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30 Minute Korean Beef and Peppers with Sesame Rice. Oh my gosh…this is the BEST! Stir fried sweet, spicy, and tangy Korean beef, with garden fresh bell peppers, basil, and green onions, all served over toasted sesame rice. It’s colorful, super quick, so delicious, and possibly the best recipe you’ll make this week. Trust me, this is good, and everyone loves it!
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Happiest Monday everyone! Hoping you all had a great weekend and are enjoying these late summer August days. My brother Kai (who is HBH’s video producer) and I spent the weekend filming some new video content and working away pretty much all Saturday and Sunday. Thankfully, I was able to take a little me time on Sunday to prepare for my week away. As I mentioned in yesterday’s Favorite’s post, I’m off to LA today for some photoshoots and meetings. Looking forward to some LA heat and sunshine, because I know when I return home at the end of the week, fall will very much be settling in around (no issues here). I always, always stress the day leading up to a trip away, but always have the best time away. Work trips like this keep me energized and inspired, so I’m exited for the time away!
Anyway, that’s a quick two second recap of what’s happening, but let’s move along and talk about this easy Korean beef that’s perfect for busy nights, back to school family dinners, and really everything in between.
My little sister Asher has her first day back at school this Thursday, and while I’m not personally a parent, I know that back to school time is so crazy busy for everyone. Between adjusting to new schedules, making lunches, after school activities, and parent teacher conferences, life goes from lazy and laid back, to hectic and go, go, go.
And for those of us who are not heading back to school, or don’t have kids, life still gets busier come the end of summer and I think we can all appreciate a good 30 minute dinner.
I mean, right? Yes, or course.
It’s really no secret that I love a good Korean meal, especially after experiencing them first hand in Korea this past winter. They’re sweet, spicy, tangy, a little salty, and all things really good.
Here are the details.
The sauce is a simple mix up of soy sauce, honey, Korean chile paste, ginger, and garlic. Traditionally a Korean based sauce has wheat flour, sugar (or corn syrup), vinegar, and spices, but I really wanted not only to simplify things, but healthify them as well. This Korean beef still has all the great flavors of most Korean dishes, it’s just simpler and much less sugary.
Cool. Cool.
Start off by making the sauce, then stir fry the bell peppers and zucchini, add the steak, add the sauce, stir it all up and you’re done. Simple, quick and easy.
I wanted to use up all the peppers we have growing in the garden, so those were the obvious choice for my veggies, but feel free to use a mix of veggies you love most or have on hand. I also knew that basil had to be included, because I’m literally up to my ears in fresh basil right now. And that’s no exaggeration, we have so much basil.
And yes, I know that some of these ingredients are not traditional Korean ingredients, but the the flavors are inspired by Korea, so go with me on this…
In addition to the Korean beef and peppers, I also cooked up a simple batch of toasted sesame rice. It’s completely up to you if you’d like to make this, but it is really good, and the perfect side dish for this saucy Korean beef. OK and fine, you guys know I love a good meat and rice bowl situation. I can’t help it, sometimes you have to fall back on the things you know and love.
If you wanted to make this even healthier, try swapping white rice for brown rice or quinoa, either would be so good!
And that is it! Simple, quick, easy, and delish. Perfect for any night of the week, but especially a busy Monday night.
Enjoy!
If you make this 30 minute Korean Beef and Peppers, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love hearing from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every one of you. And of course, if you do make this dish, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram so I can see! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Watch the How To Video:
30 Minute Korean Beef and Peppers with Sesame Rice
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1-2 tablespoons Gochujang, (Korean chili paste)
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil, plus more for serving
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, sesame oil, or peanut oil
- 3 bell peppers, sliced
- 1 zucchini, chopped
- 1 1/2 pounds skirt or flank steak, thinly slice against the grain
- 4 green onions, chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
Toasted Sesame Rice
- 1 cup uncooked jasmine rice
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- 1. To make the sauce. In a glass measuring cup or jar, combine the soy sauce, honey, Gochujang (Korean chile paste), ginger, garlic and sesame oil. 2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large skillet over high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the peppers and zucchini. Cook 5 minutes or until the veggies are soft and tender, remove from skillet to a plate.3. Return the skillet to high heat and add another tablespoon of oil. Add the steak and cook, undisturbed for 2-3 minutes. Stir and cook, undisturbed for another 2-3 minutes. Pour in the sauce and bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and cook until the sauce thickens and begins to coat the steak, about 5 minutes. Add the peppers, zucchini, and green onions, cook 1 minute and then remove from the heat. Stir in the basil.4. Divide the rice among bowls and spoon the beef and peppers overtop. Top with fresh basil and green onions. Eat!
