Chinese take-out Beef in Crock-Pot

I’m always looking for new meals to try in my crockpot. I am often way to tired and stressed to cook in the afternoon anymore so just throwing stuff in a pot in the morning ia pretty irresistible. This was a huge success. Both kids and husband loves it. I thought it was a little boring to tell you the truth but I’ll add more spices next time. Maybe some chili flakes. I’ll also cut down the sugar, which is a little much.

I started out with a recipe for “Mongolian beef” whatever that is. However, the end result is very near to what I frequently ate as a kid, Chinese take-out food with beef and mushrooms. (Not that there are any mushrooms  in this dish - but feel free to add them. My kids wouldn’t eat that.)

Serve with whatever vegetables you like. I had some green beans slowly dying of freezer burn that I rescued along with some broccoli, the kids had baby corn. 

Chinese take-out Beef in Crock-Pot

Serves 6 

600 g flank steak, cut across the grain into thin strips 

Corn starch

1 tbsp olive oil

2 large carrots, julienned (or just grated)

1 red onion, thinly sliced 

3 garlic cloves, minced

100 g brown sugar 

100 ml soy sauce 

300 ml water (plus more) 

Vegeta or other all-purpose spice mix, stock powder would work too

Put some corn starch in a plastic bag. I didn’t measure, but about a good handful. The goal is to cover the meat so add your strips of beef and make sure that they are well coated.

My crockpot has a sauté setting so I began by frying the carrots, onions and garlic in the oil. Skip this if your pot can’t do it. Just add the ingredients instead. 

Add sugar, aoy and water and stir. Add the beef, but shake off any excess corn starch as you go. Stir to cover with the sauce. Add Vegeta or other spices. 

Cook on low for 6 hours or so. My meat was super tender by then and it might have been fine a lot earlier but longer wouldn’t hurt either. 

Check for texture. I added quite a bit of water, at several times. The corn starch really does make the sauce thick. 

Serve with rice and vegetables.