Cooking with Ryan: Mongolian Beef

I have to say, during the cooking process, I have never been as organized as I was this go 'round. I had my vegetables all chopped, I had my pertinent sauces all mixed and made. Everything was coming together perfectly. I think there was only one minor error in my prep.
The sauce was supposed to take water that I had soaked carrots in, mixed with some soy sauce, sugar and red pepper, as well as bit of corn starch to thicken things up. It sounds like it should be a bit salty, sweet and hot with the red pepper. I don't know what it was, perhaps too much water, perhaps too much corn starch, but it was just... bland.
The meat itself was good (I covered it a soy/garlic mix before searing). The carrots took on some oil and the beef fat and they were good. The sauce was just meh. But look at the steam coming off it in the picture!