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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
This recipe was fantastic! Huge fan of Half-Baked Harvest and this is one of the best I’ve tried. Definitely going in the rotation!
Thanks so much Jacqueline:) Love to hear that this dish turned out well for you, thanks for making it! xT
This recipe was the bomb 💣!!! My husband can’t have peppers so I subbed water chestnuts. The bowls were absolutely DELICIOUS! And honestly, the cucumber salad made the whole meal. I cannot wait to make this again…soooooooo good! Thank you Tieghan, you are the BEST! ❤️
Hey Christine,
Happy Monday!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe out and your feedback! Love to hear it turned out well! xT
This recipe is amazing! Such great flavor and so delicious! I used grass fed ground beef, but assume it’d be just as awesome with ground pork or chicken. Yummy!! I will make this again and again!
Thanks so much Karen!! Love to hear that this dish turned out well for you and I appreciate you making it:) xT
Very easy and very good. Would definitely make it again!
Thanks so much, Angela! Love to hear that this dish turned out well for you! Thanks for making it! xT
“Oh my gosh!” My hubby has said 4 times! Now on his second helping…it was absolutely delicious! Made with a side of Brussels sprouts with parm and crispy bacon. Will definitely be making this one again. Thank you!
Haha WOW love to hear this!! Thank you! xT
Amazingly easy and delicious! Going on rotation.
Thank you for trying out the recipe! I’m so so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂 xT
Another winner! So easy and flavorful — perfect for a weeknight dinner. The pickled ginger is so good in this!
Thank you for trying out the recipe! I’m so so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂 xT
Made this with ground chicken. My family loved it! Thank you! 🙂
Thank you for the note! I am just starting the recipe with ground turkey.
Hey there! Thank you so so much for trying out the recipe! I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment as well! 🙂 xT
Made with ground turkey. Sauce is good but would like more of it. Added edamame. Cucumbers were really good. Added freshness to the dish. Will make again but with more sauce. Thanks for sharing recipe.
Thanks so much for trying the recipe, Jean!!
This was a very delicious meal, my family loved it. 10/10, would make again! I love your Asian inspired recipes!
Hey there! Thank you so so much for trying out the recipe! I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment as well! 🙂 xT
:(. Not my fav! But you still are! The ground beef threw me. Would of been better with sliced beef for me.
Sorry you didn’t enjoy this recipe! Thank you for letting me know! xT
Very flavorful! Loved the addition of pickled ginger and the pickled ginger juice. I used ground chicken and 2T gochujang and it was perfect for our tastebuds. This was also great leftover the next day for a hot lunch. Definitely would make again!
Hey Shelley! Thank you so so much for trying out the recipe! I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment as well! 🙂 xT
Hi there. Delicious recipe. Can you please clarify the ingredients in the cucumber salad – is it Gochujang or chili flakes? Thanks for another amazing meal !
Hi Jan! The cucumber salad calls for chili flakes! 🙂 xT
The ingredient list needs to be updated then. That is the source of confusion.
I agree, I just made it per the ingredients with Gochujang and then after realized it called for chili flakes instead. Bummer! We’ll see how it tastes.
I did the same thing! Ended up tasting weird.
The cucumber recipe states Gochujang, this is confusing unless you read the comments. Can you please update the recipe! Thanks!
This was so delicious Tiegan!
Adding it to our weekly rotation
Thank you Shelley! So glad you enjoyed this recipe! xT
This is a keeper, taste was fabulous.
No mention of when to add shallots
Hi there! The shallots are added in step one 🙂 xT
Delicious and easy! I didn’t have any pickled ginger, so subbed some rice vinegar. I started with two TBSP Gochujang, but flavor was best with 3 🙂
Thank you so much for trying out the recipe! Hope you’re having an awesome weekend! 🙂 xT
This was extremely good and is definitely going on the ‘make again’ list. The only problem I had was I could not get the meat to caramelize. Other than that it was perfect!
Hi Laura,
So glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xT