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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.
Hi! I made this and tried the sauce and Tate’s amazing, but mine never soaked into the noodles 😩 so it didn’t caramelize? I doubled the recipe so we could have leftovers, do you think it’s because I doubled it? Or anything I should do different?
Hi there! Hmmm is there anything else you did differently besides doubling the recipe? xT
May family loved it! Great meal ty lots!
Thank you so so much Joanne! So glad you enjoyed this recipe! xT
This was yummy. Took me 45 minutes instead of 20 (and that’s with using frozen stir fry veggies and my husband slicing the chicken). Wish I could actually get a 20 minute recipe on the table in 20 minutes. Lol
Thank you so so much for giving this recipe a try! And thanks for taking the time to leave a comment! Have a great day! xT
Quick and yummy. Everyone in my house loved it – including 10 and 8 year old – that never happens! I used stir fry veggies from produce section, a zucchini and bell pepper. Leftovers were good cold!
Thank you so so much for giving the recipe a try! Love to hear that it was enjoyed! xT
This sauce is sooooo good I didn’t want to stop eating it!!
Love to hear that!! Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try! xT
What are your thoughts on mixing this recipe up and using oyster sauce instead of gochujang ?! If no go, I will do the original. 🙂
Hi! I think that would be yummy! xT
Hi Tieghan! Is it okay for me to use dark soy sauce in place of tamari? Thank you. I tried it with light soy sauce and it was really good. It just has that bitter light soy sauce aftertaste. Thank you again for this amazing recipe!!!
Hey! Yes, that should work fine! xT
Lovely recipe! We used vegetarian bulgogi steak pieces and it was a total hit! Easy to follow with delicious results! Love your recipes and have all your cookbooks! Forever fan!
This was great. Super fast and easy to make. Really flavorful
Hey there! Sooo glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for trying it out! xT
Delicious! Only thing is that the prep took more like 20-25 minutes including cooking the noodles. But a keeper for sure!
Thanks
Hi Carol,
Fantastic!! So glad to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for making it:)
This was great! Made it with ground turkey instead of steak; and it was so awesome! Quick, easy, and delicious!
Hi Jessi,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear it was a hit! xx
Is there another kind of beef that would work. My store doesn’t often have flank steak.
Hi Susan,
Sure, skirt steak would also work well for you! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Tiegan!!! Another FABULOUS recipe! Everyone loved it including me. The soy/ginger/honey sauce is killer. I used what I had in my freezer which included target’s frozen stir fry vegetables. The rice noodles soak up the sauce. The end result…delicious. Thank you!!
Thanks so much Debera!! I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you and appreciate you making it! Happy Friday!
Delicious! An easy weeknight meal with a nice kick from the Gochujang. I used red peppers and snow peas for my veggies. Live the sauce. Thanks for another great recipe!
Hi Jill,
Fantastic!!🍒🍉 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your comment, so glad to hear it was a winner! xx
What are your thoughts on using ramen noodles ? I have some in my pantry I would like to use !
Hi Matia,
Sure, ramen noodles would be just fine for you to use here! Let me know how this recipe turns out for you, I hope you love it! xx
I have udon noodles that I’d like to use in this. Would I cook them the same as the rice noodles?
Hi Nicole,
I would follow the package instructions for the udon noodles:) Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT