Mongolian Beef Slow Cooker (Printable)

Tender beef simmered in a rich savory-sweet sauce with garlic, ginger, and soy. Perfect over rice or noodles.

# What You'll Need:

→ Beef

01 - 2 pounds flank steak, thinly sliced across the grain

→ Sauce

02 - 3/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
03 - 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
04 - 1/2 cup water
05 - 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
06 - 1 tablespoon sesame oil
07 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
08 - 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
09 - 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

→ Slurry

10 - 1/4 cup cornstarch
11 - 1/4 cup cold water

→ Garnish

12 - 4 green onions, sliced
13 - 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

# Directions:

01 - Whisk together soy sauce, brown sugar, water, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes in a medium bowl until sugar dissolves completely.
02 - Place sliced flank steak in a large zip-top bag, add cornstarch, seal tightly, and shake vigorously to coat all pieces evenly.
03 - Transfer coated beef to the slow cooker insert, pour prepared sauce over the meat, and stir thoroughly to combine.
04 - Cover and cook on low heat for 4 hours until beef reaches fork-tender consistency.
05 - During the final 30 minutes of cooking, whisk cornstarch with cold water to create slurry, stir into slow cooker, and continue cooking until sauce reaches desired thickness.
06 - Portion beef generously over steamed rice or noodles, garnish with sliced green onions and toasted sesame seeds immediately before serving.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The beef becomes impossibly tender, practically falling apart at the mere suggestion of a fork
  • The sauce develops this incredible depth that only hours of gentle simmering can achieve
  • Its one of those meals that makes people think you spent all day cooking when you barely did
02 -
  • Do not skip the cornstarch coating on the raw beef. It is what creates that velvety texture and prevents the meat from becoming tough.
  • The sauce will look thin for most of the cooking time. Trust the process. That final slurry step changes everything.
  • Low and slow is not just a saying here. High heat makes the beef tough and dry.
03 -
  • Freeze the flank steak for 30 minutes before slicing. It makes cutting those thin, even strips so much easier and safer.
  • Use a microplane or grater for the ginger instead of mincing it. It releases more flavor and you will not bite into any spicy chunks.

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