I’ve been using my Instant Pot more and more lately. It just makes meat SO tender and I love just tossing things in there and having them come out so flavorful. My latest favorite thing to make is this Instant Pot Mongolian Beef. I made it for the first time last Friday night. Then I made a few tweaks, and made it AGAIN on Sunday night. And then I brought leftovers in my lunch on Monday and Tuesday and then was sad it was all gone. It’s THAT good.
This Instant Pot Mongolian Beef is SO easy to make too. I plan on making this recipe a lot once the baby is born. And it serves 4, which means LEFTOVERS. I may even double the recipe to make more.
The husband loved it, a friend who was over on Friday loved it, and now the next step is to see how our picky toddler feels about it.
I actually cut down the sugar amount from other Instant Pot Mongolian Beef recipes I’d seen. On Friday night the amount I used just seemed like too much and made it too sweet. So I cut that down for making it Sunday and it was much better and more balanced. I also added shredded carrots on Sunday, and loved the bit of additional flavor (and “hidden” vegetable).
Two recommendations:
- I’d recommend serving over white rice, brown rice, quinoa, or cauliflower rice. If you’re making white rice, brown rice, or quinoa, I’ve found a half cup per serving works well. (So for this dish, I did 2 cups dry rice).
- I’d recommend serving with a steamed vegetable like green beens or broccoli if you’d like. Just toss in the steamed veggie after its all cooked and done and mix together with the beef and sauce before putting over rice, quinoa, or whatever grain you have.
So now.. onto making the Instant Pot Mongolian Beef!
First you prep all the ingredients. Mince the garlic, cut the steak into strips, and grate the carrots. That’s honestly the hardest part of this dish. Then you Turn the Instant Pot onto Saute mode and add the oil, once it’s hot (basically 30 seconds later), add the steak and then the garlic, stirring occasionally while the steak browns.
While that’s cooking, mix together the water, soy sauce, sesame oil, and brown sugar and mix/whisk together until combined. Add the grated carrots to the pot, then pour the soy sauce mixture over the top, stir, then it’s time to close up the Instant Pot!
Set it on manual mode and high pressure for 10 minutes, then quick release and turn off. Add the water/cornstarch mixture and stir in, then have it on saute mode for 2-3 minutes until sauce has thickened. Serve over rice/quinoa/cauliflower rice and top with green onions and a steamed veggie (if desired).
Instant Pot Mongolian Beef
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs steak (flank or round)
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil
- 2 medium carrots
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup soy sauce
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 3 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1/3 cup water
- green onions (if desired)
Instructions
- First -- prep your ingredients! Cut the steak (against the grain) into thin strips. Mince the garlic. Peel and grate the carrots.
- Get out your Instant Pot and plug in. Set the Instant Pot onto SAUTE mode and add the oil. Let heat up for about 30 seconds, then add the steak to the pot. Stir to start browning, then add the garlic. Stir occasionally until outside of meat is browned (about 3-5 minutes).
- While meat is cooking, combine the soy sauce, water, sesame oil, and brown sugar and stir or whisk until well-combined.
- Once meat is browned, turn off the saute function and add the grated carrots to the pot, and then pour the soy sauce/water/sesame oil/brown sugar mixture over the top. Stir to combine and then put the lid on the Instant Pot.
- Make sure the pressure release valve is set to SEALING and put the Instant Pot on MANUAL mode, HIGH pressure for 10 minutes. (Instant Pot will take 5-10 minutes to come to pressure, then will start counting down).
- While meat is cooking, combine the cornstarch and 1/3 cup water and set aside.
- Once the meat is done, QUICK RELEASE to release the steam, and then remove the lid. Turn off the Instant Pot.
- Pour the cornstarch/water mixture into the pot, and stir to combine. Turn the SAUTE mode on and cook for 2-3 minutes, until sauce has thickened.
- Serve the meat over a grain of your choice, and top with sliced green onions if desired.
Notes
- I'd recommend serving over white rice, brown rice, quinoa, or cauliflower rice. If you're making white rice, brown rice, or quinoa, I've found a half cup per serving works well. (So for this dish, I did 2 cups dry rice).
- I'd recommend serving with a steamed vegetable like green beens or broccoli if you'd like. Just toss in the steamed veggie after its all cooked and done and mix together with the beef and sauce before putting over rice, quinoa, or whatever grain you have.
- If you'd like to give it a bit of a spicy kick, you can sprinkle on some red chili flakes at the end.