Delicious Mongolian Beef, quickly stir fried with udon noodles for a quick and easy meal that's ready in a flash! An easy and delicious weeknight meal.
I love Mongolian Beef and it's in regular rotation in my kitchen. I usually just cook up the beef and serve it over rice. I've recently been enjoying it stir fried with udon noodles and it's been a delicious, quick and easy dinner that I thought deserved sharing.
If you're not familiar with Mongolian Beef flavours, it's best described as sweet and salty, with distinct notes both from the soy sauce and sugar.
Added to the delicious sauce, are easy to use, shelf-stable udon noodles. These udon need no pre-cooking. Simply add them directly to your hot stir fry and cook until warmed through. With just a short marinade time, this dish is ready in a flash and a great weeknight meal!
Ingredient Notes
Beef - I love the "Stir Fry Beef Strips" for this dish, that are often available in the meat counter. If unavailable, pick up any piece of beef steak and cut it into strips yourself. I find cutting the beef when partially frozen makes it easier to cut into thin strips, so if you are taking some beef from the freezer, keep this in mind.
Udon Noodles - this recipe makes use of shelf-stable udon noodles, for a quick and easy meal, though you can use frozen udon as well. I like to soak them in hot water before adding to the pot. If starting with dried udon noodles, you will need to boil them first, before adding to the pot.
You will also need - Green onion, vegetable oil, baking soda, white sugar, cornstarch, soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger and brown sugar.
Cook's Notes
If you're rushed, you can just set the beef to marinade on the counter for 10-15 minutes before stir frying, instead of the longer marinade. A little marinade time is better than none, but longer marinating is of course better, if you have the time.
If you want to start this dish in the morning, you can also pop your beef and marinade into a ziploc bag and let it marinade in the fridge for several hours or all day until dinner time.
Mongolian Beef sauce is, by nature, on the sweet side. It's kind of the unique feature of this dish. That said, you can certainly dial back the brown sugar in the sauce a bit if it's too much so for your taste. (Though I always suggest trying it as written first, then going from there).
This is the same basic recipe I use for straight-up Mongolian Beef to serve on it's own or over rice. So if you enjoy the beef and sauce flavour, you may want to try it that way, as well.
Recipe
Mongolian Beef Udon
Ingredients
- 1 lb. beef strips, stir-fry strips or a larger piece of beef steak, cut into strips
- 1 cup green onion, diced, plus more for garnish
- 14 oz. udon noodles, shelf stable
- 2 tsp vegetable oil, for frying beef
Marinade:
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp white sugar
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
Sauce:
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger, or 1 tsp fresh minced ginger
- 1 Tbsp garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
Garnish:
- Sliced green onions s
- Sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the marinade ingredients. Add beef to marinade and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk together sauce ingredients and set aside.
- Heat the 2 tsp. of vegetable oil in a wok or skillet over medium high heat until quite hot. Add the beef strips and cook, stirring, until beef is cooked through. Add the green onion and cook, stirring, until the green onion softens and browns, slightly. Add the sauce and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the udon noodles and stir gently to loosen the noodles, then cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens and noodles are well warmed through.
- Serve garnished with sliced green onion and sesame seeds.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information provided for general guidance only and should not be relied upon to make personal health decisions.
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Nancy says
Made this tonight and it was delicious! You have great hints and cooks notes. Thank you!
Jennifer says
Thanks so much, Nancy :) Glad you enjoyed it!
Debbie says
Hi Jennifer, I can't wait to try this. I bought supplies for a chicken udon recipe but tonight I want to use beef. So is it possible to add baby bok choy to this? Or should I hold off on the veggie?
Jennifer says
I think bok choy would be great in this one. I say throw it in :) Enjoy!
Rachel says
Tastes better than the one I order at a local resturant! So easy and turned out perfect!
Jennifer says
Happy to hear that, Rachel :) Thanks!
Jenna says
I LOVE this recipe! It is so simple, and so flavourful! It turns out perfectly every time I make it and everyone loves it!
