MONGOLIAN BEEF

Crispy, tender strips of seasoned beef tossed through a rich, sweet and savoury Mongolian-style sauce with garlic, ginger, onions and a touch of spice. Finished with fresh spring onions and red chillies and served with fluffy rice for the perfect homemade takeaway-style meal.

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% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Thinly slice your beef into strips, preferably against the grain. Keeping the pieces thin helps the beef cook quickly and stay tender.

Step 2

Add the beef to a bowl with the oil, salt, MSG, cornflour, oyster sauce, white pepper, dark soy sauce, Chinese five spice and bicarbonate of soda.

Step 3

The bicarbonate of soda is important here because it helps tenderise the beef — but you only need a small amount.

Step 4

Massage everything thoroughly into the beef until every piece is evenly coated. Leave to marinate for around 15–20 minutes while you prepare everything else.

Step 5

Finely chop the garlic, grate the ginger and slice the white onion. Cut most of the spring onions into chunky pieces, reserving some of the green tops for later. Slice your red chillies.

Step 6

In a small bowl or jug, combine the water, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar, MSG, white pepper and Chinese five spice. Mix until the sugar begins to dissolve and set aside.

Step 7

Heat enough vegetable oil in a wok or deep frying pan to shallow-fry the beef.

Step 8

Once hot, fry the beef in batches rather than adding everything at once. Because the strips are thin, they won’t take long.

Step 9

And definitely fry in batches. Overcrowding the wok lowers the oil temperature and you’ll end up steaming the beef instead of getting those crispy edges you had in your finished dish.

Step 10

Fry until deep golden-brown and crispy on the outside, then remove and allow any excess oil to drain.

Step 11

Carefully remove most of the frying oil, leaving some in the wok/pan. Add the garlic, ginger, sliced white onion and the chunky pieces of spring onion. Stir-fry for 1–2 minutes until fragrant and the onions have started to soften while still retaining some bite.

Step 12

Return your crispy beef to the wok and toss everything together so the beef picks up all that garlic, ginger and onion flavour.

Step 13

Pour in your prepared sauce and toss everything together over medium-high heat. Allow the sauce to bubble and reduce for around 3–5 minutes, stirring frequently, until it becomes darker, glossy and coats the beef.

Step 14

As the sauce reduces, add the remaining spring onions and sliced red chillies. Toss for another minute, then remove from the heat. Finish with sesame seeds and extra finely sliced spring onion.

Step 15

Serve immediately alongside fluffy basmati rice, making sure to spoon some of that sticky sauce and onions over the beef.