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Weeknight stir-fried 20 Minute Korean Gochujang Beef Bowls. Quick-cooking ground beef tossed in a sweet and spicy Korean chile sauce with caramelized shallots and bell peppers. Serve with a quick, pickled, spicy cucumber salad. Every bite is filled with deliciously flavored beef and just the right amount of spice – flavorful and easy.
The perfect Monday recipe for you all! When I was brainstorming ideas for this month, I knew I wanted to focus on high-protein, quick, simple dinners. Dinners that would be exciting yet healthy and easy to cook.
When it comes to cooking a new recipe, what can often turn us off is when it feels scary or has an overwhelming amount of steps. I totally get that. I say no immediately if I look at anything with a mile-long ingredient list and even more steps.
So this month, to encourage everyone to be home, cooking more. I knew simple, healthy, and delicious dinners were the trick.
As I mentioned last week, my brothers have been home a lot recently. They love any kind of dish that’s stir-fried and spicy.
Gochujang (fermented Korean Chili paste) is an ingredient I know they love when I use it in recipes, so I just loved the sound of a Gochujang Beef Bowl. I knew I could make it quick and delicious.
Here are the details
Step 1: cook the beef
For this recipe to be quick, I used ground beef. You could also use ground pork or even ground chicken if you prefer.
Once you’ve browned the meat, add a slice of butter, lots of bell peppers, pickled ginger, and garlic. Allow this to cook until super fragrant.
Step 2: Add the flavor
Now, add the soy sauce. I use tamari, which is a gluten-free soy sauce. Then, add the Gochujang (fermented Korean Chili paste) and ginger juice, which I get from the pickled ginger jar. Or you can now buy ginger juice as well. I just found some at Whole Foods!
Let the sauce simmer and cook down until it coats the beef.
Step 3: caramelize the meat
The final step is to add the maple, or use honey, and let the meat caramelize, plus get crispy in the spicy chile sauce.
Pull it off the stove, then toss it with sesame seeds. YUM!
Step 4: the cucumber salad
I wanted to add a refreshing crunch, so I made a quick pickled cucumber salad using cucumbers, salt, Gochujang chile flakes (or regular chile flakes), and vinegar/ginger juice. Just mix and let it sit for a few minutes.
Simple Simple.
Step 5: serve with rice
Now spoon the beef over cooked rice, add the salad, lots of green onions, and the roasted peanuts. It’s best to serve this right off the stove while still steamy. But if you need to rewarm it, it’s still great. Perfect for our busiest times.
Hoping you guys love this one as much as we’ve loved it. I’m already excited to make it again later this week!
Looking for other quick weeknight dinners? Here are some favorites:
Chili Crisp Chicken Mango Cucumber Rice Bowl
30 Minute Caramelized Shallot Beef Ramen Noodles
Healthier Homemade One Pot Hamburger Helper
Coconut Popcorn Chicken with Sweet Thai Chili Lime Sauce
30 Minute Sticky Thai Meatballs with Sesame Noodles
Better Than Takeout Sweet Thai Basil Chicken
Spicy Chipotle Honey Salmon Bowls
Lastly, if you make this 20 Minute Korean Gochujang Beef Bowls, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
20 Minute Korean Gochujang Beef Bowls
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 430 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef (or chicken or pork)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 bell peppers, sliced
- 3 shallots, sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/4 cup pickled ginger (or 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger)
- 1/2 cup tamari or soy sauce
- 2-3 tablespoons Gochujang (Korean chili paste)
- 2 tablespoons ginger juice
- 2 tablespoons maple or honey
- 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
- 1/3 cup chopped roasted peanuts
Cucumber Salad
- 4 Persian cucumbers, chopped
- 1 tablespoon Gochujang (Korean chili paste)
- 1/4 cup chopped green onion/ Thai basil
- 2 tablespoons ginger juice or rice vinegar
Instructions
- 1. In a large skillet, combine the beef and a pinch of black pepper. Cook over medium heat, breaking up the meat as it cooks until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the butter, peppers, garlic, shallots, and ginger. Cook 2 minutes.2. Pour over the tamari, add the Gochujang, ginger juice, and 1/3 cup water. Cook until the sauce coats the beef, 2-3 minutes. Mix in the maple/honey and cook another 1-2 minutes until the beef is caramelized. Remove from the heat. Toss with sesame seeds. 3. Meanwhile, In a bowl, mix the cucumbers with 1 teaspoon salt, the chile flakes, ginger juice, and green onions. Let sit 5 minutes.4. Serve the beef and peppers over bowls of rice. Serve with the cucumber salad and top with peanuts. Add spicy mayo if desired. Enjoy!
