Korean Beef Bowl
by Chungah
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Tastes like Korean BBQ (bulgogi) and is on your dinner table in 15 min start to finish! Doesn’t get any easier than this!
Featured Comment
Please welcome our favorited Korean beef bowls, one of our most popular recipes on Damn Delicious. This recipe is a special twist on the traditional Korean dish, bulgogi, but as a cheater version, we are swapping out thin slices of sirloin with ground beef. Bulgogi is also marinated overnight to enhance its flavors and tenderness but with this quick ground beef version, you can have the same flavors in lightning speed time.
Why You’ll Love This Korean Beef Bowl
- Weeknight hero. With a short ingredient list, these beef bowls come together incredibly fast. The cooking process itself takes just about 10-15 minutes, and if you have some leftover cooked rice lying around, dinner will be on the table in 20 minutes or less. It’s a budget-friendly alternative to traditional bulgogi while still capturing authentic Korean BBQ flavors.
- Budget-friendly. Using pantry staples, ground beef and rice, this dish can easily feed a family of four without breaking the bank.
- Flexible recipe. Any lingering veggies (ex. chopped bell peppers, carrots or broccoli florets) can be thrown right in for a great clean-out-the-fridge meal.
Tips for the Best Korean Beef Bowl
- Use reduced sodium soy sauce. Reduced sodium has less sodium and less salt without compromising flavor.
- Use your favorite meat. Ground beef, pork, chicken or turkey, tofu or plant based ground beef will all work very well here.
- Add vegetables. Mushrooms, carrots, bell peppers or snow peas can be added for a more heartier meal.
- More protein. In need of more protein? Top your bowls with a fried egg.
- Double the sauce. Need extra sauce for sopping with rice? The sauce portion can easily be doubled or tripled for those saucy folks!
- Serve with your favorite grains. White rice, brown rice, cauliflower rice, quinoa or farro are all great options.
- Meal prep as needed. Perfect for on-the-go, these Korean beef bowls can be conveniently meal prepped for the week ahead.
What to Serve with Korean Beef Bowls
Tools For This Recipe
Large cast iron skillet
Korean Beef Bowl: Frequently Asked Questions
Bulgogi uses marinated sliced beef, grilled or pan-fried, while Korean beef bowls use ground beef for a faster, budget-friendly weeknight version.
Not at all! Ground pork, chicken or turkey, tofu or plant based ground beef can be used in place of the ground beef.
Absolutely! Here are detailed instructions on how to meal prep this for the week.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
100%! This is one of our favorite crockpot recipes, perfect for those chilly months.
Yes! You can freeze the leftovers in individual freezer bags, thaw overnight, and reheat on the stovetop (adding a tablespoon of water as needed).
Korean Beef Bowl
Video
Ingredients
- ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes, or more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- ¼ teaspoon sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flakes and ginger.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add ground beef and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks; drain excess fat.
- Stir in soy sauce mixture and green onions until well combined, allowing to simmer until heated through, about 2 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with green onion and sesame seeds, if desired.
Equipment
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I absolutely love this recipe! I always double the sauce-to-meat ratio because it’s so good! Definitely an easy go to recipe for our household 🙂
So easy and so good!
We love this recipe! Simple and quick. I dial down the amount of sugar as it is too sweet for my liking. It’s a staple.
Delicious! My kids love this. We serve it wit rice or quinoa and veggies. I’m wondering if anyone’s tried this over frozen meatballs in the crockpot?
Great idea!
Dang good. Next time, howevert, I’m going to add some wateer dhestnuts for a change of texture.
I made this recipe for my boyfriend and he is obsessed with it. He asks me to make it every week, he even wants it for lunch AND dinner. Thank you for this staple recipe!
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve made this! It’s quick, easy, delicious and uses ingredients I almost always have in hand. I usually double the recipe to be sure there are some yummy leftovers!
This is so good and easy. Make it. Yum.
Fabulous! Quick and easy and especially delicious!
This is our family favorite
This is the LEGIT go to meal because of how quick and freakin scrumptious it is. I prefer using ground bison over ground beef. If you are hungry and don’t want fast food or don’t wanna wait 45 in for take out, MAKE THIS!!!
This is a family favorite! It’s an easy weeknight meal that make often.
I’ve been making this for awhile now, and it’s so yummy and EASY!
Pure comfort food on a cool Fall evening.
I’ve been adding in extra finely shredded veggies such as bagged cabbage slaw (so easy!) just to make it less rice heavy,
fast easy and delicious, perfect weeknight dinner
I love this recipe, even my picky eaters love this. So quick and easy. When I don’t have sesame oil on hand, I sub in some peanut butter instead and it’s still delicious
Everyone in my family of 5 loves this, and that’s a big deal! We’ve been making it at least once a month for years. It’s fast, easy, and delicious!
10/10, have made 4 or 5 times now with a vegan ground beef substitute.
Pretty quick and tasty. The kids liked it too. Maybe mention in recipe to make rice and serve with beef over rice. Seems obvious I know, but I’m a dude and forgot about the rice and had to scramble to make in time for supper. Thanks!
This has been a fav go to for a quick and delish meal for years!
Thank you so for this recipe!!
Great recipe and, as advertised, EASY!
This is in the rotation as one of my staples, served on top of white rice w a side of sea salted edamame.
It’s good. I added more for a little more pronounced flavor. 1 tbsp hoisin sauce, 1.5 tbsp rice vinegar 1tbsp Sriracha (only because I love it). It’s good either way. A nice, quick, filling dinner on a busy work night. It’s the one dish no one complains about