Korean Beef Bowl
by Chungah
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Tastes like Korean BBQ (bulgogi) and is on your dinner table in just 15 min! Quick, easy, budget-friendly, and a hit with the entire family!
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.
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. Throw in any lingering veggies (ex. chopped bell peppers, carrots or broccoli florets) for an easy clean-out-the-fridge meal.
What is the difference between bulgogi and Korean beef bowls?
Bulgogi uses marinated sliced beef, grilled or pan-fried, while Korean beef bowls use ground beef for a faster, budget-friendly weeknight version. 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.
How to make korean beef bowls
- Prep the sauce. Combine the brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, and ginger. To make the bowls more spicy, swap out the red pepper flakes for gochujang (Korean red chili paste).
- Crumble the ground beef. Sauté the garlic first in a large cast iron skillet, then crumble the ground beef (or desired meat), draining the excess fat.
- Add the sauce and simmer. Add the sauce, simmering until heated through, about 2 minutes. This would be a great time to add in any leafy greens (baby spinach or kale) for those picky eaters!
- Serve. Serve warm over rice, topped with a fried egg for additional protein.
What to Serve with Korean Beef Bowls
Tools For This Recipe
Large cast iron skillet
Korean Beef Bowl: Frequently Asked Questions
Not at all! Use ground pork, chicken or turkey, tofu or plant based ground beef in place of the ground beef.
Add a fried egg on top (sunny side or over easy), breaking the runny yolk into a rich, velvety sauce to mix with the rice.
Yes! Swap out the soy sauce for gluten-free tamari.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Absolutely! Here are detailed instructions on how to meal prep this for the week.
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
Notes
- Use reduced sodium soy sauce. Reduced sodium has less sodium and less salt without compromising flavor.
- Pick your favorite protein. Ground beef, pork, chicken or turkey, tofu or plant based ground beef will all work very well here. In need of more protein? Top your bowl with a sunny side up fried egg.
- Add vegetables. Mushrooms, carrots, bell peppers or snow peas can be added for a more heartier meal, perfect for picky eaters and grown ups!
- 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 solid options.
- Meal prep as needed. Perfect for on-the-go, these Korean beef bowls can be conveniently meal prepped for the week ahead.
Did you make this recipe?
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I’m super late to this flavor party, but I had to comment and thank you for such an amazing recipe. I just whipped this up for a late supper for me and the BF, and OMG. I’m feeling a little territorial over the leftovers. As in, they’re ALL MINE. (I squirted a bunch of sriracha into the sauce, too, because sriracha belongs in everything.) This was just knock-your-socks-off fantastic!
Wow! Made this last week. It was super quick and easy to make and so flavorful!
This was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever eaten, let alone made! And so quick and easy! I doubled the meat and tripled the sauce (though, cut down on the sugar). I added in broccoli and shredded carrots. Topped with sesame seeds and green onions and served over jasmin rice. My (very hard to please) 5 year old son, rated this 500%! This will definitely be a regular! Thank you!!
I recently came across this recipe and decided to give it a try. I made it with ground pork as that is what I had in the freezer. My husband and 4 year old daughter loved it! She asked me to make it again the next night. Thanks for sharing!!
This dish was so yummy and EASY!! Hubby and I both loved it. Next time…I double the recipe!
This looks delicious! Do you think I might be able to do honey or maple syrup in place of the brown sugar? If so, would I use the same measurement? Thanks!:)
You can certainly substitute honey or maple syrup but I cannot speak for how much this will change the overall taste/texture of the dish as further recipe testing is needed. It is always best to use the ingredients listed in the recipe to obtain the best results possible.
This was so yummy
I doubled up on the sauce part of it to have it be a little “saucier” over the rice and I added some veggies. Made a delicious rice bowl, thanks for the recipe!
Would this recipe work with ground pork instead of beef? Do you think anything would need to be adjusted? It looks amazing!
Ground pork should work just fine.
I’ve been meaning to review this recipe for a while, but when I made it again today I knew I had to leave you a review! This recipe is AMAZING! My husband and I have both been dieting and losing weight this summer (just over 30 lbs each now!) and this is a great dish to modify and eat as lettuce wraps! I cut the sugar down, use ground turkey, and add celery, onions, mushrooms, water chestnuts, whatever sounds good!! This is a big hit with both of us, and I love that it can be so easily modified for spice as well. Thank you!
I live in Korea and love dishes like this.
I made it tonight using your recipe and it was really really tasty! Plus it was so quick and easy to make. Perfect for after work.
Thanks a lot!
I was looking for new recipes when I ran across your site, and I’m so glad I did! I made this but with sliced beef and marinated it in the sauce overnight (because my weirdo husband doesn’t like ground beef) and my family loves it! I’ve doubled the recipe and it still isn’t enough, so I’m tripling it this time. The flavors are just phenomenal, and it’s pretty healthy too. I serve it with rice and broccoli. Thank you for a new weekly classic!
What are the equivalent measurement in tablespoon?
I am confused with your question, Lee. Measurements are already in cups, tablespoons and teaspoons.
from uk and use to using grams/tablespoon measurement rather then cup measuremnt
Lee, there are many free online resources that can help convert your measurements to using grams. Here is one that you can use: http://calculator-converter.com/converter_g_to_tbsp_grams_to_tablespoons_calculator.php.
I tried this recipe last night and it was delicious it was the best bulgogi I have tried and its so simple to make! thank you so much for this recipe! x
I don’t know if I’ve already left a comment, but we sure do love this recipe! With a full-time job, two university courses, four kids, a hungry husband, and a schedule that has us all going in six different directions, it’s difficult to find something that’s fast AND healthy AND filling. This recipe fits the bill. Tonight I threw in chopped zucchini, onion, and red pepper and everyone gobbled it up. Thanks for making this busy mom’s life a little easier.
Do you think that I could mix the sauce with the uncooked burger and then freeze? I’d love to be able to make up a bunch at once and be able to pull down to thaw and make!
Lisa, it’s best to freeze after crumbling the ground beef. That way, all the flavors are soaked up within the meat, rather than a slab of uncooked ground beef.
This recipe was so good! I feel like I can’t make it that often, because I love it so much I eat myself sick every time I make it! This is spicy, sweet, and delicious! Thank you for a quick and amazing meal!
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Amazing love this recipe
Just made it tonight and it was soooo good! Will definitely be in the regular rotation and it’s awesome to have on hand for a quick meal on those crazy nights. Thanks for such a great recipe!
This was SO YUMMY!!!!! I’m not a big beef fan but I LOVED this. My husband was stationed in Korea in the Airforce & we’re always looking for a great Korean inspired dish. I was wondering, I see sesame seeds in the picture, did you omit them from the recipe?
Yes, they are sesame seeds but only used as a garnish/photographic purposes.