Ultimate Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef (Printable version)

Tender beef strips in rich, savory-sweet sauce with garlic, ginger, and soy. Easy homemade takeout with minimal effort.

# What you'll need:

→ Beef

01 - 2 lbs flank steak, thinly sliced against the grain

→ Sauce

02 - 1 cup low-sodium soy sauce
03 - 2/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed
04 - 1/2 cup water
05 - 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
06 - 1/4 cup cornstarch
07 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
08 - 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
09 - 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
10 - 2 tablespoons sesame oil

→ To Finish

11 - 4 green onions, sliced
12 - 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds

# Directions:

01 - Toss sliced flank steak with cornstarch in a large bowl until evenly coated.
02 - Transfer coated beef to the slow cooker.
03 - Whisk together soy sauce, brown sugar, water, hoisin sauce, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, and sesame oil until smooth.
04 - Pour sauce over beef, stir to coat evenly. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours until beef is tender and sauce thickens.
05 - Stir in sliced green onions during the last 10 minutes of cooking.
06 - Serve hot, garnished with extra green onions and toasted sesame seeds. Pair with steamed rice or vegetables.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The sauce develops this incredible depth that tastes like it simmered all day even though you barely lifted a finger
  • Your house will smell amazing and everyone will assume you spent hours over a hot stove
  • Leftovers reheat beautifully for lunch the next day, if they even last that long
02 -
  • Slicing the beef when it's partially frozen makes it so much easier to get thin, even strips
  • The sauce will look thin at first but thickens beautifully as it cooks down
  • If your sauce is still too thin after 4 hours, cook on high uncovered for 15-20 minutes
03 -
  • Ask your butcher to slice the flank steak paper thin, it saves so much time and effort
  • Double the sauce ingredients if you love having extra to pour over rice

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