PF Chang’s Mongolian Beef Copycat Recipe
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This copycat recipe is so easy to make in 30 min or less (start to finish) and tastes 100x better!
Let’s just say this isn’t any kind of Mongolian beef dish here. It’s almost an exact replica of PF Chang’s, a takeout favorite. With thinly sliced, crisp-tender beef swimming in that oh-so-heavenly garlicky, sweet/savory sauce.
It is incredibly easy to make right at home in 30 minutes or less start to finish, and it tastes so much better than the restaurant-version, mainly because you get to control your salt and sugar content.
Plus, the leftovers are even better for lunch the very next day.
PF Chang’s Mongolian Beef Copycat Recipe
This copycat recipe is so easy to make in 30 min or less (start to finish) and tastes 100x better!
Ingredients
- 1 pound flank steak, thinly sliced across the grain
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
for the soy sauce mixture
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine flank steak and cornstarch.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large cast iron skillet. Working in batches, add beef and fry until browned and cooked through, about 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; discard excess oil.
- Add beef and soy sauce mixture to the skillet over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in green onions.
- Serve immediately, garnished with sesame seeds, if desired.
for the soy sauce mixture
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine water, brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger and vegetable oil. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 5-10 minutes. Set aside.
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Yum!
I’ve made this 3-4 times based on this recipe. I think it’s great and definitely tastes much like the PF Chang’s version. However, my guests have consistently commented that it wasn’t as “crunchy” as PF Chang’s. Last time I made it, I tried something different: I added corn starch to the sauce so it would thicken more and not need to be cooked down in a final three minute simmer. Then I fully fried the beef until it was completely cooked. When the beef was done, I threw it and the sauce in the pan for a final 20-30 second toss, and extracted it immediately to plates for dining. This seemed to leave it much crunchier than simmering it together for a few minutes at the end, which softened up the meat. The key is to have the sauce thickened so it’s ready to go without any additional cook time when it’s added to the meat at the end.
On a more minor note, I agree with some of the other comments that the recipe is a bit sweet. I reduced the brown sugar from 4 to 3 oz and it came out perfect.
Thanks for sharing, Larry!
This was really good! However when I made it again i made a few modifications. Instead of regular brown sugar I use Splenda Brown sugar and only 1/4 of cup. I also replaced the 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil in the sauce with 2 teaspoons of chili oil to give it a little kick! It worked out pretty good.
Your modifications sounds so great!
Finally made this last night and it was delicious! I reduced the sugar content, and should have used less oil since my pan was nonstick. Ergo I had a bit of oil to drain. I’ll know better next time. Thanks so much for a delicious recipe.
WoW!!!From the second I started heating the sauce on the stove my partner inhaled the smells and was already telling me how delicious dinner was going to be.
This meal was quick and easy and tasted amazing!I’m “paying it forward” and sharing this recipe with my family.
Thank you from our full bellies and huge smiling faces 😀
This is a quick, easy, tasty dish. For our personal taste, it is oo sweet, so next time will only use half the brown sugar. For the meat, I used sirloin sliced thinly by the butcher for carne asana, and it worked well.
Absolutely Fantastic! Won over my PF Chang snob husband. I also had a lot of cornstarch stuck to the pan but i think i didnt let the oil get hot enough. No worries it was a winner!! Thank you sooo much
I love this recipe! My choice of meat is either the flank steak, or the cubed steak that can be used for stew, just slice the cubes into thin slices like you would flank. I also use chicken for this recipe when I have a lot of chicken.
I have made it so much that I know the whole recipe by heart by now, and I even started playing with adding other veggies in that I sautéed in another pan to get the juices out (red bell peppers, mushrooms, can of water chestnuts to name a few).
Only thing is I sometimes add in just a pinch or two more of the corn starch when the meat is mixed into the sauce and simmering for a few minutes, just to make it even thicker.
Love it, and love all your recipes!!!
Can use stewed beef for this recipe
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
Wow! Just made this, really delicious, i used half soy half water, that is what I usually do so its not so salty. This was incredible, we loved it!!! Better than pfchangs, try to use skirt, by far the best.
Easier than anticipated, but this was SO salty. I HIGHLY recommend cutting the soy sauce to at most a 1/4 cup and using low sodium. It was virtually inedible.
Sooooo salty. Threw it out.
You could have salvaged the dish by cooking a white potato in it to absorb the salt; then, shred it all for sloppy Joe sandwiches…
Uhm, yes! This was really good. Made it a couple times and for whatever reason the store I was at didn’t have flank steak. I chose other cuts of meat. Some were good and some were bad, and by bad I mean too tough. That takes all the yum out of it. But the good ones were really good.
I was so excited about making this recipe. I just wasted an expensive piece of flank steak. I followed your recipe exactly. It was so salty that it was inedible.
Hi I just made the beef for this dish and omg its super soft, I am doing the sauce as we speak. This is the best way to make a beef dish in less than an hour. Your my hero thank you!!!
My First Comment on this site:
This is so much better than PF Chang’s, it is not even a competition. We no longer go out to PF Chang’s as well which is probably not very good for them but is wonderful for us:) We have actually had people stand there and watch us make this because they couldn’t believe that we actually made it ourselves:) Wonderful!:)
I made this tonight and we loved it..so simple and I made it with leftover steak…iam going to make it over and over…very simple very good …
This is my all time favorite recipe and have made like 10 times! Do you think it would freeze well?
I am so happy to hear that you’ve made this so many times! But unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
Made this recipe for the second time today for me and my husband it was delicious!!!
I’ve made this dish several times with beef as well as chicken. The only thing I did was reduce the amount of brown sugar as my family said it was too sweet. I have even kept the 1/2 cup of brown sugar and just added Sriracha sauce in some cases. Ever since, the chicken version is requested at least weekly. It is so delicious. Thank you for all of these great recipes. This site is my go-to place when I want to make something new.