Author Topic: Mongolian Beef (Read 4080 times)

Ben · « **on:** June 03, 2022, 06:20:28 PM »

I was organizing the chest freezer recently and realized I had a bunch of steak sitting in the bottom that I need to eat. I've been making regular steak but had this pop up in my youtube recommendations today. I love Mongolian beef, but never thought to make it myself.

I'm making this on Sunday if I can find Hoisin sauce when I'm out and about tomorrow. I have no idea if is a common condiment or not.

https://youtu.be/s6A5n9xtxLg

MillCreek · « **Reply #1 on:** June 03, 2022, 06:55:00 PM »

Even Wal-Mart carries Hoisin sauce.

Ben · « **Reply #2 on:** June 03, 2022, 07:05:42 PM »

Quote from: MillCreek on June 03, 2022, 06:55:00 PM

Even Wal-Mart carries Hoisin sauce.

Good to know! My podunk store probably won't have it, but I'm sure Albertsons will. I'll also have to look for corn flour. I'm not sure how popular that is either, though I read that you can substitute cornmeal for some non-baking recipes.

charby · « **Reply #3 on:** June 03, 2022, 10:47:13 PM »

Quote from: Ben on June 03, 2022, 07:05:42 PM

Good to know! My podunk store probably won't have it, but I'm sure Albertsons will. I'll also have to look for corn flour. I'm not sure how popular that is either, though I read that you can substitute cornmeal for some non-baking recipes.

Corn flour? I normally use corn starch when making Asian sauces.

MillCreek · « **Reply #4 on:** June 03, 2022, 11:12:41 PM »

I just watched the video. We cook a lot of Asian food including Mongolian beef. The video is wrong. That is corn starch, and the technique of dredging the meat in corn starch and frying it is called velveting. They also misspelled hoisin, so the person making the video is probably not a native English speaker. Buy corn starch for the recipe.

Ben · « **Reply #5 on:** June 03, 2022, 11:37:05 PM »

Thanks. Corn starch i have. Amazon sells corn flour, so I would have been looking for that. Corn starch it is!

K Frame · « **Reply #6 on:** June 04, 2022, 06:44:13 AM »

If you need to, you can order Hoisin sauce from Amazon. But yeah, it's becoming a pretty common condiment.

K Frame · « **Reply #7 on:** June 04, 2022, 06:48:13 AM »

Quote from: Ben on June 03, 2022, 11:37:05 PM

Thanks. Corn starch i have. Amazon sells corn flour, so I would have been looking for that. Corn starch it is!

Corn flour is a Mexican staple.

Corn flour, aka Masa Harina, is made from finely ground nixtamalized corn. The dough made from masa harina, called masa, is used to make corn tortillas, tamales, etc.

K Frame · « **Reply #8 on:** June 04, 2022, 06:50:51 AM »

And oh my God... that recipe calls for hoisin sauce, which is pretty salty, and soy sauce, which is very salty, and then it calls for MORE salt? To taste? Jesus!

Still, that looks like a good, solid recipe and pretty easy. I may need to try that. I found a big chunk of chuck roast in the freezer from last winter that I forgot about.

charby · « **Reply #9 on:** June 04, 2022, 07:32:13 AM »

Google bulgogi for another use for beef.

Ben · « **Reply #10 on:** June 04, 2022, 07:46:59 AM »

Quote from: K Frame on June 04, 2022, 06:50:51 AM

And oh my God... that recipe calls for hoisin sauce, which is pretty salty, and soy sauce, which is very salty, and then it calls for MORE salt? To taste? Jesus!

Yeah, I caught that and will not be "salting to taste".

Now that I watched that one, youtube is recommending bunches more, and as Millcreek sussed, they are all foreign. It's fascinating to see some very stark differences in how each of them, all Asian, make the beef. The one I linked is so far the easiest of the bunch, so I'll start with that one, but will definitely be experimenting with others.

Ben · « **Reply #11 on:** June 04, 2022, 07:48:09 AM »

Quote from: charby on June 04, 2022, 07:32:13 AM

Google bulgogi for another use for beef.

I love bulgogi. I've never made it at home from scratch, but have picked up the Trader Joes "toss it in the pan" packages of it.

charby · « **Reply #12 on:** June 04, 2022, 09:42:24 AM »

Quote from: Ben on June 04, 2022, 07:48:09 AM

I love bulgogi. I've never made it at home from scratch, but have picked up the Trader Joes "toss it in the pan" packages of it.

