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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This has become one of my favorite weeknight meals! I use ground turkey instead of beef and it’s just as yummy. I like to do 1.5x the sauce and add in some steamed broccoli or any other veggies I have laying around. Perfection and so quick and easy!
this recipe is excellent we make it often. the only thing we add is a layer of cold shredded carrots between the meat and the rice. My family requests this all the time.
Really delicious. Super quick and easy to make. Will definitely make again. Love this recipe.
This is also great with ground turkey! I actually think it turns out a little better this way than with ground beef and is much cheaper where I live!
One of our favorites! I love to serve it over sautted peppers and rice! I keep frozen ginger root in the freezer so I always have it on hand! Everytime I make it and have lunch leftovers my co-workers want to know what smells so great!
Best quick Asian meal EVARRR. My kids loved it and I have since doubled the recipe when I make it because everyone wants leftovers the next day.
So good! The whole family loved it and that almost never happens.
We’ve made this recipe countless times! It’s so damn delicious!!!
This was so good. I added broccoli and sliced carrots for color. Definitely making again.
This is so yummy! I actually use ground turkey to make it a little healthier and add gochujang (Korean red pepper paste) instead of red pepper flakes. It’s awesome, and I like it with rice or in lettuce cups!
I love this dish! Simple, fast, and delicious!
I love this recipe it’s so easy, I use it all the time. I like to add a bag of shredded cabbage and then i consider it a healthy dinner.
Don’t you love this recipe from Six Sisters! I was thinking this one looked familiar, then saw you listed it as adapted from theirs, and I knew it would taste out of this world. SO good! It’s essentially the same, with some slight variations in how much of certain ingredients. I am not an intuitive cook, and it never occurred to me to add -more- or -less- of anything. I will definitely be trying this with your adjustments!
I love this recipe and make it very regularly! Has one one tried making ahead and freezing? Currently making meals for a trip and would love to be able to bring this one along!
we add veggies to the bowl to round it out. julienned carrots, shredded purple cabbage, cucumber salad, steamed broccoli. so easy and delicious!
Love this recipe. Have made it numerous times. I add veggies cut in match stick size such as carrots and zucchini. I double the recipe and freeze it. It freezes well. So good
Absolutely delicious! It’s like a sweet beef and i’m obsessed with it.
This is such a fast easy dish to prepare and so delectable!
I make this frequently and serve over rice and sauteed peppers! Love it!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was DELICIOUS! I’m pinning in Family Favorites on Pinterest! I made rice, glazed carrots and vegetable egg rolls to serve with it. Next time I think I’ll double the sauce since we put it over rice even though it was fantastic as is!
This is flat out awesome!