Mongolian Ground Beef Noodles
This Mongolian ground beef noodles recipe is one of the easiest Asian dinners that we’ve ever made! With a quick homemade sauce, lo mein noodles, and ground beef, this flavorful dish is done in under 20 minutes!
Servings: 2 people
Ingredients
- 8 oz lo mein noodles *See notes
- 1 lb lean ground beef like 90/10 or 93/7
- ½ cup beef broth
- ⅓ cup low sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 5 cloves minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons minced ginger
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon high-heat cooking oil like avocado oil
- 3 thinly sliced green onions whites and greens separated
Instructions
- Boil the noodles according to package instructions, but reduce the cooking time by about 1-2 minutes. *You want the noodles to be just shy of al dente because they will continue to cook on the griddle with the ground beef and sauce. Drain noodles and set aside.
- Preheat griddle or large skillet to medium heat. For griddle cooking, aim for a griddle temperature of about 400°F.
- While the noodles are boiling, prepare the sauce. Add beef broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, hoisin sauce, black pepper, and corn starch to a bowl and mix well for the cornstarch to dissolve. Mix in about 75% of the ginger and garlic, reserving the rest for later. Set the sauce to the side.
- When griddle or skillet is hot, begin cooking the ground beef. Add the ground beef in small chunks spread out on the griddle or skillet so that the beef can sear on the first side. Allow it to cook untouched for 2-3 minutes for a nice char to develop.
- When the beef is about halfway cooked through but you still see some pink on top, add the whites of the green onions. Then chop and sauté the ground beef together. When the beef is almost all the way cooked through, move it to the side of the griddle to make room for the noodles, or for skillet cooking, transfer to a bowl.
- Add about 1 tablespoon of oil to the griddle or skillet. Add the remaining minced garlic and ginger to the oil, and spread it out a bit to toast briefly (about 1 minute). *You don’t want the ginger and garlic to burn, but this step helps to create wonderful aromatics and extra flavor for your noodle dish.
- Add the drained noodles to the griddle or skillet. Mix briefly to incorporate the garlic and ginger. Then, spread the noodles out in an even layer and cook untouched for about 1-2 minutes.
- Add the cooked ground beef to the noodles and sauté together briefly. Then, slowly pour in the prepared sauce.
- Toss everything together, ensuring the sauce fully coats the noodles. Sauté for an additional 2-3 minutes, until the sauce has thickened to your liking. *Remember, the sauce will continue to thicken a bit as the noodles cool also.
- Sprinkle the noodles with the tops of the green onions, and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- Noodle choice - Our Mongolian noodles were perfect with the wheat-based organic Chinese lo mein noodles that we used (Wei-Chuan brand). You can also substitute regular linguini, fettuccini, or spaghetti noodles. Or to keep with the Asian flavors, try udon noodles.
- Spice it up – For a bit of heat, you can add a pinch of red pepper flakes or a dash of siracha to the Mongolian sauce before adding it to the beef and noodles.
- Add vegetables to stretch the dish – Try adding your favorite stir-fry vegetables like broccoli, bell peppers, onion, or carrot. Simply sauté the vegetables before cooking the ground beef and noodles, and be sure to make extra sauce to account for the extra volume of ingredients.