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Weeknight style stir-fried 20 Minute Korean Beef Sesame Noodles. Quick-cooking, gluten-free rice noodles tossed in a sweet and spicy Korean chili stir-fried sauce with caramelized beef, shallots, and summer vegetables. Plus, untraditional, but delicious, garden fresh basil. Every bite is filled with saucy noodles, vegetables, caramelized meat, and just the right amount of spice – delicious and easy.
When it’s just me here at home working, and it’s an odd few days when I don’t have any help with the grocery shopping, I buckle down and make what I have in the fridge work. That’s what I’ve been doing the last few days, and I have to say, I love what I’ve created.
I returned home from a week-long work trip on Wednesday night. But my family had canceled flights and they’re not due back until today. I did do a store run for essentials, but I didn’t get much, so my fridge is currently looking pretty sparse.
Luckily, I have quality staples and a garden FULL of basil, other herbs, and the prettiest dahlias. I decided to use some frozen Five Mary’s meat, noodles, vegetables, and basil and make a quick stir-fry with Korean chili paste.
And it turned out so delicious.
Every detail you need to know
I make the sauce first. It’s so simple, basic, and composed of my favorite pantry staples. Garlic, ginger, tamari (gluten-free soy sauce), honey, rice vinegar, Gochujang (fermented Korean Chili paste), and toasted sesame oil.
All pantry items that I try to have stocked (I keep the ginger in the fridge/freezer).
Simply combine all the ingredients together in a glass jar and shake.
While I’m shaking up the sauce, I’m simultaneously cooking the noodles. Rice noodles are perfect for stir-frying. They don’t easily turn mushy and they have the ability to really soak in the yummy sauces and flavors of a stir-fry.
I keep rice noodles on hand for quick dinners, we love them. They’re boiled, then rinsed under cold water to stop the cooking.
Stir fry the vegetables in a bit of the sauce. I love to use bell peppers, zucchini, and shredded carrots. Mushrooms and broccoli are really great too. If you’re working in a speedy manner and trying to get this on the table in 20 minutes, use a store-bought vegetable stir fry mix.
No chopping or slicing involved, which is always convenient when in a hurry. Something to think about with back to school on the horizon.
Remove the vegetables from the pan. Then add lots of shallots and stir fry to caramelize them. Next add the meat. I like to use thinly sliced flank steak, but chicken works well too.
Then pour in the sauce, add the noodles, and toss back in the vegetables. Cook everything until that spicy/sweet sauce coats the noodles.
Quickly remove from the heat and serve the noodles immediately with some fresh basil.
It’s best to serve these right off the stove as the noodles soak up the sauce pretty quickly! Perfect for our busiest nights.
Hoping you guys love this one as much as I do. I’m already excited to make it again later this week!
Looking for other quick noodle recipes? Try these:
30 Minute Creamy Turmeric Chicken and Noodles
Saucy Garlic Butter Shrimp with Coconut Milk and Rice Noodles
20 Minute Red Curry Basil Garlic Oil Noodles
Lastly, if you make these 20 Minute Korean Beef Sesame Noodles 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 Beef Sesame Noodles
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 740 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Sauce
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
- 1/2 cup tamari or soy sauce
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2-3 tablespoons Gochujang (Korean chili paste)
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
Stir Fry
- 8 ounces brown rice noodles
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 3 cups mixed stir fry vegetables
- 3 shallots, sliced
- 1 pound flank steak or chicken breast, sliced thin
- 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
- 1/2 cup fresh basil
Instructions
- 1. To make the sauce. Combe all ingredients in a glass jar. Shake or whisk to combine. 2. Cook the rice noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water. 3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the vegetables and cook until wilted, 2-3 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the sauce. Cook until the sauce coats the veggies. Remove from the pan. 4. In the same skillet, add 1 tablespoon oil. Then add the shallots and cook 2 minutes, until deeply softened. Add the beef and cook, undistributed, until seared, 2 minutes. Toss the meat, then pour in the sauce. Simmer 1 minute, then stir in the noodles and vegetables. Cook 2-3 minutes, until the sauce coats the noodles. 5. Remove from the heat and stir in the basil and sesame seeds. Serve topped with fresh basil.
