Cinnamon Free Ginger-Scallion Mongolian Beef
Bold, savory, and deeply satisfying, this Mongolian-style beef delivers everything you want from a takeout-inspired dinner — caramelized edges, glossy sauce, and that irresistible hit of ginger and garlic. The sauce leans on coconut aminos and pure maple syrup for its sweet-savory backbone, with fresh grated ginger and turmeric doing the heavy lifting on flavor without a trace of cinnamon anywhere in the mix. That matters more than you might think, since many bottled Asian-style sauces and spice blends sneak cinnamon in as a background note, making restaurant versions or store-bought shortcuts a real gamble. Here, every ingredient is straightforward and easy to verify, so you can cook with total confidence. Arrowroot starch is the quiet hero of this recipe — it coats the flank steak before searing and thickens the sauce at the end, giving you that glossy, restaurant-quality finish without any mystery additives. Searing the beef in batches over high heat is the move that takes this from good to genuinely great, building a deep brown crust that holds up beautifully once everything gets tossed in that sticky, fragrant sauce. Pile it over rice or noodles and finish with those bright green scallion tops — dinner is done and it tastes like you ordered it from somewhere fancy.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the beef
- 1 ½ lb flank steak, sliced against the grain into ¼-inch strips
- 2 tbsp arrowroot starch
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
For the sauce
- ½ cup coconut aminos
- 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely grated
- 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 tsp arrowroot starch
- ¼ tsp ground turmeric
For cooking
- 3 tbsp coconut oil, divided
- 6 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces (white and green parts separated)
Instructions
- 1
Place the sliced flank steak in a large bowl, sprinkle with the arrowroot starch and salt, and toss until every piece is evenly coated. Let the coated beef rest at room temperature for 30 minutes — this allows the starch to adhere and helps the beef sear rather than steam.
- 2
While the beef rests, whisk together the coconut aminos, maple syrup, grated ginger, minced garlic, 1 tsp arrowroot starch, and turmeric in a small bowl until smooth. Set aside.
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