Don’t be fooled by this dish’s lettuce clothes; it is not low carb, paleo, or anything else that means “healthy.”
This. This dish. You know how you can try to make Chinese food at home but it never turns out the same? Usually it’s because at home we’re just never gonna use as much oil as they do in a Chinese restaurant. We prefer to “not know” and instead convince ourselves that there is some secret lost on us.
Well, I have discovered that secret. Or the secrets, rather. First, use all the oil. Second, tossing the meat in corn starch? That’s a sneaky little trick! It makes the meat nice and crispy, especially when you fry it in all the oil.
You could probably get away with frying the meat with copious amounts of pan spray instead of doing a shallow fry, however, as mentioned above, it probably won’t taste quite as good. You are, however, drenching it in sugar sauce so that could make up for it.
I added some thinly sliced red bell pepper to this dish to throw some veg in, and because I knew it would make for a great pop of color in the photos. There is no need to sauté them… sliced thinly, both the green onions and the bell pepper will cook slightly when you toss it in the warm sauce without getting to soggy. If you really don’t feel like doing the lettuce wraps or if you can’t find butter lettuce, this would also go really well on top of steamed rice, which will soak up all that sweet garlicky sauce quite nicely.
Also, this recipe can definitely be halved if you’re only cooking for 2-4 normal appetites. I doubled it because my man-child can eat a whole elk rump roast (minus the 3 slices I managed to squirrel away) in one sitting. But more on that later.
Mongolian Elk
Print recipeIngredients
- 2lb Elk Round Steak (Tenderized and sliced)
- 1/4 cup + 1 T Vegetable Oil
- 4 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1 " Fresh ginger (microplaned or minced)
- 1 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup corn starch (or an extra sprinkle if necessary)
- 2 bunches scallions (quartered, + 1 or 2 set aside for garnish)
- 1 large red bell pepper (sliced into 1 1/2 inch pieces)
Optional
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
Directions
| Step 1 | |
| In a saucepan over medium heat, heat 1 T of oil. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until the garlic just starts to soften and become fragrant. Add the soy sauce, water, sugar, and red pepper flakes if using, and stir to dissolve. Let simmer until the sauce has reduced by half and has become nice and syrupy, about 20-25 minutes. Meanwhile, prep and fry your meat and veg. | |
| Step 2 | |
| Heat the remaining oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once your meat is sliced, in a large bowl toss the meat with corn starch until it is all coated. Fry the meat until cooked through and crispy, removing to a paper towel to drain. You may need to do this in 2 or 3 batches. When finished, wipe the remaining oil and any burned bits out of the bottom of the skillet and add the meat, green onions and bell pepper into the pan. Cover with the sauce and toss to coat. Serve with Butter lettuce to make lettuce wraps or serve over steamed rice. | |
Non-game substitution: Flank steak is the easy go-to for this, but it would also work with pork or chicken.
Vegetarian substitution: You could totally fry up some extra firm tofu and toss it with this yummy sauce!
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