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.
- 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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First, let me start with I have some very picky eaters, and they just loved this. I made double the meant and three times the sauce as another commenter suggested. Amazing.
We absolutely love this recipe. I like to serve it over rice and topped with sliced cucumbers and a little shredded lettuce for freshness. If I have fresh ginger, I will use a piece of that minced up instead of the dry
Delicious! And even better when made with chopped pork instead of the ground beef.
We really liked this. I added a tbs. of Gochujang because we like our Bulgogi to have just a little kick. Otherwise I followed it to the last letter and it was delicious. It’s not often that a first time recipe makes it into our rotation after one try with no further ‘monkeying’ by me.
Got a quickie Bibimbap or Dolsot Bibimbap recipe I can try?
My family loves this meal! We had 1/2 bag of broccoli slaw to the sauce, too.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! It is so easy to make and the perfect answer when you have 1 lb of meat. The dish is full of flavor and tastes like, “more please!”
This is one of my favorite recipes! I make it every other week.
This was one of my kids favorite recipes while they were growling up. I sometimes use half the amount of brown sugar. So quick.
Perfect for weeknight dinner in a rush.
I altered mine a bit though by adding a few Tbs Worcestershire sauce bc I didn’t have all of the 1/4 cup of soy sauce. Still tasted delicious. I doubled the recipe bc I had 2lbs ground beef. The sesame oil is key! I added fresh ginger with the garlic bc I had some to use up and it was awesome. Also added finely diced bell pepper and half a bag of spinach leaves bc I had those to use up. It really came out fantastic. Will absolutely make again.
Can you use beef stew meat?
So flipping good! It’s my youngest’s absolute favorite!!
This is delicious. I added chopped jalepeno peppers for added spice
So good and a lot of flavor and easy to make!
Flavorful and amazingly quick and simple to make. We served this with rice garnished with julienned cucumbers and carrots. We also made lettuce wraps with the beef. So good!
This recipe is delicious, it will become one of our bi-weekly recipes. Thank you for sharing!
So delicious! A favorite of our family. Thank you for the recipe!
We make this weekly! Love how flexible the recipe is. We make a double batch so we have leftovers for kids’ lunches the next day. It is enjoyed by adults, teens, younger kids and my toddler. Toss in grated apple or asian pear and carrots, edamame or green peas, whatever you have on hand or as is. Serve with broccoli or fine green beans, or kimchi or banchan if you have it and want it. We also always serve with roasted seaweed packets, a little salty and sesame oil and nice crunch. No its not bulgogi but when you’re craving it on a weeknight, this is pretty good!
10 out of 10 wonderful, I agree on doubling the sauce amount!
❤️❤️❤️ I love this it’s so delicious! ☺️
Really yummy! I mixed the sauce in with the beef and cooked them together. Saves one bowl to clean and comes out tasty. I added like 1 tbsp of gochujang which was perfect. Loved it. Tastes just as good as regular bulgolgi without having to wait for it to marinate