Copycat P.F. Chang’s Mongolian Beef – 🤎💚🙌🏻 My copycat recipe is every bit as good as the restaurant version and my family says it’s actually BETTER! It’s ready in just 20 minutes, EASY, and makes for a great weeknight meal! The extra sauce is perfect over rice and even picky eaters will love this one!
Table of Contents
This copycat P.F. Chang’s Mongolian Beef recipe is loaded with rich Asian flavors from the ginger, garlic, sesame, and soy. I love it when I can recreate a restaurant dish and make it taste as good at home, if not better, and it’s extremely easy!
It’s ready in 20 minutes, making it perfect for busy weeknight dinners. Or picky eaters, if you happen to have one!
Rather than frying the beef in a wok with excess oil, I seared it in a skillet with just a bit of oil. The beef is wonderfully tender thanks to the tenderizing properties of cornstarch and so juicy from all the sauce.
The sauce tastes so authentic and is where it’s at with this dish. It’s so simple but really is the star of the show for me at home. You’ll likely have extra, and it’s great over rice.
Ingredients for This Recipe
You’ll need the following basic ingredients for this better-than-P.F. Chang’s Mongolian beef recipe:
- Flank steak
- Cornstarch
- Olive oil
- Sesame oil
- Garlic
- Fresh ginger
- Soy sauce – I used reduced sodium
- Dark brown sugar
- Green onions
- Sesame seeds
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Mongolian Beef from P.F. Chang’s
This is such a fast and easy recipe for Mongolian beef that everyone adores! Follow my easy and straightforward steps:
- To a large bag, add sliced steak and cornstarch, then toss to coat.
- In a medium saucepan, sauté garlic and fresh ginger until garlic is fragrant, taking care not to burn it.
- To that same saucepan, add soy sauce, water, and brown sugar, and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil and allow it to boil for a couple minutes before reducing the heat and simmering until slightly thickened and reduced.
- While the Mongolian sauce simmers, sear the steak in a well oiled skillet. Then pour in the soy sauce mixture and toss meat to coat it evenly with the sauce. Let the Mongolian beef continue cooking until the sauce thickens up, and give it a final taste before serving.
- Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds, then dig in!
What to Serve with P.F. Chang’s Mongolian Beef
Recipe FAQs
If you’ve never been to P.F. Chang’s before, you might be a little confused about why I’m so excited for this copycat recipe. Essentially, Mongolian beef is a stir-fry made up of sliced beef (I used flank steak in this recipe) and a savory brown sauce.
Sauce ingredients may vary, but a combination of soy sauce, brown sugar, and ginger gives you the right flavor. Depending on where you get Mongolian beef, it might come with stir-fried vegetables in it as well, and the sauce may be slightly spicy from the addition of chili peppers.
It’s always served with rice, but you can also make cauliflower rice or quinoa to go with it!
No! The cornstarch in this recipe is non-negotiable. It helps the beef crisp up a little when seared, and it thickens the sauce. If you omit the cornstarch, your sauce will be too runny and your Mongolian beef won’t be just like P.F. Chang’s!
To make this recipe gluten-free, make sure your soy sauce is certified gluten-free. I know that’s important for many of my readers, so I wanted to mention that!
Yes, you could add sugar snap peas, snow pea pods, or broccoli in the final few minutes of cooking the beef if you want to turn this into more of a ‘beef with broccoli’ type of dish.
Storage Instructions
In the fridge: Beef is best warm and fresh but will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days.
In the freezer: Leftovers can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge when ready to enjoy.
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P.F. Chang’s Mongolian Beef
Ingredients
- 1 pound flank steak, (sliced with the grain in 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick bite-sized pieces*, alternatively use skirt steak, flat iron steak, flap (sirloin tip) steak, tri-tip steak, or hanger steak – listed in order of preference)
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil, divided
- 3 to 4 cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced
- 1 to 2 teaspoons fresh ginger or to taste, finely minced
- ½ cup lite or reduced sodium soy sauce
- ½ cup water
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar, packed (light may be substituted), or to taste
- 1 or 2 green onions, sliced into thin rounds for garnishing
- sesame seeds, optional for garnishing
Instructions
- To a large ziptop bag, add the steak slices, cornstarch, seal, and toss to coat. Set aside while preparing the sauce.
- To a medium saucepan, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and heat over medium-high for about 1 minute, or just until garlic is fragrant, taking care not to scorch it.
- Add the soy sauce, water, brown sugar, and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil and allow it to boil for about 2 to 3 minutes. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 5 minutes, or until slightly thickened and reduced. Taste the sauce and make any necessary flavor adjustments. While the sauce simmers, sear the steak.
- To a large skillet, add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, and steak. Cook over medium-high or high heat until steak is cooked through, about 5 to 7 minutes, flipping the pieces intermittently to ensure even cooking.
