Mongolian Beef with Spicy Cucumber Salad
Crispy steak with a flavorful sauce, complimented perfectly with a vinegar chili dressed cucumber salad!
I was looking through Pinterest again to get inspired for dinner ideas and came across Mongolian Beef from the Recipe Critic. It looked delicious and easy to make... I was in! It looked savory and a bit spicy and I thought pairing it with a cool and juicy cucumber salad would be an excellent week night meal! In fact the type of meal I would have made my friend Jenn for her birthday (which was this particular evening) if not quaratined to our respective houses!
To start I used two sirloin steak and thinly sliced them up but left them in strips.
In order for these strips to crisp up to the desired texture, the recipe usually calls for a corn startch or something similar.
Most Corn starch is GMO to instead I opt to substitute cassava flour which has a starch like consistency but is actually a root vegetable!
I placed the steak in a sealable bag with the Cassava flour to coat evenly.
For the sauce I incorporated 1/2 cup of organic soya sauce, 3 Tbsp sesame oil, 1/4 cup of water, and some coconut sugar to taste. Approximately 1/4 of a cup. I crushed up some garlic and minced some fresh ginger and stirred into the sauce and set aside. I had also previously made my own chili oil but simmering red chili flakes in avocado oil. This too will be added to the steak. Before cooking the steak I moved on to make the salad and cook some white rice!
For the salad I used my vegetable peeler to thinly slice the cucumber into ribbons until I got to the core and then roughly chopped the remaining area. I sliced up some radishes and red onion and mixed them together.
In order for these strips to crisp up to the desired texture, the recipe usually calls for a corn starch or something similar.
Back to the beef.... I added some avocado oil to a frying pan to heat. Once hot... and the pan does need to be hot before you introduce the beef... I started layering the beef being cautious to not over crowd so the crisping takes place. I carefully flipped to have each side of the steak sear in the oil and once done I set aside.
In the same pan I started to boil the sauce to thicken slightly with the cassava flour that remained in the bottom of the pan. I added a spoonful of the chili oil to add some kick as well!
Once the sauce starts to thicken slightly, I re-introduced the cooked steak and tossed continually to coat each piece well in the sauce. The smell was incredible by the way!
From here I simply plated out some rice and nestled steak pieces on top... being sure to drip some of the remaining liquid sauce on the rice. I then plated it with the cucumber salad and served! The very bold and spicy flavor of the beef paired very well with the vinegary but still slightly spicy salad! I hope you try this and enjoy!
The Recipe:
2 sirloin steaks or any preferred cut. Slice thinly but leave in strips.
Place 2 Tbsp of Cassava flour or another starch in a sealable bag. Add in the steak to shake and coat evenly.
The Sauce:
1/2 cup of organic soya sauce
1/4 cup of water
1/4 cup of coconut Sugar or to taste
3 Tbsp of sesame oil
2 crushed garlic cloves and a knuckle of crushed ginger
1 Tbsp of chili oil
Cook the steak strips in a high heat oil ensuring the pan is very hot before adding the meat. Sear the steak on all sides and once cooked set aside.
Place the sauce in the same pan to take advantage of the crispy bits and starch in the pan to help incorporate and thicken the sauce. Once slightly thickened re-introduce the steak and toss to coat well.
The Salad:
Either cut or ribbon the cucumber. 1 full cucumber
thinly slice 3 to 4 radishes
Thinly slice 1/4 for a red onion and chop.
coat with rice vinegar and a Tbsp of chili oil depending on your heat tolerance.