All of the flavors of Korean beef – made easy! These Korean Beef Bowls are the perfect 30 minute weeknight dinner, with Korean inspired ground beef over rice, with vegetables and an easy homemade gochujang mayo.
If you love Korean flavors, you’ll also love this Korean Flank Steak and this Korean Cucumber Salad.
Korean beef lettuce wraps have been a staple at our house for years. It’s an easy, 30 minute dinner. Awhile back, my husband – who likes to add sauce to everything – started adding bang bang sauce to his wraps.
Pretty soon, the whole family was doing it. And that came to mind when I went to make these Korean Beef Bowls. But instead of bang bang sauce, I made an easy homemade gochujang mayo, which I think goes even better!
These bowls are the perfect weeknight meal. I usually have everything ready to go by the time the rice is finished cooking. And you’ll want to put that mayo on everything!
Ingredients
Sauce: This sauce is an easy gochujang mayo, and only takes a few ingredients. You need mayonnaise as the base. I use a gochujang sauce vs a paste. The paste usually needs to be cooked first, and is much thicker, so stick with the sauce if possible. You will also need lemon juice, sesame oil, soy sauce, salt, and garlic powder.
Beef: For the beef, I like to use a lower fat beef, just so that I don’t have fat to drain off. If you do use a fattier ground beef, you will want to drain off any excess fat. To season the beef, you’ll use garlic, brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, fresh ginger, and red pepper flakes. If you are sensitive to heat, start off with just a pinch of red pepper flakes.
Bowls: You will need some rice as the base of your bowl. I also like to add sliced cucumbers and carrot matchsticks. I also like to top it all off with some toasted sesame seeds.
How to Make Korean Beef Bowls
STEP 1: Make your sauce. Whisk together all of the sauce ingredients until combined. I like to put this in the refrigerator until needed so that it will thicken up just a bit.
STEP 2: Cook the ground beef in a large skillet, breaking it up as it cooks. Once cooked through, add in the garlic and cook another 30 seconds.
STEP 3: Add in the brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
STEP 4: Cook this all together for a few minutes to let the flavors combine and thicken up a bit. Serve the beef mixture over rice. Serve with cucumbers, carrots, and the gochujang mayo.
Tips and Tricks
For a lower carb version, serve this as lettuce wraps instead of bowls. Skip the rice, and serve the beef and veggies in lettuce leaves.
You can also serve this over quinoa or cauliflower rice.
I like to make these as meal prep, as well. I put the rice and beef in a container, but keep the veggies and the sauce separate. After warming up the rice and beef, add the vegetables and drizzle with sauce.
More Bowl Recipes
Burger Bowls
Greek Chicken Bowls
Spicy Shrimp Bowls
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Korean Beef Bowls
Ingredients
Sauce:
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons gochujang sauce use less for less spice
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Beef:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon fresh minced ginger
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- Salt and pepper to taste
Bowls:
- 2 cups prepared rice
- Sliced cucumbers
- Carrots cut into matchsticks
- Sliced green onions
- Toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine all of the sauce ingredients. Use a whisk to mix until combined. Refrigerate until needed.1/2 cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons gochujang sauce, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook the ground beef until it is browned and crumbled. Add in the garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds.1 pound ground beef, 3 cloves garlic
- Add the brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, and red pepper flakes and stir to combine. Let this simmer for a few minutes, then taste and add salt and pepper, if needed.3 tablespoons light brown sugar, 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon fresh minced ginger, 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, Salt and pepper
- To prepare the bowls, divide the rice between 4 bowls. Top with the beef, then any desired toppings. Drizzle with the sauce.2 cups prepared rice, Sliced cucumbers, Carrots, Sliced green onions, Toasted sesame seeds
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