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Weeknight stir-fried 20 Minute Korean Gochujang Beef Bowls. Quick-cooking ground beef tossed in a sweet and spicy Korean chile sauce with caramelized shallots and bell peppers. Serve with a quick, pickled, spicy cucumber salad. Every bite is filled with deliciously flavored beef and just the right amount of spice – flavorful and easy.

The perfect Monday recipe for you all! When I was brainstorming new recipes for this month, I knew I wanted to focus on high-protein, quick, simple dinners. Dinners that would be exciting yet healthy and easy to cook.
When it comes to cooking a new recipe, what can often turn us off is when it feels scary or has an overwhelming amount of steps. I totally get that. I say no immediately if I look at anything with a mile-long ingredient list and even more steps.
So this month, to encourage everyone to be home, cooking more. I knew simple, healthy, and delicious dinners were the trick.

As I mentioned last week, my brothers have been home a lot recently. They love any kind of dish that’s stir-fried and spicy.
Gochujang (fermented Korean Chili paste) is an ingredient I know they love when I use it in recipes, so I just loved the sound of a Gochujang Beef Bowl. I knew I could make it quick and delicious.

Here are the details
Step 1: cook the beef
For this recipe to be quick, I used lean ground beef. You could also use ground pork or even ground chicken if you prefer.
Once you’ve browned the meat, add a slice of butter, lots of bell peppers or other veggies you enjoy, pickled ginger, and garlic. Allow this to cook until super fragrant.

Step 2: Add the flavor
Now, add the low sodium soy sauce. I use tamari, which is a gluten-free soy sauce. Then, add the Gochujang (fermented Korean Chili paste) and ginger juice, which I get from the pickled ginger jar. Or you can now buy ginger juice as well. I just found some at Whole Foods!
Let the sauce simmer and cook down until it coats the beef.

Step 3: caramelize the meat
The final step is to add the maple, or use honey, and let the meat caramelize, plus get crispy in the spicy chile sauce.
Pull it off the stove, then toss it with sesame seeds. YUM!

Step 4: the cucumber salad
I wanted to add a refreshing crunch, so I made a quick pickled cucumber salad using cucumbers, salt, Gochujang chile flakes (or regular chile flakes), and vinegar/ginger juice. Just mix in a small bowl and let it sit for a few minutes.
Simple Simple.
Step 5: serve with rice
Now spoon the beef over cooked rice, you could even use cauliflower rice, add the salad, lots of green onions, and the roasted peanuts. It’s best to serve this right off the stove while still steamy. But if you need to rewarm it, it’s still great. Perfect for our busiest times.
Hoping you guys love this Korean beef bowl as much as we’ve loved it. I’m already excited to make it again later this week!

Looking for other quick weeknight dinners? Here are some favorites:
Chili Crisp Chicken Mango Cucumber Rice Bowl
30 Minute Caramelized Shallot Beef Ramen Noodles
Healthier Homemade One Pot Hamburger Helper
Coconut Popcorn Chicken with Sweet Thai Chili Lime Sauce
30 Minute Sticky Thai Meatballs with Sesame Noodles
Better Than Takeout Sweet Thai Basil Chicken
Spicy Chipotle Honey Salmon Bowls
Lastly, if you make this 20 Minute Korean Gochujang Beef Bowls, 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 Gochujang Beef Bowls
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 430 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef (or chicken or pork)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 bell peppers, sliced
- 3 shallots, sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/4 cup pickled ginger (or 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger)
- 1/2 cup tamari or soy sauce
- 2-3 tablespoons Gochujang (Korean chili paste)
- 2 tablespoons ginger juice
- 2 tablespoons maple or honey
- 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
- 1/3 cup chopped roasted peanuts
Cucumber Salad
- 4 Persian cucumbers, chopped
- 1 tablespoon Gochujang (Korean chili paste)
- 1/4 cup chopped green onion/ Thai basil
- 2 tablespoons ginger juice or rice vinegar
Instructions
- 1. In a large skillet, combine the beef and a pinch of black pepper. Cook over medium heat, breaking up the meat as it cooks until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the butter, peppers, garlic, shallots, and ginger. Cook 2 minutes.2. Pour over the tamari, add the Gochujang, ginger juice, and 1/3 cup water. Cook until the sauce coats the beef, 2-3 minutes. Mix in the maple/honey and cook another 1-2 minutes until the beef is caramelized. Remove from the heat. Toss with sesame seeds. 3. Meanwhile, In a bowl, mix the cucumbers with 1 teaspoon salt, the chile flakes, ginger juice, and green onions. Let sit 5 minutes.4. Serve the beef and peppers over bowls of rice. Serve with the cucumber salad and top with peanuts. Add spicy mayo if desired. Enjoy!

This post was originally published on January 22, 2024
















These were AWESOME! I didn’t have Ginger Juice, so I simply added more ginger and incredible!
Hey Jodi,
Happy Friday! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thanks a lot for making it!
Made these last night and will be making them often! SO fast and SO good!! I didn’t have ginger so I left that out, otherwise followed it pretty closely. Really enjoyed it!
Hey Jessica,
Fantastic! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe, love to hear it was a winner! Have a great Wednesday!
Hi. I haven’t made this YET! But I would love to make this for my hubby who cannot tolerate spicy. I need suggestions on how to make this mild, yet keep the good Korean flavors.
Hi Sandy,
I would just use 1 tablespoon of the gochujang. I hope you love this recipe, let me know how it turns out for you!
Love, love, love this meal! I’ve honestly made this soooo many times times since I first found it almost a year ago, and here’s a few things I’ve noticed along the way:
– I’ve made this with ground beef, chicken and turkey. Ground chicken has been my favorite, but the sauce flavors are so bold that this goes with any meat you prefer.
– The pickled sushi ginger is a winner. I prefer it in this recipe over fresh or frozen chopped ginger. It blends in well with the sweetness of the sauce, and biting into it in the bowl is so good!
– I tend to bulk out only 1lb. of meat with more veggies — I like to julienne carrots and zucchini squash, making this similar to bibimbap. Sometimes I throw in enoki mushrooms.
– Definitely keep shallots over other onions; they have a mild flavor that blends well with everything in here, but onion works okay in a pinch.
– The cooking times for the sauce to get “thick” takes longer than listed—the sauce will also thicken a bit more as the food cools.
– The maple syrup is great, I tend to prefer it, but the honey makes this taste closer to a Korean recipe.
– Garnishing with roasted peanuts is so good, nice way to add a crunch and more protein! But it definitely doesn’t need them.
– This tastes even better the next day as a leftover, and it freezes well.
Hey Britta,
Fantastic! Thanks for trying this recipe, I’m so glad to hear you liked it! Thanks for sharing all of your helpful notes!
Made this for Christmas Eve Eve dinner and it was amazing!!! Will be making again!!!
Thanks a bunch, Cheryl! I am so glad to hear this dish was enjoyed by your family, thanks for making it!