This was amazing….super easy too. I used different veggies but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. Loved that is wasn’t crazy spicy, just a little kick.
Hey Emily,
Awesome!! Love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks a lot for trying it out! Happy Thursday! xTieghan
Obsessed with this recipe. I’ll be making this weekly for sure. It was quick to make, super flavorful, and is the perfect weeknight meal. For my family, I’ll need to adjust the spiciness level a bit so I may try what others have suggested: switch a tbs spoon or two of the Gochujang for a sweet chili sauce instead. Tieghan, you’re the best!
Hey Megan,
Amazing!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks a bunch for trying it out:) Thanks for your kind message and tip with the Gochujang! xT
This was fantastic Tieghan! Your recipes never disappoint!!
Thank you ?
Hey Kim,
Thanks so much for your kind message and making this dish, I am so glad it was enjoyed:) xTieghan
The 20 min Korean Beef Sesame Noodle recipe was off the hook!!! This is my new favorite! It was super easy to put together. This was my first time using Gochujang sauce and I just couldn’t stop eating it!! I was worried it would have too much heat but it had a nice tang to it. This dish will now become a regular meal at our house!
Hi Tammy,
Fantastic! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed! Thanks so much for making it and sharing your feedback! xx
SO yummy
Hi Breanna,
Happy Wednesday! I really appreciate you taking the time to make this recipe, I love to hear that it was a hit! xT
Do you think I could shrimp instead of steak??
Hey Ty,
Totally, shrimp would work well for you:) Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it!! xx
Is there a way you’d make this vegetarian? It looks delicious!
Hi DeeDee,
Just skip the beef and use more veggies of your liking, mushrooms and zucchini would be great! Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Is this spicy? I love these flavors but wondering if my kids would think there’s too much of a kick.
Hi Karla,
These do have a nice kick. I would reduce or skip the chili paste, you could even use a sweet chili sauce that would be much better for the kiddos! I hope you love the recipe! xx
Basil and rice noodles for Korean? You sure about that?
Yes.
I was going to same something similar. Call them Beef Sesame Noodles with Gochujang, or Beef Sesame Noodles with Korean Chili Paste. Maybe you can say that this is Korean-inspired. But to label this as a Korean dish is just wrong. Tieghan, can you edit the name of this dish?
Oh get over yourself
She doesn’t need to change a goddamn thing. This is her personal blog. This recipe is perfect as it is, and she can call it whatever she wants. Change your arrogant attitude maybe? Now there’s a thought!
All these phony, whining purists and typo police are like an organized troll ring. ? Totally transparent waste of bandwidth.
Tieghan, these KOREAN beef sesame noodles were an absolute slam dunk. Full of flavor, the noodles were a great choice, and the basil was the icing on the cake and a superb compliment to the dish. My family loved this. We will definitely make again!
Thank you for your clever twists, great content, innovative recipes – and don’t change a thing. There are no rules in cooking, especially on your own personal blog. Keep up the great work, you deserve every ounce of your success, and to keep carving your own unique path. ??
Very well said! ??????
I agree with you. Adding Gochujang to a noodle dish does not make it Korean (like adding spinach to a dish does not make it Greek — another example I’ve seen elsewhere). It just shows ignorance and disrespect to the original food culture. Besides it may give a wrong idea for people what Korean food is about (if they ever decided to travel to Korea), like Americans ordering fettuccine alfredo in Italy.
Um…wrong. She has every right to put her own twists on any dish, and there is nothing “disrespectful” about it. She was even courteous enough to specify the the basil wasn’t traditional, (did you even read the recipe?) but she chose to add it.
It’s called creative freedom. Do you ever add salt or pepper to a prepared dish? Maybe your favorite salad dressing? Condiments on a burger or taco? I sincerely doubt you or any of the other people foaming at the mouth over nothing never accent your food to suit your own preferences. Bottom line is that everyone on this site is growing weary of trolls claiming to be “concerned” about cultural appropriation … on a FOOD BLOG of all places, where really, anything goes. It’s just immature. At the same time, purists do not have to add basil, or even make the recipe at all. They can go elsewhere and start their own “totally culturally pure and respectful food with zero creative twists” blog, and write several cookbooks to that effect as well. Let us know when you top the bestseller list, and appear on TV with your mad skills as Tieghan continously does. News flash: Koreans do eat noodles. We also eat Basil. Some of us even order fetuccini alfredo in Italy. And guess what?
