Now that you’ve made homemade seitan, it’s time to do something fancy with it! This Mongolian Seitan is my version of vegan Mongolian beef, made by tossing crispy pan-fried seitan in a sweet and slightly spicy Asian-inspired sauce.
Just like with my General Tso’s chickpeas, kung pao chickpeas, and vegan drunken noodles, the origin for Mongolian seitan is not authentic Asian cuisine, but the Americanized version of it. Us Americans tend to make recipes sweeter, less spicy, and a little more bland when they arrive over here. Usually when adapting those adaptations to be vegan I also reduce the sugar, switch to less refined coconut sugar, add more aromatics to the sauce, and reduce the cornstarch and oil. This time is no exception.
Vegan Mongolian beef is made by pan-frying pieces of seitan until they’re lightly crisped, and then simmering them in a sticky, sweet and spicy sauce. I add a pinch of Chinese five spice to mine – I noticed that Gardein was using it in their meatless szechuan beef, which is a guilty pleasure of mine.
Some recipes for Mongolian seitan/etc. use hoisin sauce, but I didn’t have that on hand so I built up the flavors from scratch. Even despite this, the recipe comes together very quickly. I made it on the saucy side so that I could steam some extra veggies to toss together with the mock beef.
If Asian-inspired recipes aren’t your cup of tea, don’t worry – I have more seitan recipes coming soon too! Hope you enjoy!
Mongolian Seitan (Vegan Mongolian Beef)
Pan-fried seitan pieces are tossed in a sweet garlic ginger soy sauce to make this meatless Mongolian beef.
Ingredients
For the Mongolian beef-less sauce:
- 2 tsp vegetable oil (I used grapeseed oil)
- 1/2 tsp minced or grated ginger
- 3 cloves minced or grated garlic
- 1/3 tsp Chinese five spice (optional)
- 1/3 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce (see note)
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp coconut sugar (or use a scant 1/2 cup brown sugar)
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp cold water
For the crisped seitan:
- 1 and 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil (I used grapeseed oil)
- 1 lb homemade seitan (16 oz.) (or use store-bought seitan), cut into 1-inch pieces
For serving:
- toasted sesame seeds (optional)
- sliced scallions (optional)
Instructions
To make the sauce:
Heat the vegetable oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the ginger and garlic; stir constantly. After 30 seconds, add the five spice (if using) and red pepper flakes, and cook for 30-60 seconds more, until fragrant.
Add the soy sauce and coconut sugar and stir well. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and let simmer until the coconut sugar is dissolved and slightly reduced, about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Whisk together the cornstarch and cold water, then add it to the pan and stir. Cook for 2-3 more minutes, until the sauce becomes glossy and thickened slightly. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and keep simmering gently until ready to add to the seitan.
To make the seitan and finish the vegan Mongolian beef:
In a skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the seitan and cook, stirring frequently, for about 4-5 minutes or until slightly browned and crisped around the edges.
Reduce the heat to low and add the sauce to the pan. Stir to coat all of the seitan pieces, and continue cooking until the sauce has adhered to the seitan. Remove from the heat and serve hot, with rice and/or vegetables of choice, and garnished with sesame seeds and scallions if desired.
Recipe Notes
LOW-SODIUM SOY SAUCE: I strongly recommend against using full-sodium soy sauce. The sauce will be too salty. If you can't get low-sodium soy sauce then dilute 1/4 of the soy sauce with water.
CRISPY-NESS: With this method of browning the seitan, the end result after adding the sauce isn't super crispy. I also tested this recipe with tossing the seitan in about 1/4 cup cornstarch before frying it, and the result got and stayed more crispy but also required more oil and worked best in a non-stick pan. Give it a try if you'd like!
Adapted from PF Chang’s Mongolian Beef.
I'm Shannon, the writer and photographer of Yup, it's Vegan! I'm a morning person based in Baltimore, USA. My mission is to create healthy plant-based recipes that anyone would enjoy, using seasonal produce with inspiration from global flavors.
