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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Super good and super simple! Also made some Asian style green beans to have a veggie to go a long with it.
I’ve made this with beef and with ground turkey. I’ve also found it’s delicious (& vegan!) to use extra firm tofu torn into small pieces. Torn seems to work better than cutting with a knife. The tofu soaks up the sauce and it’s very good!
A favorite super easy dinner of mine! So flavorful
Amazing, my boys love this recipe! I add shredded cabbage, carrots and chop some cocktail peanuts for crunch
Absolutely amazing! Has a sweet and spicy flavor that jump kicks your taste buds. Most definitely recommend! My whole family loves it! Thank you!
This was delicious! Followed the recipe but added summer squash. My family of 3 loved it. My husband suggested I add peas and onion next time to give it a crunch. Thanks for posting this great recipe, its definitely going in the rotation!!!
Amazing! So quick,easy, and good!! I used chicken instead and added shredded veggies and a fried egg. This has become a regular addition to our menu. So freaking delicious!
Made this for the first time tonight, delicious .
The sauce has a nice kick.
This is a new favorite for us! We add cucumbers to ours for some extra crunch and freshness.
This was excellent – and simple to pull together.. thank you!
This was one of my mom’s favorite recipes before she died. I love making it to remember her it’s so fire ‼️
Is there a rough guess of macros for this?!?
My picky eaters love this recipe. It’s fast, easy and has great flavor!!
Another great recipe to add to the rotation. Thanks for sharing.
I have made this 2 times now. 1 time with ground beef and once with shaved steak. It is excellent both ways. If you like sauce make 1.5 times the sauce or double it. I also use fresh grated ginger instead of the ground. I served this was rice and sauted cabbage, carrots and broccoli. The meat is also great in ramen. This is not in the rotation in my house.
So awesome and so delicious!!! I added frozen veggies too
This recipe is a perfect blend of flavors. I did add about 1/2 cup of broth to the sauce when added and simmered the beef (grass fed so less fat) slowly for about an hour and until liquid absorbed and thickened. I added the green onions and also some cilantro at the end. Very very good and soooooo easy.
I made this!! Insanely easy and yummy.
I’m so excited to try this! Could I sub vegetable oil for something else? What oil would be best?
This dish is on regular rotation in our house. It’s one that EVERYONE loves. We make a veg heavy toppings bar and let everyone build their own bowl. Julienne carrots, cucumber salad, green onion, edamame, red pepper, roasted broccoli, Asian cabbage slaw, siracha mayo and crispy fried onion and wonton strips. Fast, healthy and delicious. Thank you Chungah!
Came out perfect! Will admit did not use measurements but still tasted yummy! Even added a fried egg on top for a lul razzle dazzle! Easy ingredients too as I had everything in my pantry and stored the rest in tupperware! Me and my roomie thank you for this yummy meal!
Love this recipe! I have been making it for years as rice bowls and serving with cole slaw, pickled red onions and cubed cucumbers. Have made it for friends too and they have all asked for the recipe! I usually double the sauce amount but not the sugar amount.