If you're looking for a quick and easy dinner, one that is fat-free, sugar-free, and FULL of flavor, then you have GOT to try these Mongolian Soy Curls.
I mean who doesn't love Mongolian Beef? Chewy strips of 'beef', marinated in that sweet and spicy sauce? Come on....
But the good news is....in THIS recipe we're going to use ZERO meat, and ZERO sugar!
That's right, I tried something new to sweeten my sauce and there's absolutely NO PROCESSED SUGAR in it at all.
I really think you're going to like this.
Butler Soy Curls
They are simply whole, unprocessed, non-GMO Soy Beans that are dried and shredded by a company here in Oregon. Besides being good for you, they have one distinct feature that makes them very unique....
They have the texture of shredded meat, so they're perfect for substituting in a lot of our favorite recipes. My Texas BBQ Soy Curls are amazing and will fool any BBQ connoisseur.
You can find them at Whole Foods, the Butler Website, and Amazon. Here's an affiliate link to Amazon if you're interested, and I do make a small commission on everything you buy.
Link to Butler Soy Curls on Amazon.
When you first get your package of Soy Curls, dump them in a large bowl and cover them with hot water to rehydrate them. It only takes 15 minutes or so, and you can add various seasonings to the water to spice them up a bit. I usually add a tablespoon of soy sauce, but any seasoning will work.
For this recipe, we'll need about half a bag of Soy Curls. Get them soaking and let's prepare the sauce.
Mongolian Sauce
Traditional Mongolian Sauces call for brown sugar in their ingredients. Because I know so many of you are trying to avoid processed sugars, I wanted to do something different.
The answer was already in my fridge........dates.
Take about 8 dried Dates and cover them with hot water for at least 30 minutes. When they are soft enough to slice, remove the pits and then add them to your blender.... (the dates, not the pits....duh)
Add ½ cup of hot water and 1 tablespoon of Molasses to the dates and blend on high until they're smooth and syrupy. Using a plastic spatula, push the syrup though a course sieve to remove any chunks or large pieces. I ended up with about ½ cup of syrup. In this recipe we'll need ¾ cup so use a little hot water to remove any reside from your spatula or sieve to get to ¾ cup.
In a small saucepan, mix ½ cup LOW SODIUM Soy Sauce, ½ water, 1 teaspoon fresh minced ginger, 2-3 cloves of minced garlic, and ¾ cup of date syrup.
I can't emphasize enough that you want to use LOW SODIUM Soy Sauce.... or it will be VERY SALTY!
If all you have is regular Soy Sauce, use ⅓ cup and then ⅔ cup of water. Speaking from experience here.....
When that comes to a simmer, whisk in 1-2 Tablespoons of Corn Starch/Water slurry to let it thicken.
Mongolian Soy Curls
To make our Mongolian Soy Curls, drain the soy curls and massage in 2 Tbs of Corn Starch. Using your hands, mix well so it's evenly distributed.
Heat a NON-STICK pan on medium-high heat and add your soy curls. Stir frequently until they begin to brown.
At this point I simply microwaved a bag of frozen Broccoli - not ALL the way done, but close - and then stirred that in with my Soy Curls. Once the 'meat' has browned nicely and the Broccoli is a bright green color, stir in your sauce. and mix well.
Garnish with fresh Green Onions and Sesame Seeds. And no - chopsticks are not required.
In fact - you may want to use a spoon to make sure you get every drop!
Enjoy!
Mongolian Soy Curls
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 0 Serves 4 1x
- Category: Main
- Cuisine: Asian
Description
These Mongolian Soy Curls will be sure to please. Date syrup adds the sweetness to this dish without using any processed sugar. Low fat and sugar free! Better than take-out!
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1 tsp Ginger ((minced))
- 3 cloves Garlic ((minced))
- ½ cup Soy Sauce ((low sodium))
- ½ cup Water
- ¾ cup Date Syrup
- ½ tsp Chile Garlic Paste ((optional))
- ⅛ tsp Red Pepper Flakes ((optional))
- 1 Tbs Cornstarch
Date Syrup
- 8 dried Dates
- ½ cup Hot Water
- 1 Tbs Molasses
- Enough water to equal ¾ cup of syrup
Mongolian Soy Curls
- 4 oz Butler Soy Curls ((~half a bag))
- 2 Tbs Corn Starch
- 1 bag Frozen Broccoli
- Sliced Green Onions for garnish
Instructions
- Add Soy Curls to large bowl and cover with hot water
- Add 1 Tbs of Soy Sauce if desired to season and set aside
- Add 8 dried Dates to bowl and cover with hot water
- Let sit at least 30 minutes to soften
- Remove pits and add dates to blender
- Add ½ cup water and Molasses to blender and blend until smooth
- Push syrup through sieve to remove any pieces and add water to equal ¾ cup
- In a sauce pan, saute garlic and ginger in a little water until softened
- Add Soy Sauce, Water, and ¾ cup Date Syrup
- Spice with optional Chile Garlic Paste and Red Pepper Flakes if desired
- Thicken by whisking in 1-2 Tbs Corn Starch slurry
- Drain Soy Curls and add to Non Stick Skillet
- Stir Fry until golden brown
- Add partly steamed Broccoli and sauce and stir to combine
- Garnish with sliced Green Onions and Roasted Sesame Seeds
- Serve over rice or noodles
Nora Kleckner
Chuck thanks for developing this recipe and others! I appreciate your helpful tips in the paragraphs before the actual recipe. I'm going to make this today! I'm sure it will be DELICIOUS!
