Mongolian Beef Noodle
Mongolian Beef Noodle – so many recipes on the interweb to choose from! This is my version – easy and straightforward. Feel free to use ground turkey or chicken and to add other veggies in to the mix, other than the peas and grated carrot – grated zucchini and finely grated cabbage are both lovely, diced mushrooms are great too and chopped broccoli soaks up the sauce for a burst of flavour. The veggies mix in well and, when grated or chopped fine, aren’t really noticeable so it’s a great dish to make to sneak some additional nutrition into a meal!
You can use ground turkey or chicken in place of the beef. The flavour from the sauce will flavour either of these meats perfectly. You could even use soy curls if you are lucky enough to have a shop that sells them!
The main seasoning in a Mongolian Noodle dish is the hoisin sauce. I make my own hoisin sauce – it only takes a couple of minutes with ingredients you likely have in your cupboards already and makes the dish so delicious. A good store-bought hoisin is fine too – always look for store-bought condiments with no preservatives, colour and ingredients you can’t pronounce!
A couple of other healthy ingredients in this recipe are the fresh garlic which is an antioxidant, an antibiotic and has been found to reduce inflammation. Studies have shown that allicin can help promote a healthy heart by lowering bad cholesterol and the antioxidants in garlic may help protect against dementia.
Lemons are a good source of VitC which protects your heart from disease and stroke, are good against the formation of kidney stones as it increases pH making a less hospitable environment for the formation of kidney stones, the citric acid in lemons help absorb iron better in the body, and studies have shown that citrus fruits help to fight certain cancers.
As always, when you make this recipe, I would love to see your creation so please post a photo of your Mongolian Beef Noodle goodness and tag my IG account #RenataCollective or leave a comment with your thoughts!
Prep Time:15 minutes / Cook Time:25 minutes / Serves: 3-4
Ingredients
4 Cloves Garlic – sliced and set aside to work its nutritional magic
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil (alternate: grape seed oil or another mild, neutral tasting oil)
1 lb. Lean Ground Beef (alternate: ground turkey or chicken)
1” Grated Fresh Ginger (about 3 Tablespoons)
1 Medium Carrot – peeled and grated
½ Cup Tamari Sauce
½ Cup of Veggie Bouillon (alternate: beef or chicken broth)
¼ Cup Coconut Sugar (alternate: brown sugar)
½ Cup Homemade Hoisin Sauce (alternate: store bought – look for one with no preservatives or colour)
½ teaspoon Chili Flakes
Pinch of Herbed Seasoned Sea Salt (Alternate: plain sea salt)
Grinds of Fresh Black Pepper
250grams Noodles – a flat noodle is best – linguini width - either gluten free rice noodles are amazing or conventional wheat is fabulous
1 Cup Frozen Peas
1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
3 Green Onions, white and green parts – chopped - for garnish
Sesame Seeds - for garnish
How It’s Made
Start a large pot of salted water boiling to cook the noodles in.
Slice your garlic and set it aside.
In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and add the meat and cook it for 3 minutes. Add the ginger, the garlic and the grated carrots, stir, and cook until the meat is cooked through. Drain the fat from the pan.
While the meat is cooking and the water is coming to a boil for the noodles, make the sauce. In a 2 cup measuring cup, or a medium sized bowl, whisk together the tamari, veggie bouillon, coconut sugar, hoisin sauce, chili flakes, the pinch of salt and a few grinds of fresh black pepper.
When the meat is cooked through, pour the sauce into the pan with the meat and stir. Reduce the heat to medium-low and allow this delicious mixture to simmer gently.
Add the peas and the lemon juice, stir, and continue simmering until the peas are soft and heated through.
Once your pasta is done cooking, drain it well and add the pasta to the pan with the meat/veggies/sauce. Stir or mix the noodles so they are covered in the wonderful sauce.
Serve with a few green onions and a sprinkle of the sesame seeds on top.
Enjoy!
Variations
A medium grated zucchini and a cup of finely grated cabbage are both lovely, a cup of diced mushrooms are great too and the same amount of chopped broccoli soaks up the sauce for a burst of flavour. Add these when you would add the grated carrot. A ½ cup of riced cauliflower is a nice addition too. Add the cauliflower when you would add the peas.
