Korean Ground Beef Bowls (With Gochujang)

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5 from 1 vote

These Korean Ground Beef Bowls (With Gochujang) are an easy and affordable take on traditional Korean Beef Bulgogi.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Korean

Keyword: easy asian recipes, healthy beef bowls, sweet and spicy recipe

Servings: servings

Calories: 359kcal

Author: Nosheen Babar

Ingredients

Beef

1 lb 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 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)

Notes

The Beef - I like to use 85% lean beef for my Korean beef bowls. Any leaner than this and the meat will be too dry. Any more fat than 15% and the bowls will be too greasy.

The Sugar - Dark brown sugar is best for this recipe, but light brown is a good alternative if you can't source it. If you want a healthier alternative, you can use honey or brown swerve sugar.

The Vinegar - I like to use seasoned rice vinegar for my recipe, but plain rice vinegar will work as well.

The Oil - Sesame seed oil gives a nice nutty taste to the beef but too much of it can sometimes taste overpowering. Since we're using extra lean ground beef in this recipe, we need more than just ½ tbsp of oil, so I add a little bit of regular cooking oil to the mix. Any oil that can tolerate high heat such as avocado, canola, or sunflower (to name a few) can be used.

Red pepper Flakes - I like my food on the spicy side so I add some red pepper flakes to my marinade and Gochujang sauce. If you want your beef less spicy you can halve the amount or eliminate this one ingredient altogether.

Nutrition