Transform your kitchen into a gourmet haven by mastering the art of Sous Vide cooking. Discover the secret to crafting the most unbelievably tender and flavorful **Mongolian Sous Vide Flank Steak**, a dish that promises to impress with its rich taste and melt-in-your-mouth texture. This recipe leverages the precision of the Sous Vide method, turning a traditionally tougher cut of beef into an exquisite culinary experience.
When planning a memorable dinner for guests or simply elevating a weeknight meal, a Mongolian-inspired Sous Vide Flank Steak is an exceptional choice. This recipe combines the vibrant, savory-sweet flavors of classic Mongolian beef with the revolutionary cooking technique of sous vide, resulting in a dish that’s both deeply satisfying and surprisingly straightforward to prepare.
Before we dive into the delicious details of this specific recipe, let’s explore the magic behind the sous vide method and why it’s quickly becoming a favorite in home kitchens.
What is Sous Vide Cooking?
Sous vide, a French term meaning “under vacuum,” is a cooking method where food is sealed in a vacuum-sealed bag and then cooked in a precisely temperature-controlled water bath. This technique has been a staple in professional kitchens for decades, renowned for its ability to produce consistently perfect results that are difficult to achieve with traditional cooking methods.
The beauty of sous vide lies in its precision. Unlike conventional cooking methods where temperatures can fluctuate and lead to overcooked or unevenly cooked food, sous vide maintains a constant, exact temperature. This means your food cooks gently and evenly from edge to edge, ensuring perfect doneness every single time. For cuts like flank steak, which can be notoriously tough if overcooked, this method is a game-changer, guaranteeing unparalleled tenderness and juiciness.
This innovative approach allows the food to cook without losing moisture or flavor, as it’s sealed in a bag, preventing any evaporation. The result is food that is not only perfectly cooked but also incredibly flavorful and moist. From succulent egg bites to flaky salmon, the sous vide opens up a world of culinary possibilities, making gourmet cooking accessible to everyone.
Choosing the Best Sous Vide Machine
For those looking to embark on their sous vide journey, selecting the right equipment is key. After extensive research and personal experience, we highly recommend the ANOVA Sous Vide immersion circulator. It’s a fantastic choice for home cooks due to its user-friendly design and robust features.
The Anova Sous Vide stands out with its excellent temperature accuracy and a convenient app that allows you to control the device remotely from your smartphone. This app also provides a wealth of helpful tips, tricks, and recipes, making the learning curve incredibly smooth for newcomers. With an Anova, you’ll find yourself confidently experimenting with a wide range of proteins, including salmon, chicken, and, of course, the star of our show: steak. Sous vide flank steak, in particular, reaches new heights of tenderness, becoming incredibly succulent—a truly world-class steak experience.
The Ultimate Mongolian Sous Vide Flank Steak Recipe
Prepare to savor the most incredibly tender and flavorful Mongolian Beef you’ve ever tasted. This recipe marks our inaugural sous vide feature, and we knew it had to be a beef dish to truly showcase the method’s potential. Don’t be intimidated by the sous vide; it’s remarkably simple and yields extraordinary results. For this exquisite Mongolian flank steak, the process is straightforward:
- **Preparation:** Start by placing your flank steak into a high-quality vacuum seal bag.
- **Flavor Infusion:** Add all the pre-mixed ingredients for your rich Mongolian sauce directly into the bag with the steak.
- **Seal & Submerge:** Carefully seal the bag, removing as much air as possible to ensure maximum contact between the marinade and the meat. Then, submerge the sealed bag in a large pot filled with water.
- **Precision Cooking:** Attach your sous vide immersion circulator to the pot and set the temperature to a precise 132ºF (55.5°C). This temperature is ideal for a perfect medium-rare doneness, ensuring incredible tenderness without overcooking.
- **Cook to Perfection:** Allow the steak to cook in the water bath for a duration of 5 to 24 hours. The beauty of sous vide is that you cannot overcook your meat in terms of doneness, only in terms of texture. While 5 hours will suffice for a delicious meal, we highly recommend aiming for the full 24 hours if your schedule allows. The extended cooking time works wonders, breaking down connective tissues and rendering the flank steak unbelievably tender – almost fork-tender.
The extended cooking window is a signature advantage of sous vide. It means you can set your steak to cook in the morning or even the night before and have it ready for dinner without stress. The meat will remain at its desired doneness, only becoming more tender with time. This flexibility makes it an ideal method for entertaining or meal prepping.
Explore More Delicious Sous Vide Recipes
Once you experience the consistent excellence of sous vide cooking, you’ll be eager to explore its versatility further. This method is not just for steak; it transforms a variety of ingredients into culinary masterpieces. Here are some of our other favorite sous vide recipes that you absolutely must try:
- 18 Sous Vide Chicken Breast Recipes: Discover how sous vide ensures perfectly juicy and tender chicken every time, preventing the dryness often associated with traditional methods.
