Easy Korean Beef – One of the Best Ground Beef Recipes for Busy Nights
This is another easy recipe my children love! They ask for this one to be on the meal plan each time I ask for their help with ideas. And we usually have to double it if we are wanting it as leftovers.
You can use any ground meat you like and use the same sauce. I have done it with chicken, beef, and pork and it always turns out delicious.
Because this is an easy ground beef recipe the kids can help make this one. It is a great starter recipe if you are wanting to get your kids in the kitchen a little bit more. It is also a glute-free, dairy-free, and egg-free dish so anyone in your family should be able to enjoy it without worry.
Korean Beef is a total win when you’re cooking on a budget too. Ground beef is an affordable protein that stretches well, especially when paired with pantry staples like rice, soy sauce, and brown sugar. You don’t need fancy ingredients to create the delicious and bold flavors in this ground beef recipe. Plus, the rice helps bulk up the meal, making it perfect for feeding a family or prepping extra portions for leftovers for meal prep, all without breaking the bank.
Why You’ll Love This Korean Beef Recipe
This is a complete meal (it includes the sides!) idea that can be made in 20 minutes. Korean beef uses only pantry staples of ground beef, soy sauce, rice, and a few spices. Then to add even more bulk and deliciousness you can steam some broccoli or other mixed veggies as pictured above.
What you will find is this easy ground beef recipe is the perfect mix of sweet and savory. The brown sugar you use in the sauce really compliments the savory richness of the ground beef. Making this dish so satisfying.
One more great reason you will love this Korean Beef recipe is that it is both budget-friendly and meal prep friendly. This tastes just as amazing on day four as it does on day one. You can make the ground beef portion and then put it over a bed of lettuce, over rice, or over steamed vegetables for a filling and satisfying lunch.
Tips for The Perfect Korean Beef
This Korean Beef ground beef recipe is like any other. You can use whatever fat content you want but to avoid excess fat using 90/10 or above would be best. If you don’t know what that means, it is saying it is 90% meat and 10% fat so it will melt out when you heat it up.
Both fresh ginger and dried ginger taste great in this recipe so use whatever you have, and I have used both, but if you can fresh ginger is extra delicious in this Korean Beef recipe.
The recipe calls for red pepper flakes, if you put them in early and let them cook for a long time they will get hotter as they sit. If you have kiddos or people who don’t like as much spice add them at the end or you can even skip them.
It is also very easy to make this ground beef recipe look like a five-star restaurant made it. Simply slice up a few green onions and drop them on top. This pops the color and takes your easy meal to the next level.
Last tip for now, let the sauce reduce down (it means to let the water evaporate) so that they ground beef will get covered in a sticky sauce and it won’t run all over your plate.
Meal Prep Tips and Storage Tips
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To easily meal prep this ground beef recipe, prep the meat ahead of time. It can be browned and stored in air-tight containers in the fridge or freezer. Then you just have to add the sauce when you want to make this dish.
Make a double batch of this recipe so that you can have supper made and then you can split the rest into portions in your favorite meal prep containers, these are mine, and store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
If you run out of rice you can easily put this in a lettuce leaf for a lettuce wrap, over steamed veggies, or pair it with some hard boiled eggs.
Other Ground Beef Recipes
Ingredients
Method
- Start rice in a sauce pan with a lid. Pour rice in the pan with the water and salt. Get the water to boil then turn it down to a simmer and cover with the lid. Let simmer for 15 – 18 minutes. Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t dry out, but don’t lift the lid if you can help it. Rice cooks with steam, so don’t let it out.
- While the rice is cooking, brown ground beef in a skillet with the sesame oil. Then drain the fat.
- While the beef is cooking, mix up the soy sauce, sugar, ginger, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes. Pour over cooked meat and heat until slightly thickened and sticking to the meat.
- Portion out the rice then top with the meat. Sprinkle on green onion if desired.
- Pairs well with steamed broccoli.