The Girl Who Ate Everything Korean Beef

This Korean beef recipe is the kind of dish that both beginning and experienced cooks need in their life.

The meal comes together in minutes and is full of fantastic flavors. Cheater Korean Beef is easier to make than ordering take-out, saves you money, and tastes better too!

Korean Beef

I love so many things about this recipe! This has been one of my favorite takeout meals for a long time. A good Korean beef is salty, savory, sweet, tangy and spicy all at once.

Everything is simple enough to be found in most grocery stores, too. No running around town looking for hard-to-find ingredients. (Who has time for that?)

The recipe I'm sharing today is a "cheater" version because it uses ground beef instead of the more traditional (and expensive) cuts of meat. This dish includes our favorite Asian ingredients, including fresh ginger.

The fact it's made with ground beef instead of a more expensive cut of meat makes it a really great alternative to the pricier meats when you are craving Chinese food or an Asian meal.

Best of all, you can make this recipe start to finish in less than 20 minutes.

I've served the Korean beef over rice, wrapped in lettuce, and on top of a salad.

A rice bowl with this meat and peas served over perfectly cooked white or brown rice makes for a crowd-pleasing dinner or lunch. It packs up wonderfully in to-go containers to take to work or school and reheats beautifully.

We like this so very much that I've taken to doubling the recipe every time I make it just to ensure we have leftovers. I get absolutely giddy when I'm wondering what to serve for lunch and remember I have a container of Korean Beef waiting in the fridge!

Your favorite takeout place is going to start missing you once you get Cheater Korean Beef into your meal rotation. It's so easy, flavorful and economical that you'll wonder where this recipe has been all your life.

Korean Beef Recipe

I've tried a few different recipes for Korean beef over the years. When my friend Amy told me about this Cheater Korean Beef, I made it the very next day.

We were in the middle of moving and over the next month, I made this for dinner four more times. It really is one of the easiest dinners that you can make.

My family has quite a few "favorite" easy meals so, as you can imagine, that says a lot about how much we enjoyed this beef.

This is the perfect dinner for busy nights when you just don't have much time to think about what you're going to be eating. My kids still cheer when they see this on the stove, even after eating it countless times over the past few years.

This is also super easy to turn into a freezer meal. Just freeze the cooked beef before you add the green onions. After thawing and reheating, add the green onions on top when you're ready to serve.

Easy Dinner Recipes

If you're looking for more lightning-fast, easy dinner recipes, check out the Kielbasa Cabbage Potato Skillet, the {Better Than Take Out} Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry, and this Pizza Soup. My kids love every one of those recipes and my older boys can make them on their own too, making them even easier dinner nights for me!

I have Monterey Chicken, Turkey Taco Stuffed Sweet Potatoes, and Easy Skillet Lasagna on my list to try soon. Every one of these meals comes together in under 20 minutes.

For fellow enthusiasts of Asian-inspired recipes, I highly recommend trying Foodie with Family's Chinese Pork Recipe for an upcoming weekend meal.

Kitchen Tip: I use this rice cooker and this skillet to make this recipe.

Korean Cheater Beef

1. Warm the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the beef until cooked through, crumbling it as it browns.

2. Drain thoroughly, then add the garlic and ginger and cook another minute or two until fragrant.

3. Whisk together the brown sugar, cornstarch, soy sauce, and chili paste. Pour the liquids over the beef, stir to combine, and bring to a simmer for 2 minutes to blend the flavors and slightly thicken the sauce.

4. Add the peas, stir and simmer a minute longer. The peas will thaw and warm in the hot skillet.

MAKE AHEAD MEAL: This dish reheats wonderfully. I've learned to double the recipe every time I make it. The beef freezes well too, just skip the green onions and sprinkle them on the top when ready to serve. Cheater Korean Beef is pretty much the ultimate in flavorful and frugal make-ahead meals.

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Servings: 4 servings

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• ▢ 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• ▢ 1 pounds ground beef
• ▢ 3-4 large cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 1 tablespoon fresh ginger cut into tiny matchsticks
• ▢ 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• ▢ 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• ▢ 1/3 cup soy sauce
• ▢ 2-3 teaspoons chili paste
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt adjust to taste
• ▢ Optional: 1 cup frozen peas
• ▢ 3 green onions sliced thin

• Warm the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Brown the beef until cooked through, crumbling it as it browns. Drain thoroughly, then add the garlic and ginger and cook another minute or two until fragrant.

• Whisk together the brown sugar, cornstarch, soy sauce, and chili paste. Pour the liquids over the beef, stir to combine, and bring to a simmer for 2 minutes to blend the flavors and slightly thicken the sauce. Add the peas, stir and simmer a minute longer. The peas will thaw and warm in the hot skillet. Enjoy!

This dish reheats wonderfully. I've learned to double the recipe every time I make it. The beef freezes well too, just skip the green onions and sprinkle them on the top when ready to serve. Cheater Korean Beef is pretty much the ultimate in flavorful and frugal make-ahead meals.

Calories: 395 kcal · Carbohydrates: 17 g · Protein: 21 g · Fat: 26 g · Saturated Fat: 9 g · Cholesterol: 80 mg · Sodium: 1307 mg · Potassium: 414 mg · Sugar: 14 g · Vitamin A: 90 IU · Vitamin C: 2.1 mg · Calcium: 42 mg · Iron: 2.9 mg

{originally published 2/26/15 – recipe notes and photos updated 10/30/19}

Filed under: Asian, Beef, Main Dishes, Recipes

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Hi, I'm Mary. I'm the author, cook, photographer, and travel lover behind the scenes here at Barefeet In The Kitchen. I'm also the author of three cookbooks dedicated to making cooking from scratch as simple as possible.

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Source: https://barefeetinthekitchen.com/korean-beef-recipe/

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