Slow-Cooker Mongolian Beef

Prep 25 min
Total 8 hr 55 min
Servings 6

Here’s something that should make every home cook happy: There’s tons of flavor in less expensive cuts of meat. The trick is to treat those cheap cuts right, as is done in this recipe, where beef stew meat is browned in a skillet and left to finish off over low heat in the slow cooker. The result of this all-day stewing is succulent and fully flavored Mongolian beef that’s well complemented by its sweet and savory sauce—made of brown sugar and soy sauce. The chopped carrots and vinegar added at the end provide a welcome bit of freshness and acid to the dish, while the garnishes of fresh, chopped green onions and sprinkle of sesame seed adds brightness and sweet nuttiness. Serve this with rice, and you’ve got a take-out favorite dinner—at a fraction of the price.

By Betty Crocker Kitchens

Updated December 9, 2019

Make with

Gold Medal Flour

Ingredients

1/2

cup soy sauce
1/2

cup packed brown sugar
1

tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2

tablespoons gingerroot, peeled and finely chopped
4

cloves garlic, finely chopped
3

lb beef stew meat
1/3

cup Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
4

tablespoons vegetable oil
1

cup Progresso™ beef flavored broth (from 32-oz carton)
3/4

cup julienned carrots
2

teaspoons cider vinegar
1/4

cup green onions, sliced thinly on the diagonal
1

teaspoon toasted sesame seed

Steps

1

Spray 4-quart slow cooker with cooking spray.
2

In slow cooker, stir together soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, gingerroot and garlic.
3

In large bowl, toss beef with flour to coat. Discard any excess flour.
4

In 12-inch skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat. Add half of the beef; cook 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned. Transfer to slow cooker. Repeat with remaining 2 tablespoons oil and half of beef.
5

Add broth to skillet; heat to boiling over medium-high heat, scraping up any brown bits at bottom of skillet. Add to slow cooker; stir to combine.
6

Cover; cook on Low heat setting 8 to 10 hours or until beef is tender and sauce is thickened. Add carrots and vinegar to slow cooker; stir to combine. Cover; cook about 30 minutes or until carrots are tender.
7

Garnish with green onions and sesame seed. Serve with cooked rice, if desired.

The chemical reactions that happen during browning create flavor. Taking this step before adding the beef to the slow cooker adds deeply complex flavor to the finished dish.
Add the julienned carrots at the end of the cooking process to keep them from overcooking and getting mushy.
Mongolian beef, strangely enough, probably hails from Taiwan and a style of cooking that began in Chinese barbecue restaurants there before skipping the ocean and landing in the United States. Here in the U.S., Mongolian beef is typically made with flank steak and onions and garnished with green onions and sesame seed—as in the recipe. It’s not typically spicy, but add some crushed red pepper flakes, if you like things on the hot side—your kitchen, your rules!

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 Cup

Calories: 610
Calories from Fat: 320

% Daily Value

Total Fat: 36g; 55%
Saturated Fat 11g 56% Trans Fat 1g
Cholesterol: 125mg; 41%
Sodium: 1420mg; 59%
Potassium: 740mg; 21%
Total Carbohydrate: 28g; 9%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4% Sugars 19g
Protein: 45g

% Daily Value*:

Vitamin A: 50%; 50%
Vitamin C: 2%; 2%
Calcium: 8%; 8%
Iron: 20%; 20%

Exchanges:

1/2 Starch; 0 Fruit; 1 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Skim Milk; 0 Low-Fat Milk; 0 Milk; 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Very Lean Meat; 0 Lean Meat; 0 High-Fat Meat; 1 Fat;

Carbohydrate Choice

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Low-effort dinners are one thing, but low-effort dinners that you look forward to eating are something else entirely. The latter is what we aspired to when we set about developing this recipe. We wanted something that would benefit from an all-day cook time, wouldn’t require special or expensive ingredients (thus the beef stew meat) and could stand on its own against your family’s favorite take-out dinner. What the Betty Crocker™ Kitchens came up with is a meal that features all the sweet-savory richness of Mongolian beef. So next time you know there’s a busy week ahead, let the slow cooker help you out.