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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.
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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
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.
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.
Delicious!! This will be a regular in my dinner rotation.
Hi Jodi,
Happy Sunday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for sharing your review and making it! xxT
I made this with rib tips from my butcher box order. I should have marinated them, they were a little tough. This recipe has a ton of flavor. The only adjustment I made was to use a Spanish onion instead of shallots and Chinese chili paste. I used Bok choy, carrots, broccoli, snow peas and red pepper. It was super colorful and I double the recipe so we’ll be eating lots of leftovers!
Hey Andrea,
Fantastic!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for trying it out! Thanks for sharing what worked well for you. xTieghan
I doubled this recipe. It took me an hour and a half to make it with all the chopping. That was my only complaint I thought it was going to be much quicker. Otherwise, very tasty!
Hey Joni,
Wonderful! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks for trying it out! Have a great weekend:)
This was delicious. Everyone loved it. Thanks for sharing.
Hi there,
Amazing!! Thanks so much for trying this recipe, I love to hear that it was a hit! xT
This was yummy and went together really fast in my wok.
Hi Noell,
Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing what worked well for you, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Happy Friday!! xx
An easy, perfectly layered and delicious stir-fry that will be added to the regular rotation in the Ortega household. Only small optweaks were adding 1 tsp of brown sugar to the sauce and since I used low sodium soy sauce it needed a pinch of salt in my bowl – along with red pepper flakes because we like things spicy around here. I used zucchini, red bell pepper and shredded carrot for my “stir-fry vegetables”. The shallot really made this dish. I might try pad Thai noodles next time just for more noodle substance. Overall, a fun, healthy and nourishing weekday recipe. Tieghan nails it again!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – Jessica Ortega, Kitchen Witch ✨
Hi Jessica,
Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing what worked well for you, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Happy Friday!! xx
Just made this for dinner- incredibly tasty and easy! Thanks so much!
Hi Katherine,
Happy Friday! I am so excited to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for trying it out! ?xx
I halved the recipe (for two) and used minced beef, which worked really well. Served it with some quick-pickled cucumber (just sugar, cider vinegar and seasoning) as we’re currently inundated, and that offset the flavors perfectly. We both thought it was an excellent dish, definitely one to roll out regularly.
Hey there,
Happy Friday! I am so excited to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for trying it out! ?xx
Excellent flavor! I added some bean sprouts to serve. I loved putting a variety of veggies in this and doubled for leftovers.
Hey Adrienne,
Awesome!! So glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! xT
Thank you for another good one for the books! We did chicken and doubled veggies. Will definitely be adding this to the repertoire! I just need to learn how to work in your timeframe! ?
Hi Brittany,
Happy Thursday! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! xx
Absolutely delicious!!
Hi Laura,
Awesome!! So glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! xT
I made this the day you posted. Loved the sweet/heat and the flavors were incredible! I used flank steak but certain chicken would be delicious too. It’s now a fav and in our dinner rotation! Thx for the delicious recipe!
Hey Becki,
Fantastic! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for trying it out! xT
Absolutely delicious! We added more veggies the second time. Love this dish!
Hi Dana,
Awesome!! So glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! xT
This was absolutely delicious! I made it last night and cannot wait for lunch time to have the leftovers. I agree with another commenter; I would add more veggies next time, since everything gets so richly coated with that yummy sauce, it’s a great way to intake more veggies and have them taste amazing!
Also, I think that on step #4 you meant “undisturbed” instead of “undistributed”, or was I supposed to pile the meat on the skillet and just not evenly distribute it around? Either way… 100% recommend this recipe. It’s going straight into my -GO TO- folder!
Hey Jessica,
Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback! So glad to hear it was enjoyed!! No, you are correct it should say “undisturbed”. Thanks!! xx
Tastes as good as it looks! This was SO good and I’m glad I had doubled the recipe…looking forward to lunch today! Thank you for a great, quick recipe for a weeknight!
Hi Rita,
Happy Wednesday! Thanks so much for making this dish, I love to hear that it was tasty! xTieghan
Amazing! This sauce is perfection. I think this might be my favourite recipe of yours. I like spicy so I used 3 tbsp of Gochujang.
Hi Jen,
Happy Wednesday! Thanks so much for making this dish, I love to hear that it was tasty! xTieghan