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Meals · Stir-fries & fried rice

Paleo Mongolian beef

34

Crisp-edged strips of flank steak in a dark, sticky, garlicky sauce of coconut aminos, ginger and honey, tossed with handfuls of green onions at the last moment. The restaurant favourite without soy or brown sugar, spooned over cauliflower rice.

Time
40 min (20 prep + 20 cook)
Servings
4
Per serving
488 kcal
Protein
33 g

Ingredients

Sauce

  • about 12 (1 large bunch) green onion, cut in 5 cm (2-inch) lengths

Sauce

  • 1 tsp sesame oil, toasted, stirred in off the heat (optional)

To serve

Steps

  1. Toss the beef with the arrowroot, the 1/2 teaspoon of salt and the pepper until every slice is coated. Shake off the loose starch and spread the slices on a rack for 10 minutes, so the coating sticks and fries crisp.
  2. While the beef rests, cook the cauliflower rice with the pinch of salt in a large dry skillet over medium-high heat, stirring, for 5–6 minutes, uncovered, until hot and the steam has gone. Keep it warm.
  3. Heat a third of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Fry a third of the beef in one layer for 2–3 minutes, turning once, until the edges are brown and crisp and it reaches at least 145°F. Lift onto a plate and repeat with the remaining oil and beef in two more batches.
  4. Stir the aminos, broth, honey, fish sauce, garlic, ginger and chili flakes, if using, together and pour into the empty pan over medium-high heat. Let it bubble for 3–4 minutes, stirring, until it has reduced by about half and looks like thin syrup.
  5. Return the beef to the pan with the green onions and toss for 1–2 minutes, until the onions just wilt and the starch on the beef has tightened the sauce into a glaze. Off the heat, stir in the sesame oil, then serve over the cauliflower rice. Leftovers keep 3 days in the fridge; reheat in a pan with a splash of water so the beef does not toughen.

Good to know

My sauce is too thin. What now?

Let it bubble another minute before the beef goes back in; it should be syrupy, because the starch on the beef will only thicken it a little more. Brands of coconut aminos vary in how thick they cook down.

Can I use less oil?

The coating needs enough fat to crisp, but two tablespoons will work in a good nonstick pan, at about 38 instead of 34. Fry in one more batch if the pan starts to look dry.

Is sesame oil paleo?

A strict paleo kitchen leaves out seed oils. It is here as a single teaspoon of seasoning for aroma and not as a cooking oil, which is how most popular paleo versions of this dish use it. If you avoid it, leave it out: the dish still works and is a little less nutty.

Alternative

Per

Calories
161
Protein
(27%)
11 g
Fat
(41%)
7 g
Carbohydrates
(32%)
13 g
of which sugar
8 g
Fiber
1 g
Sodium
460 mg

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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How

As written, 1951 kcal goes into the pot and 1587 g of ingredients comes out as about 1213 g of food: 161 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.