer (el cheapo) can't slice it thin enough

 

[Tony-Chicago]

Frozen a bit really helps. Course timing that is hard

 

[Brett-EDH]

Frozen a bit really helps. Course timing that is hard

10 minutes fully exposed in the freezer is usually enough to get the beef to set and then use a really sharp chefs knife and it'll slice the beef easily.