Mongolian Beef

    One of the staple in our house is a flank steak.   By no means to we eat this all the time, but I do like to have one in the freezer for a quick meal.  Sometimes I will marinade the steak, freeze it in the marinade, then defrost another night and toss on the grill.
    This recipe is another quick, easy and delicious meal for those busy weeknights.
 I hear from so many people that its hard to make a good meal during the week.  I promise, this is one you need to add to your go to recipes.
 To show you how simple it is, this is what I did.   Before I left to pick the kids up from school, I started my rice cooker with brown rice.  When I returned, I made a salad with this new Asian dressing I found at Costco, did some home work, then started the Mongolian Beef.  From start to finish this meal took me 20-25 minutes to make.  Fast and easy, what more could you ask for. (maybe take out)!

Mongolian Beef Recipe

www.pinkbites.com

makes 2 servings

1 lb of flank steak, thinly sliced crosswise

1/4 cup of cornstarch

3 teaspoons of canola oil

1/2 teaspoon of grated ginger (about 1/2 inch piece)

1 tablespoon of chopped garlic (about 2 -3 large cloves)

1/2 cup of water

1/2 cup of soy sauce (I use low sodium)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes

3 large green onions, sliced crosswise into thirds

Prepare the meat:

First, make sure the steak slices are dry (pat them dry) and mix them with the corn starch. Using your hands or a spoon, move them around to make sure all pieces are coated. Place beef slices in a strainer and shake off excess corn starch.

Make the sauce:

Heat half of the oil in a large wok at medium-high and add the garlic and ginger. Immediately add the soy sauce, water, brown sugar and pepper flakes. Cook the sauce for about 2 minutes and transfer to a bowl. Don't worry if the sauce doesn't look thick enough at this point. The corn starch in the beef will thicken it up later. 

Cook the meat and assemble dish:

Turn the heat up and add the remaining oil to the wok. Add the beef and cook, stirring until it is all browned (this is a quick thing). Pour the sauce back into the wok and let it cook along with the meat. Now you can choose to cook it down and reduce the sauce or leave it thinner. Add the green onions on the last minute so the green parts will stay green and the white parts crunchy.

Serve it hot with rice.