Cook With Brooke: PF Chang’s Mongolian Beef

Now that I have my own gorgeous kitchen on campus (shoutout, Barnyard), the best part of my day consists of me creating myself a beautiful meal on my equally beautiful blue ceramic plates (shoutout, Anthropologie). To keep up with what I label as “luxury living,” it seemed only right to treat myself as the true queen I am and cook my favorite meal: PF Chang’s Mongolian Beef (copycat version)! If you are interested in joining me on the throne of royalty, try the recipe I always follow and have grown to love for yourself! 

Ingredients:

Sauce… 

• 1 tbsp. Vegetable oil 
• 1-2 tsp. minced ginger
• 1 tbsp. minced garlic
• 1/2 C soy sauce
• 1/2 C water
• 3/4 C dark brown sugar 

Meat… 

• 1 C Vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 pounds beef for stir fry
• 1/2 C cornstarch
• 1 bunch of green onions, cut on diagonal into 2-inch pieces

Directions:

1. Cut beef into 1/4-inch slices to make them your desired bite-sized.
2. Toss pieces of steak into a plastic bag with cornstarch and let sit for 10 minutes.
3. To make the sauce, heat up 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped ginger and garlic.
4. Add soy sauce, water, brown sugar and green onions. Bring to a boil and let it thicken for 15-20 minutes while you cook the meat.
5. Heat 1 cup Vegetable oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.
6. Cook the beef in as many batches as needed (give the pieces some space). Cook 2-3 minutes, until brown and crispy, flip them throughout the process to fry all sides.
7. Place meat on a paper towel over a plate to dry cooking oil. Once dry, put the meat in the saucepan for 2 minutes while stirring. Top with a little more green onions (optional) and you’re ready to serve!

Of course, you can’t forget to add a side of both greens and carbs to balance out this tasty main! For our grains, some plain white rice (which pairs wonderfully with some leftover sauce) can be cooked to perfection in a Dash mini rice cooker. It’s a convenient size for a dorm-sized kitchen and one person serving. To get the best results, add 1 ½ cup of water per 1 cup of rice. And for our veggies, Birds Eye edamame is just as easy to make as it is yummy! Put the bag in your microwave for four minutes and lightly salt the pods for some subtle seasoning. With the right-sized portions, this dish can provide you with three healthy, delicious meals for a moderate price!