LJ says
This was wonderfully delicious! I made it with store-bought seitan because I’m lazy, and I bet it would be good with marinated tofu too.
Muzhik says
Greetings! I’m trying to learn to cook with seitan , partly to reduce the amount of meat I eat, but mostly because I’m trying to find something other than fish to eat on Fridays during Lent. I made my own seitan from the recipe on the back of some Bob’s Red Mill Vital Wheat Gluten that I had around to use with my bread baking and using some of your spicing in it. After boiling it in vegetable broth, it came out just fine and I’m enjoying learning to cook with it. One problem is that even when cooking with a non-stick pan, it still sticks to the pan no matter how much oil I add. Do I need to pat the seitan dry with a paper towel first before frying it, or should I take your tip and coat it with corn starch or potato starch before frying?
BTW, I first tried making your recipe in a pressure cooker, using cheesecloth to wrap and hold the log. The results were so-so. I think I didn’t put enough liquid in the bottom of the cooker, and I think I had the heat turned up too high. What liquid at the bottom of the cooker was VERY cooked and very thick, and the seitan was very dry and didn’t cook in recipes well at all. Next time I’ll reduce the steaming heat and use 3 cups liquid — vegetarian soup stock –instead of the 2 cups I use with my meats.
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
I can’t vouch for wrapping the seitan in cheesecloth. I’m not sure if that would trap steam in the seitan the same way that foil would. I know some people have tried it but I haven’t myself. As for the seitan sticking, drying it helps, as does making sure to stir very frequently, even constantly if you need to. But yes, it is a little bit prone to sticking, especially depending on which seitan you use 🙂 hope this helps!
Laura says
Hi, just for clarification, should we dilute 1/4 of the soy sauce called for (so 2 tbsp) with water, or 1/4 cup of soy sauce?
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
1/4 of the quantity, so 2 tbsp.
Kumari says
Just made this for my family… SOOOOOO DELISH!!!!!!!!
Kumari says
Just made this again for a dinner party. Quadrupled the recipe. A hit!! This is my fave recipe ever.
Kimmy says
Followed the advice of a comment above and added some sichuan pepper, because why not, it sounded great and I had it in the pantry! This dish is so yummy through and through!
Vera says
Absolutely loved it and so did my hubby and kids.
NB says
Six thumbs up from two vegetarians (not vegan) and an omnivore.
Even in nyc we had no luck finding the 5 spice blend but we were able to get the ingredients to make it at kalustyan’s, which does does have a web based business and they do ship. Apparently most pre-made 5 spice blends don’t have Sichuan peppercorns (apparently not truly a peppercorn) in them, but we found it at kalustyans and made our own blend, and I think it really made this dish sing.
We will definitely try more of your recipes. Thank you for sharing!
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Sichuan peppercorn sounds like it would be great in this! I’m sorry you had trouble with the 5 spice. I’m a bit surprised hear it wasn’t available in NYC since it’s available in the podunk Baltimore outskirts but sometimes you never know with these things. Appreciate your comment – thank you.
Cheryl says
This was so good! Thank you!
Ryan Hughes says
Hey guys. I’m new to the vegetarian/vegan life and want to try seitan. I went to my local Walmart but they didn’t have it. Where do you buy it from?
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Hi Ryan! A couple of places to look:
Other grocery stores except Walmart, it would usually be in a refrigerated section along with tofu, but in some areas, stores might not have either, so maybe call.
Asian markets in your area. Even small ones would probably carry seitan.
Any natural food store if there is one near you at all.
Or order Vital Wheat Gluten on Amazon or get it at a natural food store, and make your own (I have a recipe for homemade seitan here: https://yupitsvegan.com/basic-homemade-seitan/)
Hope this helps!
Erin says
I made this tonight with homemade seitan and it was delicious! I added broccoli, Swiss chard and peppers. Used the half water half soy sauce and made a good level of saltiness. Highly recommend this recipe.
