My mongolian BBQ cooking class was last night and I am happy to say it was much better than the curry class I took at this place a few months ago. We had a friendly, social group and the chef was equal parts entertaining and informative. The sauce recipes are fairly simple, but I learned a few key techniques about stir-frying that I tend to forget when trying to throw together a meal after a long day.

The pan has to be smoking hot. Literally. Add the oil only after the pan is smoking hot. Add the ingredients that will take the longest to cook first (duh). Add the sauce at the very end, swish it around to coat everything, then serve immediately. All the sauces were good, but here are the two I taste-tested with beef and shrimp, respectively, last night.

Fortune-Miso Sauce

3 Tbsps miso paste (we used brown)
1 Tbsp mirin
1Tbsp water
1Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp stock (we used chicken)
1 Tbsp sake

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, whisk well.

Lemongrass Mango-Ginger Sauce

1 mango, peeled and diced
1/2 stalk lemongrass, chopped
1 Tbsp ginger, minced
1 Tbsp honey
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup water
1 Tbsp lime juice, plus zest
1 pinch chili flakes

Cook all ingredients together in a small saucepan over medium heat for 5 minutes. Transfer sauce to food processor and puree until smooth, strain if desired. (Some folks don’t like the stringy texture of the lemongrass and/or mango.)