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Home » Dinner » Mongolian Seitan (Vegan Mongolian Beef)

Mongolian Seitan (Vegan Mongolian Beef)

July 19, 2017 By Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan 90 Comments

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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.

Crispy browned seitan pieces with glossy Mongolian-beef inspired sauce, in a bowl with white rice and broccoli, garnished with scallions, sesame seeds and red pepper flakes.

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.

Close-up of a pan-fried piece of vegan beef, with broccoli and onion in the background, a sweet P.F. Chang's inspired sauce, with sliced green onions and chili flakes.

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.

Mongolian Seitan (Vegan Mongolian Beef) | Pan-fried seitan coated in a sweet and spicy, garlic and ginger-infused sauce, served with vegetables and rice, seen here with chopsticks.

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!

Overhead view of a blue bowl filled with vegan Mongolian beef, steamed broccoli, white jasmine rice, on a black plate next to chopsticks.

Mongolian Seitan (Vegan Mongolian Beef) | Yup, it's Vegan
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4.99 from 57 votes

Mongolian Seitan (Vegan Mongolian Beef)

Pan-fried seitan pieces are tossed in a sweet garlic ginger soy sauce to make this meatless Mongolian beef.
Course Main Course
Cuisine nut-free, refined sugar-free, vegan, vegetarian
Keyword mongolian seitan, vegan mongolian beef
Prep Time 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes minutes
Total Time 30 minutes minutes
Servings 6 servings
Calories 324kcal
Author Yup, it's Vegan

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.

Video

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!

Nutrition

Serving: 1sixth recipe | Calories: 324kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 566mg | Potassium: 76mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 19g

Adapted from PF Chang’s Mongolian Beef.

Filed Under: Dinner Tagged With: Asian-inspired, meat analogues, nut-free, quick, refined sugar-free

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Comments

  1. Heather says

    September 7, 2021 at 22:02

    5 stars
    Wow this was amazing! I used my homemade seitan and used the suggestion of tossing with corn starch to get the crispy texture. I did cut the light soy to 1/4 cup (with 1/4 water) based on some of the feedback here and I really liked it like this. Thanks for this recipe, I will make it again for sure

    Reply
    • Gil says

      May 15, 2022 at 09:48

      5 stars
      Delicious recipe. I watered down the soy sauce and added more fresh ginger and chili flakes to my personal taste, plus toasted sesame and scallions as suggested.

      Recipe is well laid out and easy to follow. A big thank you. I will do it again.

      Reply
  2. Linda says

    August 17, 2021 at 13:40

    I liked the flavor however even with the low sodium soy, it was way too salty for my taste buds. If you are like me, then I suggest watering down the low sodium soy. I will try that next time.

    Reply
  3. Artur says

    July 15, 2021 at 18:48

    SO, can I just use Hoisin sauce instead of making the sauce?

    Reply
  4. commonunicorn.com says

    June 11, 2021 at 08:34

    Tried this recipe, and oh my! Crispy seitan and this sauce together are heavenlike. For veggies I used zuchinni and it goes so well together. Thanks for sharing xx

    Reply
  5. Liz says

    March 19, 2021 at 22:45

    5 stars
    Used this recipe with TVP instead of seitan for dinner this evening and it was absolutely amazing! My boyfriend wouldn’t shut up about how tasty it was.
    Thank you 🙂

    Reply
  6. April Connolly says

    March 16, 2021 at 19:53

    It was good, but Too Sweet! I will make again and reduce coconut sugar by at least half. Felt like eating syrup topped stir-fry lol BUT my seitan Turned out great and was very delicious. I’ll use your seitan recipe again for sure. This sauce was just too much.

    Reply
    • Rei says

      September 5, 2021 at 15:03

      5 stars
      Agree, I also added way less sugar and more spices, also made more sauce for the rice.
      I’d absolutely recommend it actually with Liang Pi Noodles (liked it more than with rice) which you can make from the Seitan leftover water (google it, you can also make vegan crepes from that water). Deliciousssss.

