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There are few flavor combinations I find better than bulgogi. The sweet, savory, umami-rich flavors of the marinade can be used on all kinds of proteins.
So it’s no surprise that as an Assistant Editor at Cuisine at Home Magazine, I developed a Korean Beef Jerky recipe and have since developed more than 10 different bulgogi-style dishes. This recipe in particular is the quickest to make and the most weeknight-friendly of them all.
Ground Beef Bulgogi Recipe
Bulgogi, which is Korean bbq, translates as “fire meat.” Traditional Beef Bulgogi is made of marinated thinly sliced beef that gets seared on a grill or in a ripping hot pan until charred.
For this recipe we’re skipping the “firing” and cooking everything in one pan using ground beef.
This less-traditional beef bulgogi features ground beef cooked with onion, ginger and garlic then tossed with a classic bulgogi sauce (what’s usually the marinade). To pack the bowls, I serve this flavorful bulgogi ground beef with charred shredded carrots, quick pickled cukes, tender rice and bibb lettuce leaves.
If you like a quick Korean-inspired recipe to make mealtime easy, you should also try my chicken bulgogi, pork bulgogi, or Korean meatballs.
Ground Beef Bulgogi Ingredients
- Onion: white or yellow onion will work here. You’ll also need a box grater to grate the onion.
- Aromatics: fresh garlic and ginger are traditional and add tons of flavor to the ground beef.
- Ground beef: Ground beef is a great weeknight shortcut when you want to enjoy the flavors of bulgogi but don’t have the time for marination. I recommend 90% lean ground beef. Plus, all of the nooks and crannies capture the sweet and savory sauce—so good!
- Low-sodium soy sauce or tamari: if you need this recipe to be gluten-free, use tamari. It’s a little less salty than soy sauce and has a deeper flavor. Learn more about differences between tamari and soy sauce.
- Honey: a dash of honey adds sweetness and balances out the savory flavors of bulgogi.
- Gochujang: Gochujang is not traditional but it is Korean and I find it adds a nice depth of flavor to the recipe.
- Mirin or rice wine: Mirin is a type of rice wine that’s low in alcohol content and high in sugar content. Mirin has a sweet and slightly acidic flavor. It can be found in many Asian grocery stores or specialty stores and is available in both traditional and non-alcoholic versions.
How to Make a Beef Bulgogi Bowl
- Cook the onion, ginger and garlic in a couple teaspoons of oil.
- Add the ground beef and cook, breaking up into small pieces, until cooked through.
- Drain the beef then return the beef to the pan.
- Add the bulgogi sauce ingredients and cook until slightly thickened.
- Season to taste with additional soy sauce, gochujang and/or honey. Serve immediately.
Bulgogi Ground Beef Recipe Tips
- Make it gluten-free: Use tamari in place of the soy sauce and gluten-free gochujang. If you can’t find gluten-free gochujang, simply add two to three teaspoons chili garlic sauce to the bulgogi sauce mixture. While tamari is less salty than regular soy sauce, it’s much saltier than low-sodium soy sauce. Start with two tablespoons and add more as needed.
- Honey and soy sauce: I list a range on the amount of honey and soy sauce used because both of those are very much about preference. I prefer to use 4 tablespoons (¼ cup) of each—it’s more bold and flavorful. For a lower-sodium and lower-sugar option, use 3 tablespoons of each.
- Use a skillet rather than a saute pan: Sauté pans have straight vertical sides while skillets have shorter rounder sides. Since this recipe uses 2 pounds of ground beef, it’s best to use a sauté pan (keeps things from flying out).
What to Serve With a Beef Bulgogi Bowl
I like to serve this as a bulgogi rice bowl with white rice, butter lettuce, quick-pickled cucumbers and sautéed carrots. Here are some other ways to serve ground beef bulgogi:
- Try a lettuce wrap. As lettuce wraps in butter lettuce leaves with pickled ginger, kimchi and sambal oelek.
- Make it a rice bowl. Over cooked rice with kimchi, sliced scallions and toasted sesame seeds.
- Eat it as a sandwich. Serve it sloppy-joe style on our Milk Buns.
Storing Ground Beef Bulgogi
- For the Refrigerator: store leftover ground beef bulgogi in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- For the freezer: place the ground beef bulgogi in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
- Reheating instructions: heat ground beef bulgogi gently in a skillet over medium-low heat on the stove top just until warmed through. Alternatively, you can reheat it in the microwave in 30-second increments.
More Korean-Inspired Recipes to Try
Chicken & Turkey
Chicken Bulgogi Recipe
Korean-Inspired
Korean BBQ Beef
Tofu & Tempeh
Vegan Korean Tofu Lettuce Wraps
Bulgogi Ground Beef Recipe
Description
Savory, spicy and slightly sweet, these ground beef bulgogi rice bowls are the perfect weeknight meal. Adaptable, versatile, quick and easy—everything a great weeknight dinner should be!
