Whole30 Mongolian Beef Stir Fry

Cook time: PT30M

Rating

4.88 stars (8 reviews)

Ingredients

1.5 pounds skirt or flank steak
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon arrowroot starch
4 tablespoons avocado or extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves (thinly sliced)
1 1-inch piece fresh ginger, finely grated
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1/2 cup low-sodium beef broth
6 green onions (sliced into 1.5-inch pieces (white and green parts))
1/2 cup coconut aminos ((I like Big Tree Farm Brand))
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoons fish sauce (I like Red Boat)
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds (for serving)
Seared Baby Bok Choy (recipe follows, for serving)
1 tbsp avocado oil
2 heads baby bok choy, rinsed, dried, and halved lengthwise
1 tsp fish sauce
freshly ground black pepper

Steps

Make the Mongolian Beef:
- Place the flank steak on a cutting board and using a meat mallet or the back of a skillet, tenderize the meat, pounding the steak until it is [1/2] inch thick. Remove and discard the parchment paper, then slice the steak against the grain into [1/4]-inch-thin pieces. Add the steak to a large bowl and sprinkle with the salt, pepper, and arrowroot starch. Toss to coat.
- In a large nonstick skillet, heat the avocado oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches so you don’t crowd the pan, add the steak in a single layer. Sear the steak until it forms a deep brown crust, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer the cooked steak to a plate and set aside. Repeat until all the steak is cooked and all of the meat is set aside.
- Add the garlic, ginger, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes to the skillet and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Pour in the beef broth and bring to a simmer. Let simmer for about 2 minutes and use the back of a spoon to scrape up any brown bits from the pan.
- Return the steak to the skillet. Stir in the green onions, coconut aminos, rice vinegar, and fish sauce and bring the sauce to a simmer. Cook, stirring often, until the sauce has thickened, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Spoon the stir fry over the Cauliflower Rice and sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Serve with the Seared Baby Bok Choy.
Make the Bok Choy:
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the avocado oil. Sear the bok choy until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Add the fish sauce and season with pepper to taste.

Reviews

David P. on 2025-08-13 (5 stars):
I always wanted to like Mongolian Beef but I don’t like sweet and savory foods so with all the brown sugar in the sauce I just couldn’t eat it. I don’t follow any specific diets but I happened by your recipe searching for one that didn’t contain brown sugar and I found yours and decided to give it a try. I did use thin sliced New York Strip instead of Flank Steak because I couldn’t find it in our grocery store and I had to order the coconut aminos, because no store in my rural area carried it, and the only single bottle I could find was the Big Tree Farm with Lime. It actually gave the dish a nice hint of lime flavor which was really tasty. I didn’t mind the very slight sweetness of the coconut aminos. It wasn’t anything like the overwhelming sweetness from brown sugar. And I have to admit I used my favorite brand of Asian sticky rice instead of the cauliflower rice, which I tried before but did not particularly care for, although those ingredients were the only changes to the recipe. I have to say it was incredibly fantastic. I really enjoyed the flavor of it. Because of your recipe I can finally love a Mongolian Beef dish. The Bok Choy with the fish sauce was excellent as well. The fish sauce gave it that something special that made it very tasty. It was the perfect side dish. And for just myself and my wife we had leftovers for our dinner a couple of days later.
Erika Kleinschmidt on 2025-02-12 (5 stars):
A whole 30 recipe worth the effort. I was slapping my kids hands away because they kept eating the browned meat. Then once the sauce was added I couldn’t keep them off it. They just asked me to make more … so this recipe is a keeper! Thank you so much for creating it and sharing!
charlotte on 2023-06-14 (5 stars):
It really is better than takeout! I love this recipe! So easy to make and delicious! We make this about once a week!
Katie on 2022-03-09 (5 stars):
So yummy! Even my kids are obsessed!
Meagan on 2021-10-15 (4 stars):
This is delicious, but far too oily as written! I'd either half the initial oil quantity or remove the remaining oil after frying the beef (perhaps even both?). The oil content was so high it separated into large clear oil puddles on reheat. With that modification, a lovely recipe we'll be making again!
Christina on 2021-05-16 (5 stars):
This was absolutely amazing! The flavors are restaurant quality and I’m so happy I stumbled across your site. Yay! One thing we added was a sliced onion, which I let sweat down and added to the sauce before the meat. All delicious! Thank you!