Korean Beef Bowl
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Tastes like Korean BBQ and is on your dinner table in just 15 min start to finish! It 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 i love this recipe
- 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.
- 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 and tricks for success
- 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 bowl
Tools For This Recipe
Large cast iron skillet
Korean Beef Bowl: Frequently Asked Questions
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.
Yes! You can freeze the leftovers in individual freezer bags, thaw overnight, and reheat on the stovetop (adding a tablespoon of water as needed).
100%! This is one of our favorite crockpot recipes, perfect for those chilly months.
Korean Beef Bowl
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
Equipment
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.
Video
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This has been in heavy rotation for years. I always use fresh ginger. I top with cilantro if I have any. I also give each serving a fried egg on top, and that’s what seals the deal.
I may experiment with less sugar and replace some sweetness with shredded pear. I don’t think the full sugar amount is needed.
Excellent.
Is it better you use fresh ginger?
My family loves this dish! I double it and prep for lunches for the week. Question…does the nutrition info provide include the rice? My guess is no.
This recipe is amazing, I can’t believe I never thought to cook ground beef in this way. Much more cost-effective than using steak cuts.
I altered this a little bit for even more flavor. I sautéed the garlic in chili oil instead of plain vegetable oil for additional spice, and I also added a dash of Chinese 5 Spice Powder in the sauce mixture which gave the dish more depth.
I absolutely love how the recipe uses simple pantry ingredients and it’s so simple to put together. With some steamed vegetables it’s a complete meal and an easy meal prep recipe! This will be added to my rotation.
So good! I added broccoli and red pepper to it for a little vegetable and it was super yummy!
Did you increase the amount of sauce to accommodate for the veggies or was it fine as is? I also want to add broccoli!
This is a terrific recipe!! So easy and delicious! Do try! I recommend this!
I love this recipe so easy and simple and delicious!
Made this tonight over rice with steamed broccoli and it was amazing. We will be making this again! It was tasty and super simple. I almost always have these ingredients.
Love this recipe! I modify and use ground turkey and add in onions, peppers, broccoli, carrots or whatever else I have on hand. It’s huge hit in our house and my go to meal when I am short on time or tired. Love it!
Thank you SO much for this delicious and so so easy recipe. I served it with yuzu marinated cucumbers and it was a big hit with my family. Its always great to have a new option for ground beef!!
Super delicious! My whole family loves it.
I wanted to add a review for this recipe. I was a bit skeptical of the ground ginger but it works perfectly. I really appreciated not having to grate ginger for the sauce when I had come home late and I was rushing to get dinner on the table. I love this recipe as it is tasty, quick and loved by all family members. I served it with udon but I also have served it with rice.
Awesome! So simple! My entire family loves this! That NEVER happens!
I didn’t have a few of the ingredients so I used apple cider vinegar, white sugar, honey, regular soy sauce and did not add Sriracha as I’m cooking for my kid. Sauteed chopped yellow onion before putting everything else in the pot. Turned out delicious! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
This is my go to recipe. It’s like spaghetti in everyone else’s house but in my house, this is it. My kids love this dish!!! I love it and my husband. I make a few adjustments because I don’t usually have green onions always at hand but everything else I do. I double the sauce and use rice noodles because it tastes so good!
easy, very tsty, will add broccoli chopped or peapods next time toot
Just tried this, it’s really good! And easy. I might try to make it with less sugar but maybe not
This is a family favorite. Only thing I did different was instead of ground beef I used ground venison. No one even knows! Worked better I think less fat. Thanks
Super easy, super tasty!
All kids AND husband love it!
It’s a fav in our house!
Thank you !