Once again it was time to plan meals for the upcoming week. This week I came across a recipe at JenAroundtheWorld and just knew I had to try it. Mongolian beef noodles should be in your meal planning regular rotation. The brown sugar and hoisin give it a subtle sweetness, while the ginger and red pepper flakes give it a bit of kick.
I had most of the ingredients on hand already, with the exception of the ground beef and hoisin. I found a small jar of the sauce in the Asian section of the grocery store. The sauce is thick, kind of like a combination of paste and jam. I had to spoon out the sauce vs pouring it out, very interesting.
The recipe was easy to make with only a few steps. Boil pasta, brown the beef, mix sauce, combine, and Voila! It was basically that simple. And the end product, absolutely amazing.
Cooking the noodles did take the longest. It took the water longer to boil using such a big pot. Once the water started to boil, it only took about 10 minutes for the noodles to cook. After draining the noodles, I attempted to add them to the skillet with the meat and sauce mixture but didn’t have enough room to completely mix it without making a mess. I transferred it all back to the pasta pot, so that is why I recommend a big pot for boiling the noodles. It was much easier to combine the two in the big pot rather than attempting to mix in the skillet.
The toppings are optional. For the toasted sesame seeds, I used my toaster oven to toast them. I’ve never toasted sesame seeds before, so I wasn’t sure how long to keep them in there. The first batch came out very toasted, but they didn’t burn, which I consider a win. The second batch only toasted for a little under 2 minutes and looked and tasted much better.
The optional ingredients are just that….optional. I don’t think they will make or break the end result, but it sure does class up the dish a bit.
The Mongolian beef noodles will definitely make another appearance in our future meal plans.
Mongolian Beef Noodles
Course: Main MealCuisine: MongolianDifficulty: Easy6
servingsMongolian Ground Beef Noodles
Ingredients
1 lb lean ground beef or ground turkey
1 box of linguine noodles
4 tsp. minced ginger
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
6 tbsp hoisin sauce
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp black pepper (recommend using 1/4 tsp
Optional = diced green onions, toasted sesame seeds
Directions
- Boil water for the pasta in a large pot and cook the pasta as directed on the box,
- Brown the meat in a medium skillet with high sides, add garlic and ginger.
- While the meat is cooking, combine the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl: soy sauce, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, pepper, and hoisin sauce.
- Once the meat is cooked through, drain the fat and return to the stovetop. Then add the sauce mixture from the last step to the meat.
- Let the sauce and meat saute together for about 3 minutes.
- Once the pasta is tender, drain in a colander and return to pot.
- Add the meat and sauce combination to the pot of noodles.
- Toss to mix well and let it cook for a few more minutes.
- Serve topped with green onions and toasted sesame seeds.
For more dinner recipes, check out these:
One-Pot Kielbasa Pasta, White Chicken Chili, and Sausage Alfredo Pasta Casserole.
