My Seventies Kitchen Episode 10: Mongolian Beef

Before we get started, I think it’s important to note that Mongolian Beef is not a dish from Mongolia. Instead, it’s a Taiwanese classic that is akin to Szechuan Beef, just much less spicy. At the end of the day, the specifics or the origin are unimportant. It’s probably been Americanized to death at this point anyway – all we really care about is the fact that it’s quick and delicious.

I don’t know about you, but the pandemic has definitely affected my level of ambition in the kitchen. Sure, I still get involved in big cooking projects. It’s just a lot harder to psych myself up to start them. I go to the store, buy all of the ingredients, and then end up ordering Pat’s Pizza more than I care to admit. Sometimes I just give a shit WAY more early in the day, before it’s actually time to cook.

This dish is an excellent remedy for this lack of motivation. All you need to do is get the Beef into the marinade, and you can chill for a while. When you are ready, all you need to do is toss some rice in the cooker. Then hack up an onion and some scallions (I like to have ginger/garlic puree on hand for nights like this. I usually pick it up in a jar at the Indian market). Fire up the wok, sizzle up some beef, serve over rice, and good to go. I like flank, skirt, or even hangar steak here – but you can obviously improvise. You can even sub in Chicken if you’re really feeling like letting it all hang-out and flying your freak flag.

If you have a real stove with real fire, I hate you, and I’m jealous. Also, this will come out much better for you than we ghetto electric stove people.

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