Mongolian Sous Vide Flank Steak
Published 5/5/2019 • Updated 7/10/2020
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Learn how to make the most tender Mongolian Sous Vide Flank Steak using one of our favorite kitchen gadgets, the Sous Vide!
Linley and I have been brainstorming what to make this week for a fun dinner for guests and this we decided a Mongolian-inspired Sous Vide Flank steak recipe was a no-brainer.
Before I talk about this tasty dish, let’s chat about the sous vide.
What is Sous Vide Cooking?
Mark and I discovered the sous vide last year from Linley’s boyfriend Cole. Two years ago for Linley’s birthday Cole made 16 pounds of shredded pork made in the sous vide (read about that HERE). It was seriously amazing. From there Linley and Cole would always chat with us about all of the delicious food they were trying in their sous vide. Everything from egg bites to salmon!
Sous vide cooking is a technique where you use precise water temperature to cook food in a vacuum sealed bag (we like to call it a french crock pot). It has been around for years and we are just jumping on the bandwagon. Basically, your meat or whatever you are cooking in the sous vie has no possible way of overcooking because you set the temperature. That means, the longer you let it sit, the more tender and perfect it is WITHOUT overcooking.
Best Sous Vide Machine
Mark and I finally jumped on the sous vide train and bought the ANOVA Sous Vide. We LOVE the Anova Sous Vide because it is easy to use and has a very helpful app that allows you to control the temperature of your sous vide from your phone and has helpful tips and tricks. It makes using the sous vide so easy. We have loved testing out salmon, chicken, and (especially) STEAK. Sous vide flank steak is the best steak in the whole world because it is SO tender.
Best Sous Vide Flank Steak – Mongolian
Say hello to the most tender and delicious Mongolian Beef of all time. We knew our first sous vide recipe on Fit Foodie Finds had to be some kind of beef. Do not be scared of your sous vide. It is SO simple. All you have to do for this Mongolian flank steak is…
- Place flank steak in a vacuum seal bag
- Add ingredients for the sauce
- Seal bag
- Place bag in a large pot of water
- Hook sous vide onto pot and set to 132ºF.
- Let cook for 5-24 hours
We say 5-24 hours because technically you can cook your meat for as long as you want without overcooking it. That’s the beauty of sous vide cooking. However, 5 hours will suffice for this recipe if you want to eat it the same day! We highly recommend the full 24 hours if possible.
Most Sous Vide Recipes
Check it out!
Guide to Sous Vide Cooking
Want to learn more about sous vide cooking? Check out our Guide to Sous Vide where we’re sharing everything we know about precision cooking!
Mongolian Sous Vide Flank Steak
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs. flank steak
- 1/2 cup tamari, or soy sauce
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- salt, to taste
- pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
- First, prepare your Sous Vide by filing a 6-8 quart pot with water. Connect your sous vide to the pot and set the temperature to 132ºF.
- Next, place tamari, maple syrup, ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Mix well.
- Place flank steak and tamari mixture in a BPA-free vacuum seal bag. Seal the bag and gently massage the meat until it is evenly coated with tamari mixture. Alternatively, you can use a Stasher bag or plastic bag. Just make sure to remove as much air as possible.
- Next, vacuum seal your flank steak and place into the pot.
- Let Mongolian Sous Vide Flank Steak cook for 5-24 hours. We highly recommend letting it sit for the full 24 hours as it will come out extremely tender.
- Once the flank steak is fully cooked, remove from pot.
- Heat a castiron skillet over medium/high heat. Add olive oil to the cast iron skillet. When olive oil is fragrant, place the flank steak in the cast iron. Sear for one minute on each side.
- Remove from pan and set aside.
- Prepare the Mongolian beef sauce by pouring the juices from your sous vide bag into a medium saucepan and add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and let simmer for 5 minutes or until thickened.
- Slice flank steak and serve over rice and veggies. Pour sauce over the top of the meat and enjoy!
