Crockpot Mongolian Beef
This crockpot Mongolian beef is the slow cooker dinner that delivers a deeply savory, slightly sweet, ginger-forward sauce clinging to tender cubed chuck roast with almost no active effort.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Crockpot Mongolian Beef
- Main Ingredients: chuck roast, sesame oil, The Sauce, soy sauce, water, brown sugar, ground ginger, minced fresh ginger
- Why You'll Love It: This crockpot Mongolian beef browns cubed chuck roast and slow cooks it in a soy sauce, ginger, and brown sugar sauce on high for 4 to 6 hours until tender. Served over rice with green onions.
The chuck roast is the cut that makes this crockpot Mongolian beef exceptional. Chuck is a well-marbled, well-exercised cut with significant connective tissue that breaks down slowly during the long slow cook into gelatin, which makes the sauce thick, glossy, and slightly sticky in a way that leaner beef cuts cannot produce. By the 4-hour mark the cubes are completely tender, the sauce has absorbed all the beef’s rendered flavor, and the whole pot smells like the best version of Mongolian beef you have ever made.
Ingredients Needed to Make Crockpot Mongolian Beef
One skillet, one slow cooker, simple ingredients. Here is what you need.
The Beef
Chuck roast cut into small, uniform cubes is the cut specifically recommended for this recipe. Its marbling and connective tissue break down during the long slow cook into a tender, deeply flavored result that leaner beef cuts cannot replicate. Cut the cubes small enough that they become completely tender throughout during the 4 to 6 hour cook.
The Sauce
Soy sauce is the savory, salty, umami-rich base. Water thins the sauce to the right consistency for the slow cooker. Brown sugar adds a slightly caramelized sweetness that balances the soy and ginger. Ground ginger adds a warm, slightly spicy depth throughout the sauce. Fresh minced ginger adds a bright, aromatic, more pronounced ginger note on top of the ground ginger base.
The Sesame Oil
Sesame oil is the searing fat that adds a nutty, distinctly Asian aromatic quality to the browned beef crust that neutral oil cannot produce.
How to Make Crockpot Mongolian Beef
1
Cut the chuck roast into small, uniform cubes. Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Working in batches so the pan is not overcrowded, add the beef cubes in a single layer and sear without moving for 2 to 3 minutes until deeply browned on the first side. Turn and sear the remaining sides. The beef does not need to be cooked through at this stage. The sear is entirely about developing the caramelized crust and fond that flavors the entire finished dish. Transfer each browned batch to the slow cooker insert.
2
In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, water, brown sugar, ground ginger, and fresh minced ginger until the brown sugar is fully dissolved and everything is evenly combined.
3
Pour the sauce over the seared beef in the slow cooker. Stir gently to coat every piece. Cover and cook on high for 4 to 6 hours until the beef is completely tender and yields with no resistance when pressed with a spoon. The sauce will have thickened slightly from the gelatin released by the chuck roast during cooking.
4
Spoon the Mongolian beef generously over steamed white rice. Top with sliced green onions and serve immediately while hot.
Crockpot Mongolian Beef
Ingredients
- 1 chuck roast cut into small cubes
- 1 tbsp sesame oil for browning
- The Sauce
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp minced fresh ginger
For Serving
- Cooked white rice
- Sliced green onions
Instructions
- Cut the chuck roast into small, uniform cubes.
- Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, sear the beef cubes on all sides until deeply browned. Do not overcrowd the pan. Transfer the browned beef to the slow cooker.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, water, brown sugar, ground ginger, and minced ginger until the sugar is dissolved.
- Pour the sauce over the browned beef in the slow cooker. Stir to coat.
- Cover and cook on high for 4 to 6 hours until the beef is completely tender and the sauce has thickened slightly.
- Serve over steamed white rice and top generously with sliced green onions.
Notes
Cut the beef into small, uniform pieces so every cube becomes completely tender in the same amount of time.
The combination of ground ginger and fresh minced ginger produces a more layered, complex ginger flavor than either one alone. Ground ginger adds warmth throughout the sauce and fresh ginger adds a bright, aromatic punch.
The sauce will thicken as it cooks. If you want it even thicker, stir a tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with a tablespoon of cold water into the slow cooker in the last 30 minutes.
