Mongolian beef was reportedly created in Taiwan in the 1950s and became a staple in American Chinese restaurants. It’s most often served over steamed rice or noodles.
Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef is one of my favorite Chinese takeout recipes to make at home in the slow cooker, especially because it reheats so well. Some of my other favorites are Slow Cooker Spicy Orange Chicken and Slow Cooker Mongolian Chicken. Looking for more Crock Pot recipes? Check out my Slow Cooker Recipe Collection!
Slow cooking this beef makes it super tender, but it also gets a bit of an almost-crisp texture on the edges from the brown sugar in the sauce. The sauce thickens as it cooks, and the sirloin will be almost fall-apart tender. This recipe also reheats very well in the microwave, which makes it a great leftover to take to work for lunch.
Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef Recipe Notes
What kinds of beef can I use? I usually use sirloin or stew beef cubes. For the stew beef cubes. sometimes they can be a bit large, so I will cut them into smaller pieces. While the restaurant version is often made with flank steak, I don't recommend that for the slow cooker version. Cuts of beef that are good for "low and slow" cooking are best for this recipe. Chuck roast would be another good option. his is a great recipe to make with sirloin you might find on clearance. The fact that the beef gets cut into strips or cubes makes this a good one for clearance beef because clearance deals sometimes are not 100% ideal sizes or shapes.
What kind of dried red chilis should I use? Can I use something else? I usually snag whatever I can find in the international section of the grocery store. If there are multiple choices, I recommend mild or medium. You can also use a quarter teaspoon of Sriracha instead.
What if I don't like spicy food? Just omit the chilis!
Can I use regular soy sauce instead of low sodium? I would not recommend this. It will likely make the dish too salty. I love my food saltier than the average person, but I would not recommend.
Can I cook this on high instead of low? Because of the brown sugar in the sauce, I do not recommend cooking this on high. The brown sugar could burn. If you need a similar recipe that cooks faster, my Slow Cooker Mongolian Chicken recipe cooks in two hours on low.
Variations: This recipe uses steam-in-bag rice and broccoli for easy prep. You could swap fried rice for the steamed white rice. The broccoli should be prepared right before serving. I do not recommend adding broccoli straight to the slow cooker in the beginning because it will get mushy. You could also roast broccoli using a recipe similar to this Garlicky Roasted Broccoli recipe by Once Upon a Chef. Steam-in-bag carrots or roasted carrots also go well with this.
Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb sirloin steak cut into bite-sized cubes or thin strips
- 3 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ cup low sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup water
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 6 dried red chilis or ¼ teaspoon Sriracha
- 1 bag steam-in-bag rice
- 1 bag steam-in-bag broccoli
- scallions for topping, optional
Instructions
- Place sirloin strips in the bowl of a slow cooker and add the cornstarch. Stir until the sirloin is evenly coated in the cornstarch.1 lb sirloin steak, 3 tbsp cornstarch
- Whisk together the the sesame oil, brown sugar, garlic powder, ginger, soy sauce, and water.2 tsp sesame oil, ½ cup low sodium soy sauce, ⅓ cup brown sugar, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp ground ginger, ¼ cup water
- Pour the sauce over the beef in the slow cooker. Add the dried red chiles. Stir to evenly coat the beef in the sauce.6 dried red chilis
- Cook on low for 4 hours. If possible, stir halfway through cooking.
- Cook rice and broccoli. Add broccoli to slow cooker and stir. Serve over rice. Top with sliced scallions if desired.1 bag steam-in-bag rice, 1 bag steam-in-bag broccoli, scallions
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate for one serving.
