These Korean Ground Beef Bowls (With Gochujang) are a family favorite and something I make often on busy weeknights. They pack the same unique flavor of Korean Bulgogi, but come together in a lot less time! Flavored with soy sauce, rice vinegar, sriracha sauce and red pepper flakes amongst other ingredients. This is our cheaper and healthier homemade version of takeout that hits just the spot!
If my family isn't eating pakistani food, then you're likely to find us with a plate full of Korean, Thai or Vietnamese fare. It probably goes back to our love for Indo Chinese food, such as this indo-chinese-chili-chicken which is an intrinsic part of Pakistani cuisine.
I love this Korean Inspired Ground beef Bowl with plain white rice or my japanese-garlic-fried-rice. The options for customizing this recipe are limitless. Read on and learn more about all of them!
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Ingredients
I've broken the ingredients for this Korean Style Ground Beef up into 4 different groups. This will make it easier to source them and to follow the recipe. All are fairly easy to find at your local grocery store.
Of course you can always experiment and try and make the recipe more authentic by using ingredients like Fermented Bean Paste (doenjang) and traditional Korean Soy Sauce (Ganjang).
But the purpose of this Korean Beef Bowl Recipe is to be an easy weeknight meal that takes you little time and effort to put together.
The Ground Beef
Traditional Korean Beef used for Bulgogi bowls is a rare beef from Cattle called Hanwoo. Here in the US Tenderloin, Sirloin or Ribeye are the meats of choice when cooking the dish. All are expensive options, especially with current meat prices and more complex to cook. This is where my Korean Ground Beef Bowl recipe for one of the easiest meals you'll ever cook comes in!
- Extra Lean Ground Beef - I like to use extra lean ground beef, 93% fat free, for my bowls.
- Sesame Oil - Any dark toasted sesame oil is good to use. It adds lots of flavor to the beef.
- Cooking Oil - Too much sesame oil can be a bit intense so I add some Avocado Oil for extra volume. Any oil that tolerates high heat, such as Canola or Sunflower, is good.
- Garlic - I make my own fresh garlic paste in batches to use in all my cooking. Store bought garlic paste is also ok to use.
- Ginger - Fresh ginger is recommended for this recipe. I peel mine and crush it using a mortar and pestle but you can grate it too.
The Marinade
The marinade that is generally used in Korean Beef Bowls is a combination of Soy Sauce, Sesame Oil, Garlic, Sugar, Scallions and Pepper. These ingredients follow the general principles of Korean cooking by using a combination of fermented and unfermented ingredients.
- Soy Sauce - I use regular soy sauce but there are variations mentioned below for those with dietary restrictions.
- Brown Sugar - The recipe works best with dark brown sugar but if for some reason this is unavailable then light brown sugar works just as well.
- Rice Vinegar - Plain rice vinegar works great but I often use seasoned rice vinegar for extra flavor.
- Sriracha - This is my absolute favorite seasoning and my marinade wouldn't be complete without it.
- Red Pepper Flakes - I ofcourse love to add spices to all my food. If you want your beef to be less spicy then half this quantity.
The Garnishes
Traditionally, a Korean meal comprises of Rice, Vegetables and some form of meat as well as sides, the most famous and well known of which is Kimchi. To keep my Korean Ground Beef Recipe quick and easy I stick to the simple garnishes below. If you want something more elaborate, keep reading!
- Basil - The perfect finish to any traditional Korean dish!
- Green Onions - I can never have enough of these! They take this from a simple weeknight meal to a great recipe!
- Sesame Seeds - These add a perfect finish and a delicious crunchy texture to the Korean Bowls. The best part in my opinion!
The Gochujang Sauce
- Gochujang Paste - This is Fermented Red Chili Paste and is available at Asian grocery stores. An intrinsic part of Korean cooking, it adds much flavor to any Korean Inspired dish.
- Soy Sauce -
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Rice Vinegar
- Honey
Instructions
Substitutions
While the recipe for the meat is the same every time I cook, I often vary the vegetables and sides to shake things up and make it less boring. Some of these ideas are shared after the recipe below so read on and comment to let me know how you ate yours!
Like I said, use whatever you have on hand at home to layer and build up your bowl and feel free to use the marinade in the recipe above and use it with other meats; ground chicken, turkey or even thinly sliced meats work very well.
Trying to stay on the healthy side? Eliminate the Starch completely and serve the beef with only vegetables. Swap the brown sugar in the marinade for honey, Swerve brown sugar or any alternate sweetener of your choice. Trying to cut back on salt? Use low sodium Soy Sauce instead of the regular variety.
Variations
Have some leftover chicken breast? Leftover steak? Chop it up or shred it and mix it with the marinade. Let it sit for about 30 minutes and then saute it for a few minutes to cook and dry the liquids a bit. Serve it with your preferred carb base and veggies and your family probably won't even guess you're serving them leftovers!
If you have any leftover meat after dinner is over (you probably won't) use it to make bulgogi spring rolls, bulgogi tacos (yes that's a thing), bulgogi pizza or just fill it in lettuce and make yourself a healthy wrap for lunch the next day.
Some different vegetable and rice combos to eat the beef with:
- White rice as shown or fried rice, garlic rice and even rice noodles would be a good base for your bowl.
- Slice Carrots, Radishes and Cucumbers and marinate for an hour in a little bit of white vinegar and add that to your bowl.
- Shredded Napa Cabbage, Broccoli, Tri colored Bell Peppers and Snap Peas are also great add ins.
- For a crunchy topping add some crushed peanuts.
Equipment
Storage
Top Tip
FAQ
Korean Ground Beef Bowls (With Gochujang)
Ingredients
Beef
- 1 lbs extra lean ground beef (SEE NOTES)
- ½ tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp avocado oil (SEE NOTES)
- 1 tbsp garlic
- 1 tbsp ginger
Marinade
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar (SEE NOTES)
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar (SEE NOTES)
- 1 tbsp sriracha
- 1 tbsp red pepper flakes (SEE NOTES)
Toppings
- 2 tbsp basil
- 2 tbsp green onions
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
Gochujang Sauce
- ¼ cup gochujang sauce
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes (SEE NOTES)
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- ⅛ cup honey
Instructions
Beef Bowls
- Combine and heat both the oils together. (SEE NOTES)
- Saute the crushed ginger and garlic for about 1 minute.
- Add the ground beef, frying till it is no longer pink, cover and simmer in it's own juices for 5-10 minutes.
- Prepare the marinade while the meat is cooking.
- Add the marinade after approximately 10 minutes and simmer the mixture on low heat for 15-20 minutes.
- Uncover and cook on high till all the liquid evaporates, frying for a few minutes at the end till the meat is a medium to dark brown.
- Plate in a bowl with some rice, garnish with the basil, green onions and sesame seeds and enjoy with some of the Gochujang Sauce.
Gochujang Sauce
- Mix all of the ingredients in a saucepan.
- Whisk till well combined.
- Bring to a boil and then simmer till slightly thickened. (SEE NOTES)
Loved the flavor, but felt it was a tad dry. Would have liked some more sauce to go with the rice. Otherwise, a great weeknight meal ?
Hi Saima. Thank you for the review and suggestion. I'll work on some options for a sauce so you can enjoy it the way you like it .