Korean Ground Beef Bowl (Printable Version)

Savory gochujang beef over rice with crisp vegetables, kimchi, and sesame seeds. A 30-minute Korean-inspired bowl packed with bold flavors.

# What You'll Need:

→ For the Beef

01 - 1 lb lean ground beef
02 - 2 tbsp gochujang
03 - 2 tbsp soy sauce
04 - 1 tbsp brown sugar
05 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
06 - 1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
07 - 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
08 - 2 green onions, thinly sliced

→ For the Bowl

09 - 4 cups cooked short-grain rice
10 - 1 cup cooked shelled edamame
11 - 1 cup cucumber, thinly sliced
12 - 1 cup carrot, julienned
13 - 1 cup kimchi, chopped
14 - 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

# Steps:

01 - Heat sesame oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté minced garlic and ginger for 1 minute until fragrant.
02 - Add ground beef to the skillet and cook, breaking up meat with a spatula, until completely browned and cooked through, approximately 5-6 minutes.
03 - Stir gochujang, soy sauce, and brown sugar into the cooked beef. Continue cooking for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and evenly coats the meat.
04 - Remove from heat and stir in half of the sliced green onions.
05 - Divide cooked rice evenly among 4 serving bowls. Top each bowl with the gochujang beef, edamame, cucumber, carrot, and kimchi.
06 - Sprinkle remaining green onions and toasted sesame seeds over each bowl. Serve immediately.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It comes together faster than ordering takeout, but tastes like someone spent hours in the kitchen.
  • The gochujang sauce coats every grain of rice and piece of beef with this addictive savory-spicy flavor that keeps you reaching for more.
  • You get to load your bowl with whatever vegetables you have hanging around, so it never feels like the same meal twice.
  • One batch of seasoned beef can feed four people or give you lunch prepped for the next few days.
02 -
  • Don't crowd the beef in the pan or it steams instead of browning, so breaking it up and giving it space to sear matters more than you'd think.
  • The sauce should coat the beef like a glaze, not pool underneath it, so if yours looks too wet after a few minutes of cooking you might have added too much liquid somewhere earlier.
  • Gochujang paste can clump if you don't whisk it into the soy sauce and sugar first, so stir those three together briefly before adding them to the beef.
03 -
  • Slice your vegetables the day before if you want to streamline the actual cooking process, just keep them covered in the fridge so they stay crisp.
  • A fried egg on top isn't traditional but it transforms the bowl into something even more luxurious, with the runny yolk mixing into the warm rice and sauce.
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