Nobody dies from it.
Signed,
an ACTUAL Korean who thought this was pretty spot on, and also loved the basil.
F yeah, S. Hong, this response made my day!
Be careful, the Teigann defense team (aka her family) are out in full force, insulting and bullying people. But yeah, this fits well with her history of misappropriating food doesn’t it…?
Nice try, thanks for playing. I for one am a regular reader of HBH and a huge fan of her content. Real food enthusiasts looking to share ideas and learn new things are the ones defending her right to create content however she wants. We are not interested in disruptions and personal attacks from jealous and bitter instigators who haven’t amounted to anything in life, so they continuously attack others online in a cowardly way. Most of use are here for the sense of community and to have a pleasant respite from all the pointless drama in the world.
Tieghan: start preapproving comments and deleting the obvious personal attacks from these degenerates. You are a truly nice person, with the patience of a saint, but you are not obligated to provide a platform for these disordered individuals. Let them go rant and combust on Reddit where they belong.
This was a hit for din. I did make some substitutions. I made with chicken which was great. My daughter doesn’t like sesame oil so I didn’t add Instead added sweet chili sauce instead of the chili paste. Also, I only did 1 tbsp of the sweet chili sauce. Turned out great and super easy.
Hi Brooke,
Awesome! So glad this recipe was a hit! Great idea to use chicken, I’m glad it worked well for you! xTieghan
Made this tonight and it was delicious. My hubby and college age son devoured it, both saying it was really good. Love the basil in the recipe. I used 2 TBS of the Korean chili paste, and that was a good level of spice for me. My son added some siracha to his because he loves spicy food. I used about 3 cups of chopped veggies. Overall, a keeper of a recipe. Will definitely make it again! You need a big pan…it was difficult to toss everything together at the end (in my 10″ fry pan), so I ended up mixing everything in a large pasta bowl after the noodles warmed up a bit. Try it! You won’t be sorry! 🙂 This is my 4th recipe from Half-Baked and none have disappointed! Eager to try more!
Hey Lois,
Fantastic! Thanks so much for making this dish and sharing your review, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Thanks for sharing what worked well for you! xx
Could I use coconut aminos instead of the soy sauce?
Hi Holly,
Totally, that will work well for you! Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
Wow, it’s not often I happen to almost everything in the house for one recipe! I did substitute sriracha( the Korean chili paste was my missing ingredient and I read online sriracha was an acceptable substitute) , but not the whole amount as my husband is not a fan of spicy…it was delish!
Hi Sheryl,
Awesome!! I appreciate you giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was a hit! xTieghan
Delicious! Came together so fast! My older daughter asked if I could make this for her lunches for school.
Which brand of rice noodles do you use? There are so many!
Noodles on downtime is the best!
Hey Jamie,
Fantastic! Thanks so much for making this dish and sharing your review, I am so glad it was enjoyed! I really like Lotus Foods Brand noodles. xx
Thank you!
We made it again, but with portobello mushrooms instead of beef. Just as good, if not better.
Awesome!!
Is there a substitute for the chili paste? I live on an island and our grocery store doesn’t carry it. The recipe sounds so good! PS we older folk don’t like really spicy.
I was going to ask Tieghan the same thing. I can’t handle/digest hot things like chili paste anymore either. Or, could we use less of it (maybe 1 T?) and still get some flavor and just a teeny bit of heat?
Hi Melanie,
Sure, 1 tablespoon is a great idea! I hope you love this dish! xx
I’m older and I LOVE spicy! We always have Gochujang on hand. But for friends who can’t handle hot and spicy I often substitute a sweet chili sauce. Maybe that would work for you?
Yes! Such a great idea to use the sweet chili sauce, thanks Paula!
Hey Marilyn,
How about a sweet chili sauce? That way it’s not super spicy for you! Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it!! xx