      Reply
  7. Miguel says

    February 24, 2021 at 14:39

    Thanks Shannon. I’ll be cooking this tonight with store-bought seitan and I hope to try the homemade soon. It looks perfect and I bet it will taste awesome.

    Reply
  8. Bozena says

    February 17, 2021 at 11:02

    5 stars
    LOVE IT!!!!!

    Reply
  9. Claire says

    February 1, 2021 at 17:19

    5 stars
    So yum! Tastes 100x times better than a takeout – and the seitan is perfect too. Thank you 🙂

    Reply
  10. Rachel says

    December 2, 2020 at 17:18

    5 stars
    First time ever cooking with seitan…and loved it. I used a small amount of brown sugar and extra chili. Just needed to add more water to the sauce. Delicious!

    Reply
  11. Nigel says

    November 8, 2020 at 14:02

    Great Recipe but don’t use grapeseed oil ! Its way too strong a taste .

    Reply
    • Hannah y says

      December 7, 2020 at 23:05

      5 stars
      Have been dating my boyfriend for nearly two years and haven’t cooked once I am so spoiled. Decided to surprise him by making him a dinner that’s comparable to his and used this recipe to make my seitan exciting since seitan is the one thing I can comfortably make. Used a little less brown sugar instead of coconut sugar and a bit of bourbon maple syrup instead, he was so impressed. Will definitely be adding this into our dinner rotation. Also I used a generous Korean gochugaru instead of the 5 spice and pepper flakes.

      Reply
  12. Nick says

    October 18, 2020 at 12:15

    5 stars
    My wife and I thought this was fantastic. We cut the amount of seitan in half and replaced it with broccoli that we roasted for 20 minutes with olive oil and a pinch of salt. We added the broccoli in when we combined the seitan and the sauce.

    Reply
  13. Nat says

    October 8, 2020 at 19:18

    5 stars
    This was outstanding! I used an air fryer for the Seitan and I cut the sugar down to 1/3 cup.. Next time, I will cut the soy sauce a bit. I will make it again.

    Reply
  14. cynthia says

    October 7, 2020 at 13:19

    Question..could you make ahead and store for later? freeze?

    Reply
  15. in2insight says

    October 4, 2020 at 12:38

    5 stars
    We loved this dish!
    Awesome flavors and just delish.

    We made two changes. First, used half as much sugar and subbed Maple Syrup for it at that.
    Also ended up Air frying the setien first which gave it a nice texture and bite. (Was super lazy and used pre made…)

    Next time will double for sure.
    Thank you for this great dish.

    Reply
    • Marie says

      October 6, 2020 at 12:06

      5 stars
      I used dates simmered in water until soft and blitzed in blender water and all until it made a thick sweet paste. Didn’t need the cornflour to thicken the sauce. Absolutely delicious!

      Reply
  16. Kasey Tormanen says

    August 12, 2020 at 16:24

    Hi, I just was wondering how long I could keep the sauce mixture in the fridge. I want to make a bunch of it at once in bulk to simplify the process for the next 5 or 6 times I do this. Thanks!

    Reply
  17. Carol Vargas says

    July 20, 2020 at 21:00

    5 stars
    Amazing!! Is there a way we can cut the sugar?

    Reply
    • Fer says

      August 2, 2020 at 15:50

      I used about 2 tbsp of sugar instead and it turned out great! Kept everything else the same 🙂

      Reply
  18. David K says

    June 24, 2020 at 11:06

    5 stars
    WOW! An awesome recipe all around. I made a double, but my family of four still finished it almost instantly! I’ve been experimenting with vital wheat gluten and most of the recipes I’ve tried have been disappointing, but this recipe was perfect in every way. My family even awarded me an honorary Michelin star for making this dinner!

