What is Mongolian Beef supposed to be?
 

I grew up on Mongolian beef from SoCal... beef stirfried in a very hot wok so that the surface of the meat was caramalized and had this "crust" to it. The only additions were some ginger and green onion.

So imagine my utter disappointment when I moved to Indiana and found "Mongolian" beef there served saucy on a bed of crispy fried rice noodles.

Now, I'm sitting in a Chinese restaurant in San Francisco... the Mongolian beef is is likewise saucy, but also spicy and stirfried with red/green bell peppers and julienned white onions! (Not the first time I've had this version).

So... what is "Mongolian Beef" supposed to be???

(BTW, lunch recommendation... Red Jade, 245 Church St. (just south of Market).... $4.50+ lunch special, includes soup, entree, rice, and tea. Served until 5pm. Very nice setting).

YUM! My favorite Chinese in SFO is the PotSticker on Waverly IIRC in Chinatown. They have similar lunch specials.

Anyway, back to the Mongolian Beef. There's a place I frequent when I teach one evening a week in BKW (Beckley WV for those unfamiliar with our WV airline codes) that does Mongolian Beef like a Black Pepper Beef. Thin sliced peppers and onions and nice cuts of beef in a spicy sauce with lots of black pepper in it. It's not Mongolian beef by the standard... but I am addicted to their adaptation. It's very good (and spicy)!!

Different areas, different tastes.
 

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:)

This is a tough question to answer, as the Mongolians, to the best
of my knowledge, don't make Mongolian beef. Back in the '60s and '70s
you used to get Mongolian lamb, which was meat stir-fried with onions
(at best, green onions), and not much else. I can't speak to the
authenticity of that dish, but it seems more plausible than most of
what we get in Chinese restaurants in the US these days.

That's the "Mongolian" I recognize, lamb strips pre-marinated (garlic, soy, cornstarch, chilies), stir fried in an extremely hot skillet or griddle, finished with lots of green onion and some ginger, little or no sauce beyond natural juices anda little of the marinade added at the end.

I don't know what Mongolian beef is, but I do know one thing. It's not Mongolian. I spend about 2 months a year in Ulaanbaatar, have done for the past 4 years and I have never seen Mongolian beef as served in US restaurants. As the poster above says, they usually eat lamb (mutton) which from my experience is best avoided.

I'm in Ulaanbaatar at the moment, and since my last visit (September 06) a very funny thing has happened. Someone has opened a Mongolian Barbecue restaurant. This has caused much discussion among the local population, as they can't understand what's Mongolian about it.

Doug

So true .... (although lamb doesn't bother me). :D ^^

Mongolian Beef was invented in San Francisco. Most people I bet would expect a spicy hoisin sauce on a bed of crispy noodles with some kind of onions.
From Wikipedia.com
"Mongolian Beef is a dish served in Chinese-American restaurants consisting of sliced beef, typically flank steak, and stir-fried with vegetables in a sweet and savory brown sauce, usually made with hoisin sauce. The beef is most commonly paired with scallions or mixed vegetables and is often spicy. Most often, the dish is served over crispy fried cellophane noodles or steamed rice."

"The name of this dish is somewhat misleading, because neither the ingredients used (besides the meat) nor the preparation methods applied have anything in common with traditional Mongolian cuisine. The term "Mongolian" is rather meant to imply a vaguely "exotic" type of food."

I grew up on my mom's pot roast which was overbaked making it very dry and kind of crunchy on the outside which is how a like it now. That does not make it the "right" way to make it, though. :D

Icetrojan, I've almost always seen it like the way you got it in SFO.. I've never actually seen it w/o white onions in it.

Well, this makes me wonder... (not that I like it, but) PF Chang's in SoCal serves it "my way".... do they adapt to regional variations or if they keep it uniform across the chain?

Chains have one thing in common: they're uniform through all restaurants.

PF Chang's is 'chinese' but it's chinese 'influenced' whatever that may mean.

I've been to PF Changs around the US.... they're typically identical in every way.

For me, a Mongolian Beef has got to be spicy.

This is exactly how I like it - and no added salt or any sauces. Just enough moisture from the beef to stick to some rice. Abit of extra spice from real chiles is also welcome.

I can't figure these places out either. Here in South Florida, a few of them have popped up and some have already vanished. I've never been to Mongolia, but I doubt I'm far off when I propose that putting out huge tubs of bacteria crusted meat and vegetables so everyone and their Uncle Sal can cough and breath on them, which you then pile into a bowl to haul to some cook who prepares it on an open grill - always overcooked to ensure the bacteria is killed - then slaps it on your hopefully new/clean plate for you to take back to your table and eat cold, is most certainly not part of Mongolian food culture.

Btw, you're quite lucky to get to spend so much time there every year.

Mongolian Beef
 

First no offense to anyone, esp. people from Mongolia.

Mongolian in Chinese can either mean
a. people from Mongolia
b. not smart, retarded

If someone is called a "mongolian doctor" it means that his medical practice is sub-par at best.

I believe in the case of mongolian beef, it simply means untasty beef - in a twisted sense of chinese humor. Although as a Chinese, I find mongolian beef actually not *tasty*.

Again, not to offend anyone, just my 0.02.

How true! :D