Do you think I could substitute the noodles with rice? I live in a very remote community, so udon noodles are not always available unfortunately.
Jennifer says
So glad you are enjoying it, Jenna. And yes! I use the same beef with sauce to make a more classic Mongolian beef dinner. I just brown the beef in a skillet, then add the sauce and let it simmer/thicken a bit. Then serve the saucy beef alongside rice and a veg.
Montana says
Made this last night for a date night with the boyfriend, and oh...my...LORD it's amazing!
Jennifer says
Glad to hear, Montana :) Thanks so much!
Jenna says
Super easy to make and turns out perfectly every time! Thanks for such a tasty recipe!
Jennifer says
So glad you are enjoying it, Jenna! Thanks so much :)
Bailey K says
Made it tonight. Let it marinade for probably 3-4 hours. Everything was super easy. When I remake this recipe it will probably take 15 mins max. Super cheap too. It was delicious, thank you so much for the recipe.
Jennifer says
So glad to hear, Bailey! Thanks so much :)
Irene says
Have never had Mongolian beef before but couldn’t resist trying this receipe as we’re udon noodle fans. We don’t have beef that often & since the stir-fry cuts were on sale, decided to give this a try. Not much more to say than YUM!!!! Served with French green beans. A definite repeat!
Irene says
Forgot the 10-star rating!
Jennifer Maloney says
Thanks :)
Jennifer Maloney says
So glad you enjoyed this! We don't eat a ton of beef either, but whenever I see the stir fry strip on sale, this is the dish I think of :) You can also make this without the udon. Simply do the beef and sauce and simmer until thickened. Serve with rice and a veg for another great way to enjoy it. Thanks!
Karen (Back Road Journal) says
I'm going to look for the soft udon noodles as they certainly make this dish come together in no time at all. It looks great.
Jennifer Maloney says
They do Karen! In my grocers, the shelf-stable udon are in with the dried Asian noodles.
Lisa L says
I saw this recipe yesterday, shopped this morning, and made it tonight. It was just delicious. Thanks for a great recipe.
Jennifer says
So glad you enjoyed it, Lisa :) Thanks!
Lisa says
Hi Jennifer, this looks so yummy! Can't wait to make this! Quick question first, should the first ingredient for the sauce say 1 tsp fresh minced ginger? It says garlic, but then garlic is the next ingredient. Thanks !
Jennifer says
Yes! Thanks for catching that. Definitely ginger :) Fixed it now.
Emma says
Made this for dinner last night, it was so delish, totally hit the spot! Way better than takeout!
Jennifer says
So glad you enjoyed it, Emma! Thanks :)
Tricia says
Oh wow - look at all those slurpy noodles covered in luscious sauce! Great recipe Jennifer - my kind of meal! I love udon noodles and the sweet sauce sound terrific.
Jennifer says
Thanks so much, Tricia :)
Milena says
Looks so good! I love udon noodles (too much) and would love to try your Mongolian beef version with them - cannot stop looking at this scrumptious dish!
Jennifer says
Thanks Milena!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
It's been so long since I've had udon noodles so this is perfect timing! So much better on Friday night than take out too :)
Jennifer says
Thanks Dawn :)
[email protected] says
We're going away for the weekend, but I'm already looking forward to making this next week! YUM!
Jennifer says
Thanks Annie! I think you will enjoy this one ;)
Chris Scheuer says
I'll always choose Udon noodles above rice, love that you swapped them. This looks amazing! Dinner soon!
Jennifer says
Thanks Chris and yes, noodles over rice any day :)
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen says
I want to reach into my screen and grab a plate of this Jennifer! It looks simply mouthwatering!
Jennifer says
Thanks Mary Ann :)
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary says
Mongolian beef is definitely a favorite around here too! And I absolutely LOVE udon noodles - they are just so slurp-tastic! Needless to say, I NEED to make this for dinner ASAP! I'm drooling and honestly wish I had this for breakfast!
Jennifer says
Thanks Cheyanne and me, too! I'm always look at different ways to enjoy udon :)