Easy Korean Bulgogi BBQ Beef Bowls.

Quick-cooking ground beef tossed in a sweet and spicy Korean chile sauce with sesame miso slaw and warm jasmine rice. Add a poached or fried egg, homemade yum yum sauce, avocado, and toasted sesame seeds. Each bowl has just the right amount of spice and plenty of protein and vegetables. Make these for dinner, but here’s the trick: double the recipe. You’ll have meal-prepped Korean beef bowls ready for lunch the next day. So good and so easy.

You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to share these bowls with you all. I’ve been making them all summer, ever since my brother sent me a photo of a dinner he had made. He called it a makeshift bulgogi-style beef bowl. All the colors and flavors immediately brought back memories of our time in South Korea.

We ate so many incredible meals while we were in Korea, and I especially loved the bulgogi bowls. Of course, I’m definitely not trying to tell you these are traditional bulgogi bowls, but they brought back those flavors and memories for me. They’re such a delicious, quick option to make at home.

We live off rice bowls. My family could eat rice with every meal, and honestly, we often do. For these bowls, I love jasmine rice cooked simply with water and salted ghee. I swear the ghee is the secret. Ever since I started using it in my rice, every pot comes out perfectly cooked and perfectly salted. Top notch.

And then my biggest tip is what I mentioned above: make extras. Double the recipe and build lunch bowls for the week, or save everything for a second dinner. This is such a great meal-prep recipe, and one of those dinners you’ll be so happy to have waiting in the fridge.

Ingredients

Bulgogi Beef

• ground beef
• garlic
• tamari or soy sauce
• gochujang
• pickled ginger
• pickled ginger juice
• maple syrup

Sesame Miso Dressed Slaw

• purple cabbage
• green onions
• tahini
• white miso paste
• toasted sesame oil
• fresh ginger
• rice vinegar
• lemon or lime juice, or a mix of both

Cucumber Salad

• cucumbers, chopped
• spicy kimchi
• kimchi brine

The Bowls

• cooked white rice – I love jasmine
• shredded carrots
• avocado
• poached or soft-boiled eggs
• Thai basil and sliced green onions
• toasted black and white sesame seeds
• spicy yum yum sauce, for serving

Here are the Steps

Step 1: Start with the beef

Use a large skillet. I like to spread the meat out and leave it alone for a couple of minutes before breaking it up. This is how you get those crispy, caramelized pieces instead of soft, steamed ground beef.

Once browned, add the garlic, then the tamari, gochujang, pickled ginger, ginger juice, and water. Let the sauce bubble down until it’s glossy and really clings to the beef. Finish with the maple syrup.

Tip: Don’t rush this part. If the beef still looks watery, keep cooking it. You want almost no sauce pooling in the bottom of the skillet. It should be coating every little piece.

Step 2: Make the sesame miso slaw

This slaw is what makes the bowls extra good. The beef is warm, spicy, and rich, so I wanted something creamy and crunchy alongside it.

Blend the tahini, miso, sesame oil, ginger, rice vinegar, citrus, and hot water until smooth, then toss with the cabbage and green onions.

Tip: Start with less water and add more as needed. Tahini dressings can go from too thick to too thin quickly. You want this creamy enough to coat the cabbage without collecting at the bottom of the bowl.

I also like to let the dressed slaw sit for 10 minutes before serving. It softens just enough while still keeping its crunch.

Step 3: Make the spicy cucumbers

Toss the cucumbers with the kimchi and a couple tablespoons of the brine. The brine is important. It seasons the cucumbers and gives them so much more flavor without needing another dressing.

My tip: Make these while the beef cooks and let them sit. They get better as they marinate.

Step 4: Cook the eggs

Use whatever egg your family loves. I tend to go for a fried egg with crispy edges and a runny yolk because once you break the yolk into the warm rice and beef, it becomes another sauce for the bowl. A jammy soft-boiled egg is great too.

Step 5: Build the bowls

Start with warm jasmine rice, then add the beef, slaw, spicy cucumbers, carrots, and avocado. Add the egg and finish with Thai basil, green onions, toasted sesame seeds, and spicy yum yum sauce.

My tip: Don’t skip the fresh toppings. With a bowl like this, you need the contrast. Warm beef and rice, crunchy vegetables, creamy avocado, fresh herbs, and something spicy on top. Having all those different textures is what makes a rice bowl really good.

And definitely put the extra sauces on the table. In my family, someone is always asking for more sauce. The more sauce, the better!