Fast & Easy Korean Beef with Rice is an Asian inspired meal that everyone will love! The ingredients are simple, it is easy to make, and is budget friendly, using ground beef for the meat. Serve it over warm rice and top it with green onions for a dish that is delicious.
I have been making this dish for years. I found the recipe online after my youngest was born in 2013. Like any mom with a newborn, I was tired and didn’t have a lot of time on my hands to make an elaborate meal. I found this yummy dish from Six Sisters (click HERE for their recipe) and we have loved it ever since. I have changed a few things but their recipe was my inspiration (aren’t they the freaking greatest). My recipe serves more (more ground beef and more sauce…because I never can have too much sauce) but you can really thank them, not me, for this yummy dish!
The Sauce
Let’s talk about the sauce. I bet you have all of the ingredients in your cupboard or pantry! Brown sugar, soy sauce (low sodium), garlic, ground ginger, sesame seed oil, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper. The ingredients are so simple but the flavor is out of this world! It packs a punch of Asian flair and is so dang good! I love having extra sauce so I can taste the flavor with the rice and so the rice gets good and covered in it. You can easily half the sauce recipe if it seems like to much sauce for you. You can make half of the sauce recipe and easily make up another half batch of the sauce if you decide it needs more. I mix up my sauce while the ground beef is browning.
I use bottled minced garlic. It is easier to use and I always have it on hand. Typically a 1/2 tsp of the bottled minced garlic equals 1 clove of fresh minced garlic. For this recipe I use 4 tsps. bottled minced garlic which is 8 fresh cloves, minced. The bottle is so much and easier and it still brings the garlic flavor you need!
The sesame seed oil is available at most grocery stores and is sold on the Asian foods aisle. Sesame seed oil has a very strong flavor that can overpower any dish, so just a little is all you need!
The Meat
I use ground beef for this dish and it makes it so fast and easy. Not to mention it is budget friendly! Just brown the meat, drain it and then add in your sauce. (One skillet is all you need…yay! This just gets better as you are reading!)
I love my Mongolian Beef (click HERE for the recipe), but it does take a little bit more to make the dish, so this Korean Beef using ground beef is perfect for busy weeknights!
RICE
Who knew there were so many options for rice!
The Butcher Man loves Brown Rice. I don’t mind brown rice, but I would much rather have a Jasmine or Basmati Rice. A plain white rice is fine too….it is really just up to you!
Jasmine rice has an aromatic flavor that is perfect for the flavors in the sauce- it helps balance the flavors in most Asian dishes (just my opinion). Jasmine rice has a perfect sticky soft texture. Basmati Rice has a more firm texture and is a bit more fluffy but is also aromatic. It is another great choice for any Asian dish (my opinion) to help balance all the flavors that can be found in Asian cuisine! Basically choose the rice you like….the dish is so good any rice will work!
Making the Fast & Easy Korean Beef with Rice
My rice cooker takes a good 30-45 minutes to cook my rice, so I always get it going first. Brown rice typically takes a bit longer so if you are serving this dish with Brown Rice for sure get your rice cooking before you start the dish. This dish comes together quick, so you don’t want to have to be waiting on your rice!
Here is the fast and easy part. Just brown your ground beef. Drain it (rinse it if you desire…which I always do-personal preference). While my meat is browning, I mix up my sauce and set it aside.
Once the ground beef is browned, add in the sauce and mix it well. Let it simmer for 10-15 minutes until some of the sauce has cooked out. You can absolutely eat it right away and not wait the 10-15 minutes for it to simmer, but I love the flavor that is created as it simmers and heats. Some of the sauce will cook out as it simmers (also called reducing) but you should still have plenty of sauce to pour on your rice and meat if that’s your thing (which it is totally mine…I love extra sauce on everything!).
If you love Asian inspired dishes, try my Mongolian Chicken, my Firecracker Chicken, Mongolian Beef, or my Chicken Broccoli Ramen Stir Fry!
Things I used to make this recipe:
Fast Easy Korean Beef with Rice is an Asian inspired meal that everyone will love! The ingredients are simple, it is easy to make, and is budget friendly, using ground beef for the meat. Serve it over a bed or warm rice and top it with green onions for a dish that is delicious.
Fast & Easy Korean Beef with Rice
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
- Rice for serving see notes
- Bunch of green onions, chopped for serving
THE SAUCE
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2/3 cup soy sauce (low sodium)
- 4 tsp bottled, minced garlic or 8 fresh garlic cloves, minced *more or less to taste – see notes
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp sesame seed oil
- pinch of red pepper flakes *more or less to taste (this is optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Start cooking your rice before you start making the Korean Beef to make sure the rice is done on time!
- Brown your ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat. Drain and rinse (optional).
- While your meat is browning, mix all of the sauce ingredients together and mix well. Set aside while your meat is browning.
- After your ground beef has browned, add the sauce to your meat. Mix well. Let the sauce simmer and reduce for 10-15 minutes. (I let mine simmer on a medium-low setting, adjust the heat as needed).
- Serve over rice and top with chopped green onions.
Notes
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