Nadiya Hussain’s Mongolian Beef with Sticky Rice

by Nadiya Hussain from Cook Once, Eat Twice

Easy

Serves 4

Total 35min

Prep 5min

Cook 30min

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In this speedy weeknight dinner thinly sliced beef, stir-fried quickly in a sweet, spicy sauce is served simply with sticky rice. As seen on Nadiya Hussain's BBC2 series Cook Once Eat Twice.

From the book

Cook Once, Eat Twice

Nadiya Hussain

Cook Once, Eat Twice

Creative, efficient, and cost-effective recipes that hero simple fresh ingredients.

Clever ideas for meal planning and transforming leftovers into delicious meals.

Stretch the weekly shop further with batch-cooked dinners and freezer-friendly bakes.

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Introduction

I love dishes like this, that have maximum flavour and minimum work, using ingredients that we all most likely have at home. The beef is tender, sticky and sweet – you will love it.

Ingredients

	For the beef:
500g	beef steak, thinly sliced
1 tsp	oil
2 tsp	dark soy sauce
4 tbsp	cornflour
	For the sauce:
	oil, for frying
7 cloves	of garlic, minced
8	large dried red chillies
100ml	water, plus 1 tablespoon for the slurry
2 tbsp	brown sugar
50ml	dark soy sauce
1 tsp	cornflour
	To finish:
3	spring onions, cut into 5cm pieces
	white sesame seeds
	To serve:
2 x 250g	sticky rice packets

Method

Start by taking the beef and putting it in a large bowl. Pour in the oil and soy, then add the cornflour and mix through till the beef is nicely coated.

To make the sauce, drizzle a dash of oil into a frying pan and get the oil hot. Add the garlic and chillies and cook until the garlic is a deep golden brown and the chillies almost blackened in places. Put the garlic and chillies aside in a bowl for later.

Then in the same pan over a high heat, cook the beef in batches till the beef is seared and dark brown. Remove the beef and set aside on a plate.

Mix the water, brown sugar and soy sauce together in a jug. Still using the same pan and adding a little oil if you need to (if there is some already in there, that is fine to use), pour the mixture into the pan and cook through for a few minutes over a medium heat.

Mix the cornflour with 1 tablespoon of water to make a slurry and add that to the pan. This should thicken the sauce instantly. Add the beef straight back in and stir through so the beef is glistening and covered in that shiny sauce. Throw the spring onions in and toss through.

Serve in a dish with the sesame seeds sprinkled over. I love to eat this with sticky rice straight out of a microwaved packet.

Tip: To cut any type of meat very thinly, I have a great trick: freeze for 4 hours in manageable chunks for cutting. Then take a sharp knife and cut as thin as you can. Freezing it for a few hours helps to stabilize the shape, making it easier to cut and hold the meat in place.

Also makes: Mongolian Beef Seaweed Rice Wraps.