Toasted Sesame Rice
- 1. Add 2 cups water to a medium pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the rice and sesame oil. Stir to combine and then place the lid on the pot and turn the heat down to the lowest setting possible. Allow the rice to cook ten minutes on low and then turn the heat off completely. Let the rice sit, covered, for another 15 minutes (don’t take any peeks inside!). 2. Remove the lid and fluff the rice with a fork. Stir in 1-2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
So tasty and so easy to make! Definitely going to make this one again soon.
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you Celia!
This recipe is making stomach growl. Really want to make it but I really hate honey, wondering what else I could sub in for it.
Hey Kat! I recommend subbing and equal amount of brown sugar for the honey. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thanks! xTieghan
Absolutely delicious! I did sub sirloin for skirt/flank steak as I prefer a more tender cut of beef. Thanks for a great recipe!
Thank you so much Carolyn!
I’ve already made this twice since you posted it! So quick and delicious! Loving the 30 minute meals!
Thank you Kady, so so happy your enjoying it!
So stinkin’ good! Its perfect for a busy weeknight, or when you’re craving KBBQ at 2 am when everything is closed! I would argue, that it might even be better than the restaurant version! Extremely well done! More Korean food please!
Thank you so much Aubrey! I am so glad you loved this!
I found there was way too much sauce in this recipe. I tried to thicken it up a bit with cornstarch but maybe needed more.
The flavour of the sauce was good, but too salty for me.
Hi Emily! I am glad you still enjoyed this, but apologize that it did not turn out amazing for you. I hope you try some other recipes of mine, or this again and enjoy it!
I made this for my roommate for Sunday night dinner and she said she felt like she was having a take-out and a movie night!
This recipe is so good, so easy, and so beautiful. I didn’t have Gochujang so I subbed Harissa and it was still so delicious.
Have loved making a new recipe every week!
Thank you so much Sheryl!
I made this today, made a couple of small tweaks to make it a touch less caloric, but otherwise it was fantastic. Easy and quick to prepare and packed full of flavour. Will definitely be adding this as a go to meal going forward 🙂
I am so glad you loved this Tina! Thank you!
I made this stir fry last night and it was delicious. It took much longer than 30 minutes but all in all it was easy to make and my family enjoyed it! Packed some for my son’s lunch as well and we finished it off for dinner tonight. I thought it tasted better the second day.
Thank you so much! I am so glad you loved this Roxanne!
One of my husband’s and my favorite dishes, ever! We just ate it again for leftovers which were just as scrumptious. I’m so glad I hunted down the Gochujang, it was a rich and savory addition. Tieghan, you have made me a hero to him, a thousand thanks.
Thank you so much Julie! I am so glad you and your husband loved this!
Just made this for dinner tonight. It turned out great. Just the right level of spiciness.
Also, love your food photography.
Thank you so much!
I couldn’t get the sauce to thicken- I’m not sure what went wrong. Besides that I’m a fan of this recipe!
Hi Lauren! Did you try cooking it a bit longer? I am so glad you liked this!
Hey, I know it’s one of the primary ingredients but is there an alternative for the sesame oil?? Thank you!
You can swap olive oil. That will still be great! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! x Tieghan
Made this tonight. Yum! Really good! This was very easy and very delicious. Made as written. The only thing I did differently was my sauce didn’t thicken in 5 minutes so I took the beef out of the pan and let the sauce cook down and thicken. Took about another 8-10 minutes. Then I just added the beef and peppers and proceeded per recipe. This is a keeper we really loved it! Looking forward to leftovers for dinner tomorrow after work.
I am so glad you liked this Pam and hope you love the leftovers as well! Thank you!
YUM! We made it with brown rice noodles and sprinkled toasted sesame seeds over the whole thing. SO delicious and easy. Thanks!!!
Thank you so much Lisa!