Recipe: Mongolian Beef

We love mongolian beef, particularly mongolian beef from a hole-in-the-wall local restaurant, so trying Crockpot mongolian beef was a no brainer. I was actually pretty excited to try it. However, again, I am unable to locate the source of the recipe. If I find it, I'll let you know. I just don't recommend holding your breath.

Mongolian Beef

1 lb. stew meat
2 tsp. olive oil
1 onion, thickly sliced
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1/2 cup soy sauce (I used low sodium)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. fresh minced ginger
1/2 cup hoisin sauce

Dump all ingredients into a labeled freezer bag, seal, mix up, freeze flat. Defrost, then cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve with rice.

Review

Chuck roast was on sale, so that is what we used. Wade played butcher and cubed the meat. I prepared everything else. It went together in a snap. Easy peasy. And even the mixture going into the freezer smelled good. Gotta love hoisin sauce. Nummy nummy in my little Asian tummy.

Last night, I took the bag out of the freezer and thawed it on my trusty green tray. This morning, I dumped the bag's contents in the pot, turned it on and set my happy little rice maker.

End of the day, I came home to my delicious-smelling house and steamed some broccoli (you'll find that my veggie repertoire is limited). . . and VOILA! Dinner is served. I did throw some sesame seeds on top for good measure. I am loving my Crockpot.

Ratings

Ease of preparation: A
Taste: A ("My inner Mongol gives it an A," Wade says.)/B (me)
Quantity: Two healthy-sized portions tonight, and I think enough for one more.
Notes: It's important to note that Wade gave this recipe his first A. That says something. I, on the other hand, poured a generous amount of sauce on the rice, but found the sauce to be a little too sweet for my taste. I ended up adding more rice to try to even it out, but it was still a bit on the sweet side for me. I also thought the meat was sort of a funny texture, but I can't help but wonder if that's because I end up cooking things longer than eight hours. Next time I think I'll try it on a short work day. Wade thinks we should consider a programmable Crockpot. In the end, I think it's a redo, I just wouldn't serve as much sauce.