Nicole
This was delicious, my husband absolutely loved it! This will definitely be a keeper.
Jessica S.
My family and I really enjoy this recipe. I usually double or quadruple the recipe so we can have leftovers.
Kym
❤️ LOVE ❤️!! This is the bomb!! So good!! Sadly, I need to reduce the sodium as mush as possible. Chuck, what thoughts do you have on replacing the soy sauce? Even the low sodium is too much 🙁
Karen Mauro
Just wondering if the leftovers freeze well?
Brenda Exline
I made this last night with maple syrup from an old recipe I have used for a while now. I think I would like to try Chuck's recipe to avoid added sweetener.. Sugar related foods do not agree with me and I don't sleep as well after eating them. They wake me up because I think my blood sugar drops. The molasses appeal to me because of the iron they contain.
Colleen
How much maple syrup did you use? Thank you!
Dmitri
If thee can find it, try sorghum syrup. It's not as "harsh" as molasses and has a very subtle citrus-y undertone to it that I think would go very well here.
Stacey MacLean
This was SOOOO good! I had to sub maple syrup for molasses and it was still really yummy! Thank you!!
Francine
This was so good! I also forgot the cornstarch but it was still good and will definitely make it again! This was my first time trying soy curls! Thanks so much!!
Elisha
I made this tonight and I forgot to massage the cornstarch into the soy curls, which is probably why they didn’t brown very well. But it still turned out awesome and my carnivorous husband absolutely loved it. Thank you!
Cathy
Made this recipe tonight. It was on the menu schedule and I had no idea is was Chinese New Year! Happy accident! I used date syrup from the Date Lady so the recipe was very easy. Also used fresh broccoli and some leftover mushrooms. It was DELICIOUS!! My husband and I both loved it! With no added salt, I am not drinking gallons of water afterwards. It also had just the right amount of sweetness. Thank you!
Debra
How big is the bag of broccoli?
M.J.
Thanks for the date syrup recipe. Made this dish added my twist, but mostly followed your recipe. It came out awesome!
Brenda
Large or small dates?
Sally
Chuck, you ROCK! I made this for my involuntarily-transitioning to wfpb family. It was a big hit! Yummy plus quick and easy to make. Thank you.
Chris Dotson
We served the Mongolian Soy Curl recipe to a meat eater only telling him it was a Mongolian dish. After a couple of bites he asked “How did you get the meat so tender”!!!!! We knew then that we had a recipe to make over and over again to serve guests.
Kat Strom
This looks really good. In your instructions under the recipe, you forgot to say to massage in the corn starch, as you mentioned in your preliminary text. Can you air fry instead of browning in a pan?
Leigh,
Agree, the instructions are varying from the printed recipe. Very irritating when making a new recipe. Also, slurry? Where is that in the recipe either? You are my "go-to" for great recipes, but this was confusing for something that should have been really straightforward.
Gayle
This looks delicious...can't wait to try it!
Sheila
Just made this today for lunch. Hubby LOVED it and he's a hard sell. Was so yummy and once the time to soak the curls and whip up the date syrup was done it came together very quickly. I'm always confident with your recipes. Haven't had a fail yet!! Thanks for all your hard work!
Terri
love this recipe the meat eaters I cook for love it! I serve over brown rice with steamed broccoli
Shauna
Country Life Natural Foods has best price I've found for soy curls
Maureen Cram
best price currently is direct from Butler Foods
Ruth
Please add number of servings to your recipes. Love them!
sweetonnh
More soy curl recipes please!!!
Btw: Can I use date syrup syrup since I have it? If so, how much?
Cathy
I used date Syrup from Date Lady. Used same amount but also added the molasses. Came out great
Chiemi
I agree about more soy curl recipes! I'm going to try and make the Mongolian soy curl recipe..but right now I am making buffalo soy curls using a store bought vegan buffalo sauce, it contains avocado oil. I'm trying to make my meals oil free. My daughter requested the buffalo soy curls to go on top of our salads for dinner tonight.
Brad L.
Anyone have a suggestion for a substitution for the date syrup?
Diane
The recipe instructions show you are making date syrup so the only difference of what you have on hand may be the molasses
Pamela
I used maple syrup. Family loved it .
Dave
I like to use Agave syrup because it’s not cloyingly sweet.