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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!
Tieghan,
My goodness, just when I think our family has made our favorite recipe of yours we make another one and we change our minds!
My son just had some cavities filled and needed something easy to chew. This recipe was absolute perfection! My husband detests the texture of onions (and shallots) so I sub onion powder (a healthy amount) in recipes for him. I forgot we were out of garlic cloves so we subbed garlic powder too. We made your sesame rice to go with this and it was perfection! Next time we will add green onions with the peanuts to finish but wow! What a fantastic meal! Thank you so much!
Aww, thanks so much, Angela! I appreciate you trying so many recipes to share with your family:) So glad to hear this one was a hit! Have the best Friday! xT
Questions- where do you get ginger juice if your using fresh. Substitute?
Also 4 cucumbers- the regular long ones or the minis? I don’t use minis so what would the weight be?
Hey Karen,
So I used the ginger juice from the pickled ginger jar, if you are using fresh ginger you can use rice vinegar. I used Persian cucumbers, they are the long skinny ones. I hope this helps! xT
This has become a true staple in our house! I stick to the 2TB of gochujang since that suits our spice level. I sadly make it without cucumbers, tho, since my husband loathes them, but I bet that part would be delicious as well. Thank you for another winner – the HBH collection is big in our family 🙂
Hey Cat,
Happy Friday!! I appreciate you making this recipe so often and your comment, love to hear that it always turns out well! xx
The beef mixture is really watery and I could not get the beef to caramelize. I followed the directions exactly as stated. Should I just skip adding the water?
Hi Brianna,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback! It sounds like you may have just needed to turn your heat up and allowed the sauce to simmer longer. I hope this helps! xx
Quite obsessed with this recipe. Made it for the first time 2 weeks ago – and have made it 3x since. Comes together
So quickly and is so flavorful. I used garlic powder instead of fresh and no onions/scallions. Also only 1tbsp of gochujang and found it just the right amount of spicy
Hey Kat,
Awesome! Thanks so much for trying this dish and your comment! Love to hear that it was enjoyed! Have a great weekend! xT
My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed this! Our only sub was that we did about .75 lbs ground beef and then diced up a half a cauliflower head and cooked the beef and cauliflower together in step one then proceeded with the recipe as directed. The cucumber salad was a must and the sauce flavor on the beef was very yummy. Will make again for sure!
Hey Brooke,
Awesome! Thanks so much for trying this recipe and your comment! Love to hear it was enjoyed! Xx
Made this tonight and it was easy and delicious! Only had a pound of beef so ended up with lots of leftover sauce. Used 2 tbsp of the gochujang and that felt like just the right amount of spice for us (though my 9 year old still felt a bit too spicy). Used garlic powder instead of fresh, omitted scallions/onions, and fresh grated ginger. Loved it and will def add to the rotation.
Hey Kathryn,
Fantastic! So glad to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for making it and your comment! Xx
Another hit for my family! My husband loves Korean food so I was eager to try this one. It hit all the notes for him. I added some quick pickled shredded carrots in rice vinegar as well. We live where we can get great Korean food but it’s a bit of a drive to in Houston. Having the ability to make really good Korean food that scratches the itch for the yummy cuisine without leaving home was a win-win for me! Thanks, Tieghan, for a great recipe!
Thanks so much, Amy:) Love to hear that this dish was a winner, I appreciate you making it and your feedback! xT
This recipe is delicious! Even my 3 year old had 3rds!
Hey Shannon,
Awesome!! So glad to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks for making it:) xT
Hi! I am planning on making this tonight. It looks delicious! In the last photo it looks like there is a sauce added. Is it a peanut sauce? If so can you share that recipe? I’m always happy to add a good sauce! Thanks!
Hey Sebra,
If you want to mix a little peanut butter with rice vinegar and add that, it’s delicious! Let me know how this recipe turns out for you, I hope you love it! xT
Thank you so much for your quick response! We made this last night and it was delicious! I added a the peanut sauce too! So good!
Could this be recreated with beef story fry chunks?
Sure, I don’t see why not!
I first made this on May 5 (2024), and have made it 4 times since then, it is that scrumptious and a family fave already! The fact that is comes together so quickly is a little deceiving when you consider all of the flavors and deliciousness. I serve it over a coconut (Jasmine) rice! We NEVER have leftovers! Try this, you won’t be disappointed!
Wow, thank you so much, Diane!! I love to hear that your family has been enjoying this recipe and appreciate you making it so often! xT
Made this last night and it was SO good. Instead of peppers, I sliced up some mushrooms, also added some avocado for toppings like you did in your Instagram reel. Delicious, flavor was amazing. My husband prefers noodles over rice, so we had it over ramen…next time I’ll make some extra sauce, otherwise it was perfect!
Hey Erin,
Happy Thursday! Thanks so much for trying this recipe, I’m so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Thanks for sharing what worked well for you! Xx
I’ll going to make this tonight. I will be using fresh ginger. Is there anything I can sub for the ginger juice? Also you’re awesome everything I make by you is killer. I think you’re recipes are the only reason my bf puts up with me lol.
Thanks so much, Lillie:) You can go ahead and just use the rice vinegar instead of the ginger juice. I hope you love this recipe! xT
It was fantastic. I also fried an egg to put on top and added avocado. Really good stuff.
So good it’s going in my meal rotation! I used shaved steak instead of ground, cut up a little more to make the strips smaller. I added 1 chopped zucchini, and instead of the cucumber salad I used kimchee as a side.
Hey Sarah,
Happy Friday!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, love to hear that it was enjoyed! Xx
I have made this a couple times and we love it, but I cannot get the carmelization to happen. Do you have any hints? We are having it again tonight.
Hey Laura,
Happy Monday! I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a lot for making it! Xx
Laura, turn your heat up a little bit more for carameliztion to happen 😉