Shaved Beef Recipe: Quick Mongolian Beef with Tahini Noodles
Who knew shaved beef could be turned into a sweet and savory Mongolian beef dish in minutes? This recipe coats the meat with a dry rub of sweet and savory spices, the typical flavors of Mongolian beef. From there, it is marinated and stir fried to crispy perfection, then for a twist, it's tossed with soba noodles and an herby green tahini sauce.
Servings: 4
Calories: 617kcal
Equipment
- 1 3 qt soup pot
- 1 saute pan
Ingredients
- 16 oz. shaved beef (a.k.a. shaved steak) tends to come in 10-12 oz prepacks-see notes
- 8 oz. soba noodles see notes
- 1.5 tbsp sesame oil half for below marinade, half to cook tempeh in.
Beef marinade (plus half of above listed sesame oil)
- 2 tsp sugar white or coconut sugar
- 1/4 tsp ginger powder
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp white pepper sub finely ground black pepper
- 1 pinch aleppo chili flakes sub regular red chili flakes
- 1 lime juiced-see notes
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds if not using my Asian Spice Blend
- 2 tbsp coconut aminos or low-sodium tamari
Green tahini sauce
- 1/2 cup tahini sesame paste
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro
- 1 cup fresh mint
- 1 bunch green onions a.k.a. scallions
- 1 ea large clove garlic 2 if small
- 1 ea lime juiced
- 1 tsp fish sauce
Instructions
Prepare beef- 10min
- Mix together the dried spices in small bowl - 2 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp ginger powder, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp white pepper, 1 pinch aleppo chili flakes, 1 tbsp sesame seeds.
- Lay beef out on parchment or sheet pan and sprinkle with all of the dried spices and rub into meat evenly and thoroughly.
- Mix together 1/2 of the 1.5 tbsp sesame oil, 1 lime juiced, and 2 tbsp coconut aminos to form liquid marinade.
- Place beef, coated in the dry spices into the marinade (including any dried spices that fall off of beef onto parchment) and leave while you prepare rest of recipe, or overnight.
Make the green tahini sauce - 10min
- Thoroughly wash 1 bunch fresh cilantro, and 1 cup fresh mint, lay on towel and wrap to dry/remove water. Remove the mint leaves from stems. Keep Cilantro leaves whole with stems. See notes.
- Wash 1 bunch green onions , trim root ends off and dry. Only trim off tops of greens if they are brown or bruised.
- Add fresh herbs, green onions, and 1 ea large clove garlic to food processor/blender. Run the machine to finely chop all the ingredients, pulsing and scraping down the sides as needed.
- Add the 1 ea lime juiced, 1/2 cup tahini and 1 tsp fish sauce Blend with pulses and scrape down sides. End by blending continually for 10 seconds or so to achieve smooth texture and green color. Taste and adjust with salt to taste. Taste and adjust, making sure you are happy with the level of tang of the lime or funk from the fish/other sauce.
Cook noodles and stir fry beef – 10min
- Bring pot of water back to boil, and cook 8 oz. soba noodles according to package directions.
- Meanwhile, heat skillet on medium high with the other half of the sesame oil.
- Lay slabs of beef in heated skillet and cook barely a minute or two, checking for seared doneness on underside. Flip to sear other side. Move to plate.
- Ideally, drain noodles and place directly into bowl of tahini sauce, or use tongs to move noodles directly into sauce from boiling water.
- Toss noodles with tahini sauce and shaves of beef, reserving a few beef shaves to place on top of dish. Garnish with cilantro and sesame seeds. Consider an extra squirt of lime juice!
Notes
Fresh Herbs:cilantro stems are full of flavor and should be used, while mint stems are woody and should not be used. You can cut back one of these herbs and add in some basil as well, with stems.
Fish Sauce: This vegan sauce uses vegan fish sauce, or you can use coconut aminos, soy or tamari sauce, or regular fish sauce if you are not vegan/vegetarian. Any of these choices adds that funky flavor/umami. You could also use miso.
Soba Noodles: made from buckwheat flour, they are nutritious and have a great nutty flavor and tender texture. A great substitute is whole-grain thin spaghetti (I like the Barilla brand). You could use rice noodles or brown rice noodles too.
Asian Spice Blend:If you prefer to have more spices on hand for next time you make this or another recipe, you can make a full batch of my Asian Spice Blend.
Lime Juice: I've only used fresh lime juice and don't recommend reconstituted lime juice. Rolling the lime on the counter, pressing firmly with your hand, helps to loosen the fruit inside and release the juice more easily when you cut and squeeze the lime.
Nutrition
Calories: 617kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Sodium: 640mg | Potassium: 803mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 0.3g | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 226mg | Iron: 7mg | Magnesium: 186mg | Net Carbohydrates: 62g