This is really good! All the flavors blend so nicely. Took me more like an hour, though, with all the prep, making the rice and salad. Will definitely make again.
Hi Mary,
Wonderful! I am so glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! Sorry this took longer than expected! Happy Easter! xT
Why would you put thai basil in a gochujang dish and then top with scallions??? This like american meatloaf recipe with cilantro topping with a ketchup and relish sauce smeared on top bc it’s “american”….
This is so yummy! I made it last night and my partner said it was his favorite meal. I opted for honey but sadly didn’t have basil. Other than that I made it as written.
I did have a comment about the cucumber salad: I used 1 tbsp of gochujang (paste) which is in the ingredients list for the salad and found it hard to mix. Then I noticed you wrote gochujang Chile flakes in the directions. I realize I was supposed to use flakes instead but the typo(?) got me. It was still tasty but I thought I’d point it out. 🙂
Thanks so much Jenna!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a try! So sorry for the confusion! xT
This was delicious. I made it exactly as recipe. I used maple syrup ( not honey) and rice vinegar in the cucumbers. Going on the definitely make again list!
Hey Sheryl,
Happy Monday!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe and your comment, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! xT
So delicious, wow!!! Love the flavor and all the veggies.
Hi Britnee,
Wonderful! I am so glad this recipe turned out nicely for you, thanks so much for making it! Happy Sunday! xT
I love this recipe! Made it with beef and pork on different occasions and both are equally delicious!
Hi Ellie,
Love this!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe and your feedback! So glad it was enjoyed:) Xx
In case anyone wanted to make this vegetarian/vegan – I made it with tofu and it was great! I couldn’t find any comments on making it without beef and wanted to report back.
I pressed and then crumbled the tofu, baked it for 25 minutes or so at 425. I added a bit of soy sauce and then corn starch before baking. Because I was baking the tofu I roasted the peppers and onions too. Added the sauce (only 2tbsp of soy sauce) to each sheet pan for the last 5 minutes or so to get caramelized and crispy. YUM! The cucumbers on top had a weird flavor, maybe it was the rice vinegar I used or gochugaru chili flakes, but the crunch was nice. I also added kewpie mayo which I highly recommend!
Hey Jess,
Awesome!! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try and sharing your detailed notes for using tofu! I’m sure that will be helpful for other readers! Have a great day:) xx
Amazing and simple recipe. I added green beans along with the peppers. This will be made again at our house.
Thanks so much Alyssa! Love to hear that this dish turned out well for you:) xx
Wow, this was delicious, with that gochujang giving it quite a kick! Quick and easy to make, one we’ll definitely be having again.
Hi Helen,
Amazing!! So glad to hear this dish turned out well for you, thanks for making it and your comment:) Xx
Another amazing recipe! I made it exactly as written and it was great. Served it with sriacha roasted broccoli. Sooo good! Thanks Tiegahn!
Hi Karen,
So glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a lot for making it! Xx
This is a major ABSOLUTELY YES in my household. Way tastier than take out, in my opinion. The cucumber salad is so good too. Followed the recipe, minus bell peppers – just not my jam. My new “takeout” go to dish for sure. Will make this and pair it with fried rice next time! Mmm!
Hey Jasmine,
I appreciate you making this dish and your comment! So glad it was a hit! xT
I made this for dinner tonight and we loved it! So incredibly flavourful. My husband kept going on about how tasty it was. So easy to make too. Thank you so much for sharing!
Hi Erin,
So glad to hear this! Thanks for making this dish and your comment! Have a great Thursday! xT
Hi! Could i used cubed beef tenderloin (you do this in another stir fry)?
Hi Stefanie,
Sure, I don’t see why that wouldn’t work for you! Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT
This was yummy and I will make it again!
My only complaint is not a new one…….unless you have fabulous knife skills, this is NOT a 20 minute meal for the regular old house Frau like me. The recipe title can be a bit misleading. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely liked it, I just don’t think it’s a 20 minute meal, very few truly are.
Hi Colleen,
I appreciate you making this dish and sharing your feedback! So sorry this took longer than expected to make! xx
Just got finished making this and it was out of this world!!! I rarely get dishes this flavorful in a restaurant. A fair amount of chopping but worth every minute of prep and easy to put together!
Hey Denise,
Amazing!! Thanks so much for trying this recipe and your feedback! Love to hear it was a hit! xT
Green onion and Thai basil, or just pick one? Thank you!
Hi Denise,
Totally, up to you! I like to use both:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT