Korean Ground Beef Bowls
Ground beef cooked in a sweet and savory sauce and served over rice with roasted veggies. These easy Korean Ground Beef Bowls will be on your table in less time than it takes to order takeout!
Servings: 4
Calories: 511kcal
Ingredients
For the Korean Ground Beef
- ¼ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon finely grated ginger root
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red-pepper or more to taste
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 pound 90% lean ground beef
- ½ teaspoon salt
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 green onions thinly sliced
- ¼ teaspoon sesame seeds
- Go-Chu-Jang Sauce optional topping
For the Rice and Veggies
- 3 cups water
- 1 ½ cups long grain white rice like Jasmine or Basmati
- 1 head broccoli or 2 crowns cut into florets
- 2 red bell peppers cored and cut into large 2- to 3-inch pieces
- 1 sweet yellow onion cut into about 6 chunks
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cook the rice according to package directions.
- Meanwhile, transfer the veggies to a large rimmed baking sheet and toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer the baking sheet to the preheated oven and roast for 20 to 25 minutes, or until browned and fork tender, tossing with a spatula half way through the cooking time.
- While the veggies are roasting, whisk together the soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, ginger root, garlic, and crushed red pepper in a small bowl.
- Heat vegetable oil in a 12-inch skillet over MEDIUM-HIGH heat. Add the ground beef and cook, stirring to break up the meat, until browned and crumbled Drain off excess grease, return the skillet to the heat, and season with ½ teaspoon salt and black pepper, to taste.
- Stir in the soy sauce mixture and cook, stirring occasionally for 2 to 3 minutes, to allow the beef to absorb some of the flavorful sauce. Remove from the heat and garnish with green onion and sesame seeds.
- Serve beef over cooked rice with the roasted veggies. For a deliciously spicy kick, top the bowls with Go-Chu-Jang , if desired.
Notes
Nutrition information was calculated for 1/4 of the Korean beef with 1/4 of the veggies and 1/2 cup of cooked rice.
Fresh ginger root adds a distinctive flavor that is an important component to this recipe. I always have unpeeled fresh ginger root in a small resealable plastic freezer bag in my freezer. It stays fresh for a month or more and is easier to grate from the frozen state. To add it to recipes, use a microplane zester or cheese grater.
You'll find sesame oil in the Asian section of your grocery store. In addition to being a cooking oil, it adds unique, AMAZING flavor to recipes like this.
You can easily control the spice level of this dish by adding more or less crushed red pepper. You can also eliminate it all together if you're feeding little ones with a sensitive palette.
Gochujang sauce is an optional topping for these Korean Ground Beef Bowls. It's a bright red, sweet and spicy sauce made with red chile paste that adds a ton of flavor. You can keep the beef mild and those who like things spicy can add a drizzle of gochujang. It has gained in popularity and can be found in the Asian section of most major grocery stores.
Nutrition
Serving: 1bowl | Calories: 511kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 74mg | Sodium: 972mg | Potassium: 1132mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 2907IU | Vitamin C: 217mg | Calcium: 130mg | Iron: 5mg