Before we were vegan, my husbands favorite Chinese takeout meal was Mongolian beef.
If you have never had Mongolian beef vegan or otherwise, and you are a fan of garlic, gingery, sweet, sticky sauces, then this is one you need to try!
I was never a big beef eater pre vegan but could appreciate my husbands love for this dish. My go to was always garlic chicken. Being that both of those dishes are a thing of the way back past, I needed to find a way to make my husbands old Chinese takeout favorite a thing of the vegan present.
When it comes to soy curls I have always felt inclined to fry them in to vegan clam strips, or fry them like a “chicken” tender with dip. I LOVE soy curls. They are one of my favorite vegan meat alternative, because they are so tasty, have the perfect chewy texture, are easy and quick to cook, and pretty affordable. But I really never have used them in a saucy recipe. So when pondering what to do with the three bags I had just gotten in from Amazon, Mongolian beef popped into my head.
I knew I wanted to make a Chinese style dish with at least one bag of the curls and knew Dave, my husband, would be thrilled if I attempted to recreate his old fave!
Well y’all, this recipe is just as easy as any other of my go to soy curl recipes and my entire family liked it. That is 6 people y’all, all in agreement. Two teenagers, a super picky 9 year old by and a toddler. Let me tell you something, this says a LOT!! My kids live to be contrary and I am pretty convinced conspire to push me to the edge where dinner likes and dislikes are concerned. I have just resolved to know that at least 2 of us are going to leave the dinner table hungry upon refusal of the dinner placed before them. Its exhausting and frustrating, so when I find a meal everyone likes, it gets put on a regular rotation.
Vegan Mongolian Beef is now on regular rotation! Hallelujah for small miracles!
INGREDIENTS:
8 oz package soy curls
4-5 scallions (green onions)
3 cups hot water
1 teaspoons vegetable Better Than Bouillon
1 tablespoon soy sauce or coconut amnions
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup corn or tapioca starch
neutral flavored oil for frying
SAUCE:
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce or coconut amnios
1 teaspoon Vegetable Better Than Bouillon
2 teaspoons grated ginger
3 teaspoons minced garlic
1-2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1/3 cup water
INSTRUCTIONS:
In a large bowl add the bag of dried soy curls, along with 3 cups of hot water, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon better than bouillon. Let the curls soak for 10 minutes.
In another large bowl, whisk flour and starch. Drain all of the liquid from the soy curls and add them to the flour and starch. Toss to coat the curls. The curls will still be a little wet so the coating can get kind of of sticky. Thats ok!
Prepare a wire cooling rack by placing it on a paper towel lined baking sheet. Placing the curls or the rack after frying, vs just a paper towel lined plate helps them to stay a bit more crispy. This is true with any pan fried food.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat with a tablespoon or two of oil. Add the coated soy curls in batches to the hot pan, frying on each side until they begin to brown and get a little crispy. Place finished curls on the cooling rack and continue frying all remaining. Add extra oil to pan as needed.
You can use the skillet you fried the curls in if its deep enough or use a sauce pan to cook the sauce. I use a large iron skillet and wipe it clean after frying the curls. Add all all of the ingredients for the sauce into the pot/ pan and whisk . Heat the sauce on medium/low util it comes to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, regularly stirring the sauce unit it has thickened some and seems sticky.
Slice the green onions on a diagonal into 1/2 inch to 1 inch pieces. Toss the curls into the sauce and add the onions. Serve vegan Mongolian beef over rice.
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