Easy Saucy 20 Minute Mongolian Ground Beef

A bowl of white rice topped with ground beef garnished with sliced green onions and sesame seeds, accompanied by a fork.

Easy Saucy 20 Minute Mongolian Ground Beef

Saucy, flavorful Mongolian ground beef with that classic hoisin sauce flavor - a recipe everyone in the family will love! Its full of the rich, delicious umami goodness but with easy to make ground beef. The recipe uses tamari or soy sauce, maple syrup instead of sugar, mirin, garlic, ginger, green onion, and other simple ingredients for a quick and easy weeknight dinner to add to your regular meal routine.

Course Main Dish

Cuisine American, Asian, Chinese

Diet Gluten Free, Halal, Kosher, Low Lactose

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 15

Total Time 20

Servings

Calories 272kcal

Author Christy Gurin

Equipment

1 Measuring cups and spoons set
1 Small bowl
1 wire whisk
1 large skillet or wok
1 Chef knife
1 Cutting board

Ingredients

Sauce

1/3 cup low sodium tamari or soy sauce
2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 Tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 Tablespoons mirin
2 Tablespoons water
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon sesame oil
½ teaspoon black pepper

Beef

4-5 green onions
1 Tablespoon avocado oil
1 lb. lean ground beef 85-90% lean
1 Tablespoon arrowroot powder or cornstarch
2 Tablespoons water
Sesame seeds for garnish
½ teaspoon gochugaru or sambal olek or sriracha for spice Optional

Instructions

In a small bowl, whisk together all of the sauce ingredients. See note on spiciness.
Start heating a large skillet to medium-high heat.
Slice green onion, separating the green ends from the whiter onion like scallions closer to the stem. You should have about 1/3 cup of the greens and 1/3 cup of the scallions.
Add avocado oil to heated skillet and tilt pan to spread. Add scallions to pan and sauté for 1-2 minutes.
Add beef and break up with a flat wooden spatula as it browns (about 5-7 minutes).
Once meat has browned, pour sauce into the pan.
Mix arrowroot or cornstarch with 2 Tablespoons cold water and add to skillet, stirring to mix in (you can use the same bowl the sauce was in).
Let simmer for another 2-3 minutes until sauce has thickened. Stir in green onion and sprinkle with sesame seeds and gochugaru on top as a garnish and serve over rice.

Notes

Spice: I used gochugaru here so that it spiciness could be adjusted by each individual by sprinkling it on top of each serving. If you want to made the sauce spicy, add sriracha or garlic chili sauce directly to the sauce instead of as a garnish later.

Nutrition