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Ingredients
Pickled Cucumbers (optional)
- 2 english cucumbers, thinly sliced
- ¾ cup rice vinegar or white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey, or sugar
- kosher salt and cracked black pepper
Carrots (optional)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 (10-ounce) bags shredded carrots
Bulgogi
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 cup grated onion
- 1 heaping tablespoon minced fresh garlic
- 1 heaping tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 2 pounds 90% lean ground beef
- 3–4 tablespoons honey
- 3–4 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons gochujang
- 2 tablespoon mirin or rice wine
Serving (optional)
- white sesame seeds
- bibb lettuce
- cooked rice
- sambal oelek (chili garlic sauce)
- kimchi
Instructions
Pickled Cucumbers (optional)
- Whisk together ¾ cup rice vinegar, ½ cup water, 1 tablespoon honey and ¾ teaspoon salt until salt has dissolved. Add 2 sliced cucumbers and set aside.
Carrots (optional)
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high. Add 2 (10-ounce) bags carrots and ½ teaspoon salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and starting to brown, about 10–15 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Bulgogi
- Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a second sauté pan over medium. Add 1 cup grated onion, heaping tablespoon garlic, heaping tablespoon ginger and ½ teaspoon black pepper; cook until starting to brown, 3 minutes.
- Add 2 pounds ground beef and cook, breaking up into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink; drain beef.
- Return beef to sauté pan and stir in 3 tablespoons honey, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 3 tablespoons gochujang, and 2 tablespoons mirin; cook until thickened, about 3 minutes.
- Season to taste with additional soy sauce and honey.
- Serve bulgogi in lettuce cups with pickled cucumbers, carrots, and rice. Top with sambal oelek, if desired.
Equipment
Notes
Make it gluten-free: use tamari in place of the soy sauce and gluten-free gochujang. If you can’t find gluten-free gochujang, simply add two to three teaspoons chili garlic sauce to the bulgogi sauce mixture. While tamari is less salty than regular soy sauce, it’s much saltier than low-sodium soy sauce. Start with two tablespoons and add more as needed.
Rice: for six people cook 1½ cups white rice.
Pickled Cucumbers: I don’t like throwing pickling liquid away after making homemade pickles. These cucumbers use a small amount of pickling liquid (to reduce waste). Because if this, the cucumber slices will need to be lightly tossed occasionally to ensure each piece gets pickled. If you don’t want to do that—double the pickling liquid.
Honey & Soy sauce: I list a range on the amount of honey and soy sauce used because both of those are very much about preference. I prefer to use 4 tablespoons (¼ cup) of each—it’s more bold and flavorful. For a lower-sodium and lower-sugar option, use 3 tablespoons of each.
Cooking the carrots: stir the carrots occasionally, not constantly, to achieve slightly charred carrots (flavor!). You want the carrots to get to the point where they almost start burning. Only do this in a pan you trust can handle it—stainless steel high quality pans are best.
You may need to use a steel wool to clean the pan. If you don’t care about getting char on the carrots—just cook them until tender, 8–10 minutes. Cut down the cook time: you can get dinner on the table faster if you pull out a second pan. Cook the carrots in a large skillet while you cook the ground beef in a large sauté pan. What’s the difference between a skillet and sauté pan? Sauté pans have straight vertical sides while skillets have shorter rounder sides. Since this recipe uses 2 pounds of ground beef, it’s best to use a sauté pan (keeps things from flying out).
You may need to use a steel wool to clean the pan. If you don’t care about getting char on the carrots—just cook them until tender, 8–10 minutes. Cut down the cook time: you can get dinner on the table faster if you pull out a second pan. Cook the carrots in a large skillet while you cook the ground beef in a large sauté pan. What’s the difference between a skillet and sauté pan? Sauté pans have straight vertical sides while skillets have shorter rounder sides. Since this recipe uses 2 pounds of ground beef, it’s best to use a sauté pan (keeps things from flying out).
Nutrition
Serving: 1/6 of the recipe (¾ cup beef mixture + carrots and cucumbers)Calories: 333kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 35gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 93mgSodium: 1075mgFiber: 4gSugar: 14g
Like this? Leave a comment below!I love hearing from you and I want to hear how it went with this recipe! Leave a comment and rating below, then share on social media @zestfulkitchen and #zestfulkitchen!
This sponsored post is in partnership with the Iowa Beef Council. As always the thoughts, opinions, recipe, photos and content are all my own.
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made this for our weekly meal prep and oh my! we can’t get enough of it. It makes a lot, which is so helpful for quick meals throughout the week. Delish!
Delicious, flavorful, and on the dinner table in 45 minutes. Really enjoyed this recipe and will be adding it to our rotation!
I made this tonight and my family loved. Perfect flavors of sweet and spicy. I will be making this again.
Hi Amy! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! One of my favorite weeknight dinners too! 🙂
What kind of onion do you use?
White or yellow onion will work here, enjoy!
I used ground turkey and added a splash of sesame oil. Family loved it! Adding to the weeknight rotation.
We have made this several times over the past 3 years or so. The family loves it! I love that the other components are included. Thank you!