Tips & Notes
- We cooked our sous vide flank steak for 24 hours, however, you can cook it for as short as 5 hours. The longer it cooks, the more tender it will be.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This was amazing! I cooked mine for the full 24 hours. I used a 1 1b. top sirloin because I couldn’t get a smaller flank steak. I followed the recipe in every other way.
Seriously one of the top 5 recipes I’ve ever had. It is perfect! We cooked for 23 hours and it was tender and then crisped the outside/edges in pan and it is beyond perfect!
Great recipe BUT DO NOT let it’s cool for 24 hrs. Texture is terrible just like paté…
5/8 hrs max
I have not tried the recipe yet (hence no recipe rating yet) … but looking at the ingredients of the marinade/sauce it looks like it should be very tasty. I have been doing sous vide for coming up on 3 years and it has been a mind blowing experience (so many great options and recipes for a wide variety of meats and other foods) … I find it to be an indispensable part of my cooking arsenal.
A couple of observations about some of the mechanics you have noted here:
1) With such a lean cut of meat like flank steak, it does not need an extended amount of sous vide time (I would say no longer than 6 hours) … as the texture of the meat can begin to degrade (heading toward mush) with too much time in the water bath. Conversely, tougher, fattier meats with more connective tissue (e.g. chuck roast, pork shoulder, short ribs, etc.) really benefit like nothing you have every had with extended sous vide times (24-72 hours).
2) Your photo of the partially sliced flank steak looks like you sliced it with the grain … if so, I highly encourage you to start slicing across the grain with flank steak and other long-grained muscle meats (e.g. brisket, skirt steak, etc.). Slicing across the grain will yield a considerably more tender chew vs. slicing with the grain.
Thanks for your site. Cheers.
I noticed you only put down weight for the flank steak. Does it have to be one whole flank steak or could it be multiple, thinner flank steaks?
Also, could you add something like onion to the Tamari mixture?
Hi there! Yes, you can definitely use smaller flank steaks! An yes, feel free to add onions! If you made it already, I hope it turned out!
I was hoping to log your recipes like this directly into my food diary. On the road be that led me to your site, I found calorie info. The 3 I have found viewing your website on my phone are not showing portion and calorie info. My goal was to grab 6 quickly and make 2 weeks of 3 weeknight master grocery lists and know my calorie counts. Please tell me Howe to see portion and calories on my phone. I grab recipes into my memos and list them as recipe worthy. I am doing my ingredient and menu planning for 3 nights per week months in advance. I hope your site will be part of my process. I also use MyFitnessPal to keep them labeled and easy to add to my tracking and my husbands. I can repeat the recipe once per month after I add it to my paper calendar menu planning and then log it. I always keep the source in my lists (online and off)
On a different note, I like my sous vide but do not know many recipes yet. I pair this device with a food saver that seals plastic roles on both sides. I got the machine to freeze meals in smaller portions. One can seal a cute container inside the plastic with the food. I would love you to add to your recipes a way to search for freezer worthy recipes and to do the portioning in cute little ramekins. I think cooking as families shrink from kids leaving the nest is more productive if one can make more at once and use the recipe 3 times. It saves trips to the supermarket, cleaning time and generally cuts down on eating out. The latter is true because when cooking for 1 or 2, it is hard to use recipes that are most productive to make for 4-6.
Thanks again for having an attractive and meaningful recipe collection.
Approximately how many servings does this recipe make??
I would say 6-8 depending on how much beef you eat. It’s 1.5 lb.s beef, so 6 servings would get you at a 1/4 pound each!
I’ve been learning a lot about the sous vide approach over the last year or so and I’m fascinated by it. The style seems like it takes considerable time/energy to setup and learn but is pretty easy once you get used to it.
Is that about right?
Honestly, it’s super simple! You literally just throw the sous vide in the pot with water, set it and you’re good! I think what takes the longest is vacuum sealing the meat. You gotta get one!