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Thanks for sharing your adjustments!
Kristen says
Delicious! New favorite recipe. Tastes like something you would order at a restaurant
Ashleigh Rea says
This was delicious! Thank you for sharing. I’d cut the sugar in half next time and I used half soy sauce and half mirin. I doubled the recipe to make it extra saucy for our noodles. I also added shiitake mushrooms in with the broccoli and seitan.
This is definitely on the weekly menu. Thanks again!
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Thanks for your comment, glad you liked it! I definitely do recommend adjusting the sugar to taste. Having a ton of sugar in it is more “restaurant style”, haha, but people who cook at home a lot may find it sweet. I appreciate you sharing your mods.
Gabriella says
Just made this, and this was literally THE most delicious thing, and for the effort involved, i.n.s.a.n.e. Definitely going to serve this to my carnivore friends who need to be shown the light, this was crazy good. I also made the seitan from scratch, i never could have imagined how easy it is – definitely a new staple in my kitchen. Thank you. Btw, I never usually comment anything, especially not recipes (even if they’re good — THAT’S how amazing this was. Thank you thank you thank you.
Chris says
Just made this and it was like eating at a restaurant. Easy to make and delicious. Will be trying more recipes for sure.
Miranda Jones says
Cooked this last night for dinner and it was amazing! My partner says I can serve it up 7 days a week as it was so delicious! I used home made seitan from your recipe and was really surprised at how easy it was to make. Thanks you…your recipes are now bookmarked forever
sara says
I have been vegan for 3+ months and this meal was wonderful! I loved the meaty texture of the seitan (store bought)! I will totally make again but cut back on the salt (soy) – I really had to mix in a lot of rice to break up the saltiness. So yummy though!
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Hey Sara, glad you enjoyed it! Next time please follow my note about diluting full-sodium soy sauce with water. It’s really crucial for this recipe. I definitely agree it is too salty if regular soy sauce is used.
jenna says
this was the best thing I’ve ever eaten!! thanks for the recipe!
Lisa says
This was great. I used just 1/4 cup of brown sugar and that was plenty for us. Also tossed the broccoli in at the end to stir-fry it all together and served over a rice. Definitely worth repeating. Quick and tasty.
Clare says
So good! Carnivore father said his mouth was watering. I used store bought seitan this time around to cut down on time (and dishes to wash) but I’m definitely trying it again fully home made! I tossed some green beans in the sauce as well. SO GOOD.
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Glad to hear it! The addition of green beans sounds delicious!
j lee says
U convinced me to saute my homemade seitan longer & harder than I had been. The results were much more “meat-like” — I’m gonna fry it even harder next time. And the recipe is fantastic. Really delicious, and perfect with brown rice. Thanks.
Catie Kniess says
Tried it today with a batch of ‘turkey’ seitan that was not impressive alone. Yummers! I wish I’d had the low-sodium soy sauce; it was a bit salty but not terribly so. Next time I think I’ll add broccoli at the end and get that all gooey with sauce as well. Thank you!
Cathy says
Very easy and tasteful recipe! On my favorite repie-list from now on!
Judee@gluten free A-Z Blog says
This looks delicious. I used to order this dish in a Chinese Vegetarian restaurant in Chinatown in Philadelphia. Now, I am gluten free so I can’t eat it.. I do miss it and yours looks fabulous.
Shuntricia Addison-Chery says
Have you thought about using king oyster mushroom or jackfruit? They both shred like beef would, especially when roasted.
Isadora Guidoni says
Wow, this looks so good! I’ve never tried vegan beef before, but your recipe made me crave it. Thank you for sharing!
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Thanks Isadora! Let me know if you give it a try!
Sharon says
Looks amazing!
Aaliyah \ Sipping on Soy says
Oh my gosh, this looks absolutely delicious! I used to love P.F. Chang’s Mongolian beef before going vegan, so I’m definitely excited that I found this recipe!