Easy peasy, I make it with venison. I love it on pan toasted sourdough bread using mayo instead of butter for the fat.

Ben · « **Reply #13 on:** June 04, 2022, 10:02:04 AM »

Funny bulgogi story:

The first time I ever had it, hot Ukrainian coworker brought the Trader Joes stuff the first time we were doing multi-day work at the Navy radar facility on Santa Cruz Island. Small facility, so the galley was "self-serve" and you were expected to bring your own chow. We were cooking it up on some kind of high end gas stove they had there that got the cast iron way hotter, way faster than I was used to.

I threw the bulgogi in the pan, and a big cloud of smoke went up. Then the smoke alarm went off. The smoke alarm was not local. It also set off an alarm at Point Mugu NAS. A red phone started ringing. Then the civilian who ran the facility came running into the galley in a towel, because he was in the middle of a shower, and had to explain to the base that the dumbass TDY scientists didn't know how to cook.

Luckily everyone had a sense of humor about it, since it was straightened out before air assets launched.

Ben · « **Reply #14 on:** June 04, 2022, 12:09:40 PM »

So Hoisin sauce was a piece of cake to find.

Even though I'm going with corn starch, out of curiosity, I looked for corn flour. Nada. Even in the Mexican section all they had was a Mexican brand of corn starch. Admittedly I was in a rural Albertsons. Had I made the drive to one near Boise, they may have had it.

MillCreek · « **Reply #15 on:** June 04, 2022, 12:23:06 PM »

My ex wife was the Chief independent duty corpsman on San Nicolas Island for a 12 month tour. It apparently gets really boring on an isolated island and the most excitement was when the carrier groups were using the airfield for landing practice or the SEALS from Coronado were using the beaches for infil/exfil practice. She says she used to make her baby docs go sit on the firetruck during landing practice while she stayed in the air-conditioned clinic.

Ben · « **Reply #16 on:** June 04, 2022, 01:24:20 PM »

Quote from: MillCreek on June 04, 2022, 12:23:06 PM

My ex wife was the Chief independent duty corpsman on San Nicolas Island for a 12 month tour. It apparently gets really boring on an isolated island and the most excitement was when the carrier groups were using the airfield for landing practice or the SEALS from Coronado were using the beaches for infil/exfil practice. She says she used to make her baby docs go sit on the firetruck during landing practice while she stayed in the air-conditioned clinic.

We used to refuel at the Outlying Landing Field there all the time. A few times I somehow got included as staff in some higher level meetings held out there as a "fun field trip" for SESers and Admirals. Those always involved big "catered" lunches. I still remember when it was the Air Force's turn to run the meeting, part of lunch was, I kid you not, a serving dish that was like four feet in diameter and piled two feet high with various cold cuts and stuff.

They would also do four wheel / walking tours for the bigwigs around the island. Neat island to explore.

Bogie · « **Reply #17 on:** June 04, 2022, 06:48:18 PM »

https://youtu.be/v4xZUr0BEfE

Ben · « **Reply #18 on:** June 04, 2022, 07:34:01 PM »

Quote from: Bogie on June 04, 2022, 06:48:18 PM

https://youtu.be/v4xZUr0BEfE

Wolf Totem is part of my workout playlist.

K Frame · « **Reply #19 on:** June 05, 2022, 07:21:35 AM »

Quote from: Ben on June 04, 2022, 07:34:01 PM

Wolf Totem is part of my workout playlist.

Their music is really compelling...

Ben · « **Reply #20 on:** June 05, 2022, 07:55:10 AM »

Quote from: K Frame on June 05, 2022, 07:21:35 AM

Their music is really compelling...

We've got a whole thread on them somewhere around here.

K Frame · « **Reply #21 on:** June 05, 2022, 08:29:31 AM »

Oh yeah, I remember when we first started talking about them when they first hit. Just really cool stuff.

Ben · « **Reply #22 on:** June 05, 2022, 03:39:39 PM »

Damn. That was really, really good. It is definitely going into the regular rotation.

I made enough, along with jasmine rice, to have one round of leftovers. I'm making a bigger batch next time, because I could easily eat it for several days straight.

K Frame · « **Reply #23 on:** June 05, 2022, 04:31:13 PM »

And I'm making Lemon Ricotta Pasta with sausage and mushrooms for dinner.

If it actually turns out I'll post the recipe in a different thread.

Bogie · « **Reply #24 on:** June 05, 2022, 10:44:24 PM »

So... How would you modify it to avoid a sweeter sauce?

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Author Topic: Mongolian Beef (Read 4080 times)