- Sous Vide Salmon: Achieve restaurant-quality salmon that’s flaky, moist, and cooked precisely to your liking.
- Sous Vide Egg Bites: Recreate those popular coffee shop egg bites with ease, perfect for a quick, healthy breakfast or brunch.
Check it out!
Your Comprehensive Guide to Sous Vide Cooking
Eager to deepen your understanding of this incredible cooking method? Dive into our comprehensive **Guide to Sous Vide Cooking** where we share all our expert knowledge on precision cooking. Learn about essential equipment, different techniques, advanced tips, and how to master a variety of ingredients. It’s your ultimate resource for becoming a sous vide pro!
Mongolian Sous Vide Flank Steak
Linley Hanson
Prep:
15 minutes
Cook:
1 day
Total:
1 day
15 minutes
6
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, set up your Sous Vide by filling a 6-8 quart pot with water. Connect your sous vide device to the pot and precisely set the temperature to 132ºF (55.5°C). Allow the water to reach the target temperature before proceeding.
-
Next, in a medium bowl, combine the tamari (or soy sauce), maple syrup, freshly grated ginger, minced garlic, red pepper flakes, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Whisk these ingredients together thoroughly until well combined, creating your flavorful Mongolian marinade.
-
Carefully place the flank steak into a BPA-free vacuum seal bag. Pour the prepared tamari mixture over the steak in the bag. Seal the bag, ensuring that as much air as possible is removed. Gently massage the bag to ensure the steak is evenly coated with the marinade. If you don’t have a vacuum sealer, a sturdy zip-top bag (like a Stasher bag or a standard freezer bag) can be used; just immerse it slowly into the water to force the air out before sealing.
-
Once the flank steak is sealed and the water bath has reached 132ºF, carefully place the bag into the preheated water. Ensure the steak is fully submerged.
-
Allow the Mongolian Sous Vide Flank Steak to cook for 5 to 24 hours. For maximum tenderness, we highly recommend the full 24-hour cook time, which will result in an exceptionally succulent and fall-apart tender steak.
-
After the cooking time is complete, carefully remove the flank steak from the pot. Remove the steak from the bag, reserving all the flavorful juices for your sauce. Pat the steak thoroughly dry with paper towels; this is crucial for achieving a good sear.
-
Heat a cast-iron skillet (or a heavy-bottomed pan) over medium-high heat until it’s very hot. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil or butter to the skillet. Once the oil is shimmering and fragrant, carefully place the dried flank steak in the hot skillet. Sear for approximately one minute on each side, just long enough to develop a beautiful, deep brown crust (Maillard reaction).
-
Once seared to your liking, remove the flank steak from the pan and let it rest on a cutting board for 5-10 minutes. Resting allows the juices to redistribute, ensuring a tender and moist steak when sliced.
-
While the steak rests, prepare the Mongolian beef sauce. Pour the reserved juices from the sous vide bag into a medium saucepan. In a small bowl, whisk 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water to create a slurry. Add the slurry to the saucepan with the juices. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Let it cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens to your desired consistency.
-
Slice the rested flank steak against the grain into thin pieces. Serve immediately over a bed of fluffy white rice and your favorite steamed or stir-fried vegetables (like broccoli or snap peas). Drizzle generously with the warm Mongolian sauce over the top of the sliced meat and enjoy this incredibly tender and flavorful meal!
Tips & Notes
- **Cooking Duration for Tenderness:** While we cooked our sous vide flank steak for 24 hours to achieve an almost unparalleled tenderness, you can certainly cook it for a shorter period, with a minimum of 5 hours. The key takeaway is that the longer the cook time within the recommended range, the more tender your steak will become without any risk of overcooking in terms of doneness. This flexibility is a hallmark of sous vide.
- **Achieving the Perfect Sear:** Don’t skip the searing step! This quick, high-heat sear after the sous vide bath is vital for developing a delicious, crusty exterior and adding a depth of flavor through the Maillard reaction. Ensure your skillet is very hot and your steak is thoroughly patted dry before searing.
- **Marinade Variations:** Feel free to adjust the marinade to your preference. For an extra kick, increase the red pepper flakes. For a sweeter profile, add a touch more maple syrup. You can also experiment with a dash of rice vinegar for a slight tang.
- **Meal Prep Friendly:** This sous vide flank steak is excellent for meal prepping. After the sous vide bath, you can cool the steak in its bag in an ice bath, then refrigerate for up to 3-4 days. When ready to eat, simply remove, pat dry, sear, slice, and prepare the sauce.
- **Proper Bag Sealing:** Whether using a vacuum sealer or a water displacement method with a zip-top bag, ensure as much air as possible is removed from the bag. This promotes efficient heat transfer from the water bath to the food, leading to more even cooking.
Nutrition
Calories:
279
kcal
,
Carbohydrates:
12
g
,
Protein:
27
g
,
Fat:
14
g
,
Fiber:
0
g
,
Sugar:
8
g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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