- Add the soy sauce mixture, noting it will bubble up. Toss meat to coat it evenly with the sauce. Allow the sauce to simmer for about 3 minutes at medium-high heat before reducing heat to low and simmering for 3 to 5 minutes, or until sauce has reduced and thickened to taste. Give mixture a final stir to coat all pieces evenly.
- Evenly garnish with the green onions, sesame seeds, and serve immediately. Beef is best warm and fresh but will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Better-Than-Takeout Recipes:
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Better-Than-Takeout Cashew Chicken – Juicy chicken, crisp-tender vegetables, and crunchy cashews coated with the best garlicky soy sauce! Skip takeout and make your own restaurant-quality meal that’s easy, ready in 20 minutes, and healthier!
Easy Better-Than-Takeout Chicken Fried Rice – One-skillet, ready in 20 minutes, and you’ll never want takeout again after tasting how good homemade is! Way more flavor, not greasy, and loads of juicy chicken!
Kung Pao Chicken Recipe — An easy, BETTER-THAN-TAKEOUT recipe with juicy chicken and such a flavorful sauce!! Don’t call for takeout when you can make this HEALTHIER version at home in 20 minutes!
Better-Than-Takeout Sticky Chicken — Stop calling for takeout or going to the mall food court and make this AMAZING sticky chicken at home in 15 minutes!! So EASY with the perfect balance of sweet and spicy with plenty of sticky sauce!!
Originally posted January 4, 2017 and reposted with updated text January 13, 2023.
I’m gona make these recipes.
There’s no flank steak where. I live. What other steak could I use please? Thank you Averie for all your recipes.
I just went in and updated the recipe card because a few people have asked this so I listed some good alternatives. Enjoy!
Hi this looks delicious. There’s no flank steak to be found where I live. What other steak could I use please and thank you.
I would go with skirt steak. Or hanger steak. They are both similar enough to work fine.
Is there anyway that you can reduce the sodium in any of these dishes. My husband is a cardiac patient and he loves asian food but every recipe I find has tons of sodium/ salt in them. Thanks
In this recipe the only real source of the sodium is from the soy sauce and I used lite/reduced sodium. You could go on Amazon and do a search for no-salt soy sauce or a specialty website. That’s probably your best bet and what I would do in your situation.
Terrific recipe, but wonder if I used a sirloin streak for this recipe?
I have been looking for a recipe to use it
other than by itself
Thanks so much
I’m sure the sirloin steak will be fine if you have one to use.
These all call for sirloin, too.
Just made this and man was it a hit. Halfway through our bowls we added red chili flakes and both ways it was amazing! And so easy! I also added in some green onion with the steak and then topped with a little more raw green onion. Thanks for sharing this recipe! I’m the screen to rate this there are just bubbles so if it shows incorrect this is for sure 5 stars!!
Just made this and man was it a hit. Halfway through our bowls we added red chili flakes and both ways it was amazing! And so easy! I also added in some green onion with the steak and then topped with a little more raw green onion. Thanks for sharing this recipe! I’m the screen to rate this there are just bubbles so if it shows incorrect this is for sure 5 stars!!
Glad you give it 5 stars and that this was a big hit!
Just finished dinner. This is the best Mongolian beef ever. Simple recipe to
follow. Way better than take out. Never been to P. F Chang’s. If the food is this good, guess I should go.
Just finished dinner. This is the best Mongolian beef ever. Simple recipe to
follow. Way better than take out. Never been to P. F Chang’s. If the food is this good, guess I should go.
Thanks for the 5 star review and I’m glad it’s the best Mongolian Beef ever for yo! If you’ve never been to PF Changs, no need to go now :) this is the only dish to go for IMO or this one and the homemade versions are way better!
great
I made it last nigh and it was delicious my 5 yr old granddaughter loved it !! She even had seconds ! I did modify with the sugar I used trivia and honey just cuz we are watching our sugar intake . It was delicious 😋. I will make it again
I made it last nigh and it was delicious my 5 yr old granddaughter loved it !! She even had seconds ! I did modify with the sugar I used trivia and honey just cuz we are watching our sugar intake . It was delicious 😋. I will make it again
Thanks for the five star review and it’s great your 5 year old GD loved it! And that it even worked well with less sugar!
I made this and it was good, but had way too much sodium, even using lower sodium soy sauce -more than 2 days worth of sodium for us! Subbed snow peas for edamame.
Perfect! Instant hit with the entire family.
Perfect! Instant hit with the entire family.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it was perfect and an instant family favorite!
I’m recently on my own and taking up cooking. This is a great (read easy and delicious) recipe. I got it right the first time. I also made it on a recent visit to my elderly parents. They loved it.
I’m recently on my own and taking up cooking. This is a great (read easy and delicious) recipe. I got it right the first time. I also made it on a recent visit to my elderly parents. They loved it.
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am glad to hear you recently started cooking and that this dish came out great for you and also that your parents loved it!