    Reply
  19. Rachel Benson says

    April 26, 2020 at 21:14

    5 stars
    Omg-this was so delicious!! It was the first time I made homemade seitan (used your recipe) and and made this. I used braggs amino instead of the soy sauce. I put it over quinoa and broccoli with scallions and a little bit of juice from an orange. So yummy one of the best dishes I have made,

    Reply
  20. Molly Ahern says

    April 12, 2020 at 09:37

    5 stars
    Omfg. Nuff said. My husband ate 3 giant portions of this. And when I first saw this recipe I went looking for a seitan recipe only to find one that looked perfect, I was the one provided here apparently lol. I didnt have tomato paste but it came out perfect anyway. So now I have 2 new amazing recipes. Thank you!!!

    Reply
  21. Tori T says

    March 29, 2020 at 16:11

    5 stars
    First time on the website and I tried this amazing dish! Was craving beef with broccoli and this seitan substitute hit the spot. I used store-bought seitan (Sweet Earth classic) and steamed some broccoli on the side. The sauce came out awesome – really thick and tasty. I poured it over both the seitan and broccoli for an easy, go-to meal!
    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Molly Ahern says

      April 12, 2020 at 09:38

      Omg that’s so funny, I found this site by craving beef and broccoli too 🤣🤣

      Reply
      • Daryl says

        June 8, 2021 at 00:30

        Same for me. This was super delicious.

  22. Cris Cayton says

    March 4, 2020 at 18:26

    5 stars
    I love ❤️ this recipe! I added raw cashews for sweetness and celery seeds for an immune boost. I will make this again. Yum!

    Reply
  23. Maree says

    February 2, 2020 at 01:05

    5 stars
    Made seitan from scratch for the first time ever today, then used your Mongolian sauce recipe. Thank you, soooooo good! My grandson loved it! #betterthantakeaway

    Cheers Maree

    Reply
  24. Arturo says

    January 19, 2020 at 15:23

    Is there a substitute for soy sauce? Recipe looks delicious!

    Reply
    • Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says

      January 20, 2020 at 11:13

      Not that I know of, recipe would taste pretty different without soy sauce.

      Reply
      • Greg says

        March 5, 2020 at 19:50

        Try Bragg’s Liquid Aminos. A fraction of the sodium

    • Diana says

      February 18, 2020 at 23:58

      Tamari

      Reply
      • Bean says

        February 22, 2020 at 18:12

        Liquid aminos too!!! I never use soy sauce and just use this and it’s basically the same (better imo)

  25. Sal says

    December 31, 2019 at 00:04

    5 stars
    Delicious! Used a different seitan recipe but the sauce was great! Next I’ll use just a tad bit soy sauce. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  26. Leslie says

    December 5, 2019 at 14:01

    5 stars
    OMG!!!! Delicious!!!! Sooooo delicious! I had never eaten Mongolian beef as I was raised a vegetarian, but my omnivore hubby said it tasted just like it! Needless to say this will become a family favorite! Thanks for such a great recipe!

    Reply
  27. Bronwen says

    November 5, 2019 at 20:28

    5 stars
    Ummm, this is amazing! Protein intake is really important to me for my workouts and I came across this recipe looking for a high protein plant-based option to work into my meal plans. Your Mongolian (not)Beef did not disappoint! I made the seitan following your other recipe and it cooked up deliciously in this sauce. Thank you for sharing, I’ll definitely be trying more seitan recipes now!

    Reply
  28. Connie Moultroup says

    October 2, 2019 at 18:29

    Gonna make this….tomorrow!!! Sounds absolutely wonderful!!!

    Reply
  29. shubhro says

    August 19, 2019 at 16:22

    wonderful. here came to find out whether any recipe which is similar to bengali hotchpotch exists in central asia as i am a food critic. helped me a lot. thank u.

    Reply
  30. Renae says

    August 10, 2019 at 19:40

    5 stars
    Absolutely delicious! I added some kale & onions to mine for an additional nutritional boost. I did think the sauce was too sweet on its own. But after tossing the seasoned seitan in the sauce, it balanced out.

    This is being added to my arsenal. Once you get past making the seitan it’s too simple to pass up.

    Reply
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I'm Shannon, founder of Yup, it's Vegan! I'm a morning person based in Baltimore, USA. I create healthy plant-based recipes that everyone will love, using seasonal produce and global inspiration.
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