Description
Korean Beef Bulgogi Rice Bowls feature flavorful ground beef cooked in a sweet and savory bulgogi sauce, served over rice with fresh vegetables, spinach, and pickled ginger for a quick and satisfying meal. This easy recipe brings authentic Korean flavors to your kitchen without the need for marinating or special cuts of meat.
Ingredients
Scale
Beef and Oil
- 500g / 1 lb beef mince (ground beef), any fat % you like
- 1 tbsp canola oil, or any other plain flavored oil
- 2 tsp canola oil (to wilt baby spinach)
Bulgogi Sauce
- 1 tbsp onion, finely grated (~1/4 onion)
- 3 tbsp red apple, finely grated (skin on is fine, ~1/2 apple)
- 3 garlic cloves, finely grated
- 1 tsp ginger, finely grated
- 2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce – all-purpose or light
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp mirin (omit for no alcohol)
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
Rice Bowl Drizzle Sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce – all-purpose or light
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
Rice Bowl Ingredients
- White rice (medium or short grain, if you can)
- 4 large handfuls baby spinach (or similar chopped leafy greens – cabbage, kale)
- 1 large carrot, peeled and julienned or grated
- 1 avocado, mashed
- 1/4 cup pickled ginger (preferably pink for color)
- 1 1/2 cups baby cos / romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
- 1 tsp white sesame seeds
- 1 green onion, finely sliced
Instructions
- Prepare Sauces: Mix the Bulgogi sauce ingredients together in a bowl until well combined. In a separate bowl, mix the rice bowl drizzle sauce ingredients thoroughly. These sauces add the signature sweet and savory flavors essential to the dish.
- Wilt Spinach: Heat 2 teaspoons of canola oil in a large non-stick pan over high heat. Add half of the baby spinach and toss with tongs until it is semi-wilted, about 30 seconds. Then add the remaining spinach and toss until fully wilted, approximately 1 minute in total. Remove the wilted spinach into a separate bowl and set aside.
- Cook Bulgogi Beef: Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the same pan and keep the heat high. Add the ground beef, breaking it up as it cooks, until no pink remains. Pour in the prepared Bulgogi sauce and let the mixture simmer rapidly, stirring occasionally, until most of the sauce has evaporated and the beef develops a slight caramelized crust yet remains moist from the sauce.
- Assemble the Rice Bowls: Spoon cooked white rice into bowls as a base. Top with the bulgogi beef, then arrange the wilted spinach and julienned carrot on the sides. Add a dollop of mashed avocado and a few pieces of pickled ginger for brightness. Tuck the shredded lettuce along the edges. Finally, sprinkle with white sesame seeds and chopped green onion. Serve the rice bowl drizzle sauce on the side for drizzling over the bowl before mixing and enjoying.
Notes
- Grate the onion and apple finely using a microplane or fine grater to maximize flavor, as the apple’s natural sweetness and onion’s moisture uniquely enhance the bulgogi sauce.
- Substitute tamari for soy sauce if gluten-free is needed, but avoid dark soy sauce or kecap manis, which can overpower the dish.
- Mirin can be replaced with Chinese cooking wine or sake plus 1/2 tsp brown sugar, or omitted entirely for an alcohol-free version without much flavor loss.
- Leftover cooked beef can be stored in the fridge for 3 days or frozen up to 3 months; add a splash of water when reheating to keep moist.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl (approx. with 1 cup cooked rice and toppings)
- Calories: 480
- Sugar: 9g
- Sodium: 600mg
- Fat: 18g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 11g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 50g
- Fiber: 6g
- Protein: 26g
- Cholesterol: 65mg
