I think it probably differs between geographic areas.

Back when my folks owned and operated a Chinese restaurant in ANC, their version of Mongolian Beef was a mix of the first two you describe. They had sliced flank steak marinated in a little soy sauce, a little peanut oil and salt. I think there was a slight touch of corn starch added. They cooked the beef on a hot wok. After the beef was cooked, they added some hoisin sauce and green bell peppers to the wok and tossed everything together. At the restaurant, they had a choice of crispy fried rice noodles or rice.

My folks' Mongolian Beef had some sauce, but not as saucy as the Indiana nor San Francisco versions you described. I think the marinade with corn starch helped with the crispy coating on the beef. Their Mongolian Beef was spicy, but also a little sweet (especially with the carmelization effect,) and a lot of people ordered it and seemed to like it.

Now my folks live in the SoCal's San Gabriel valley and there are a lot of Chinese people living in the area (a heckuva lot more than Anchorage.) The Chinese restaurants in the the area seem to make Mongolian Beef spicier than when my folks used to serve it in their restaurant. I think the Chinese people that eat here prefer it spicier.


Steve