Craving Korean take-out but don’t want to go out? Make these Ground Beef Bulgogi Bowls at home instead! Perfect as a quick weeknight dinner or as a meal prep!
Korean Bulgogi at Home
There’s something about marinaded Korean meat that just gets me drooling. One of my favourites is bulgogi; bulgogi is thinly sliced beef that is marinated before grilling. Sirloin, rib eye or brisket are frequently used cuts of beef for the dish. It is a classic sweet and savoury dish!
When craving bulgogi at home and I’m out of thinly sliced beef and don’t want to slice it myself, I take a shortcut and use ground beef. In a lot of traditional bulgogi recipes, it is recommended that an Asian pear be added to the marinade. Can’t be any pear, it must be an Asian pear as there’s a specific enzyme in it that breaks down/tenderizes the meat. However, because I’m using ground beef instead of a cut of beef like brisket, we can skip the Asian pear.! This means you’re more than likely to have everything in your pantry to make these bulgogi beef bowls at home.
What You Need To Make These Bulgogi Korean Beef Bowls
For the bulgogi marinade:
- soy sauce — use low sodium when possible.
- brown sugar — use light or dark brown sugar.
- mirin — mirin is a Japanese sweet rice wine, if you are unable to find it, you can try rice vinegar with extra honey.
- onion — just a small yellow onion is fine.
- garlic — the more the merrier in my opinion!
- salt and black pepper
- ground beef — I usually use lean ground beef. If you have a fattier ground beef, you’ll have to drain the fat when you cook it.
Everything else
- oil — use your neutral oil of choice. I usually just use olive oil.
- onion — again, a small yellow onion is fine.
- garlic
- mushrooms — I use sliced baby bellas but feel free to use white button mushrooms as well. Save time by buying them pre-sliced.
- rice — I like to use either jasmine rice or purple rice.
- carrot (optional)
- zucchini (optional)
- purple cabbage (optional)
How To Make This Korean Ground Beef Meal Prep Bowl
The Marinade:
- In a large bowl, combine soy sauce, brown sugar, mirin, grated onion, minced gralic, black pepper and salt. Mix to combine then add your ground beef to the bowl and mix it together. Set it aside in the fridge for 30 minutes.
The Sides:
- While the beef is marinading, you can work on your sides of choice. I cut up a carrot and zucchini, tossed it with some olive oil and salt before roasting it in the oven for 20 minutes at 400F.
- Slice up an onion and some mushrooms and set it aside.
The Korean Ground Beef Bowls:
- Start with a drizzle of oil in a hot skillet and sauté the onions before adding in the garlic.
- After 2 minutes, add your ground beef to the skillet. The ground beef should have absorbed all the marinade so there shouldn’t be any left over in the bowl.
- Let the beef cook on medium-high heat but be sure to break up the beef with a wooden spoon so that as the beef browns, it browns evenly.
- Once your beef is almost finished cooking, add in your mushroom. Add more salt and pepper as needed. Continue to cook until done.
- Serve with your optional sides immediately or pack for later in your meal prep containers.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- For the marinade, you’re going to not want to skip grating the onion. A grater breaks down the onion, turning it into an applesauce like consistency that makes the onion flavour stronger. You can always slice up the onions for the marinade but it tastes way better with the grated onion as it gets absorbed fully into the ground beef. I use this grater.
- An alternative to grating the onion is to blend the entire marinade in a Vitamix to save time.
- Bulgogi goes great with lettuce wrap as well if you want to skip the rice.
- I’m a huge fan of glass containers for packing my lunches in as they’re great for reheating in the microwave and they don’t hold onto smells over time. You can even get glass containers that have dividers so you can keep the rice separated.
- Here’s how bulgogi (불고기) is pronounced for those curious: buul-GOH-ghee.
Want another way to serve this? When my kitchen needs restocking at the end of the week and I’m just looking for something quick and easy, I skip the mushrooms, carrots, zucchini, and cabbage. I cook the beef and then serve it with an egg on top! So simple but filling!
Ground Beef Bulgogi Bowls
Ingredients
For the bulgogi marinade:
- 6 tbsp soy sauce, low sodium
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp mirin, or rice wine
- 1 small onion, grated
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pinch black pepper & salt
- 1 lb ground beef
Everything else:
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 onion onion, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1½ cup sliced mushrooms
- 4 servings cooked rice
- 1 carrot, optional
- 1 zucchini, optional
- ½ purple cabbage, optional
Instructions
The Marinade:
- In a large bowl, combine soy sauce, brown sugar, mirin, grated onion, minced gralic, and black pepper.
- Mix to combine then add your ground beef to the bowl and mix it together. Set it aside in the fridge for 30 minutes.
The Sides:
- While the beef is marinading, cut up a carrot and zucchini, tossed it with some olive oil and salt before roasting it in the oven for 20 minutes at 400F.
- Slice up an onion and some mushrooms and set it aside.
The Beef Bowls:
- Start with a drizzle of oil in a hot skillet and sauté the onions before adding in the garlic. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add your ground beef to the skillet.
- Let the beef cook on medium-high heat but be sure to break up the beef with a wooden spoon so that as the beef browns, it browns evenly.
- Once your beef is almost finished cooking, add in your mushroom. Add more salt & pepper as needed. Continue to cook until done.
- Serve with your optional sides immediately or pack for later in your meal prep containers.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
More Recipes to Try
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Lisa says
We are kind of on an Asian kick right now, so these bulgogi beef prep bowls are definitely happening soon. I had to laugh about the Asian pear — not any pear — Asian… and what a great idea to use ground beef (and skip hunting down that particular varietal of pear). We don’t have time to be foraging for ingredients, right?!
Trish says
Oooooh this looks Amazing, Carmy! I love how simple it is to make and how you made it even simpler with ground beef. I can totally get behind the meal prep option too. :)
Tracy says
Oh what a great way to make bulgogi with easier ingredients! We always have ground beef but don’t always have sirloin so this is perfect. And no need for Asian pears? Sounds good! We’re adding this to our menu this week – thank you!
Debra says
You’re right! Everything there in the pantry. Such a simple recipe with so much flavor. Perfect for a meal prep Sunday….everyone will love this in their lunches this week. Thanks.
Traci says
We love to do meal prep, especially with Asian entrees! I must say, we haven’t made Bulgogi in a long time because we usually order it at our favorite Asian restaurant LOL. Your recipe is so easy and delicious…and who doesn’t want to bust one of these out on a busy weeknight, warm it up, and chill out for a bit. We love to NOT cook sometimes and this is perfect for that. Thanks for the great recipe!
Stef says
LOVE bulgogi, but I’ve never made it at home. That was fascinating about the Asian pears. I had no idea!! I would have purchased any pear I saw. Thanks for the tips!
Dana says
Ohhhh I am *so* with you when it comes to drooling over marinated Korean beef. That marinade is perfection. Nothing beats the sweet and savory combo of soy sauce and brown sugar, especially when paired with good quality meat! I can’t wait to eat this over and over again.
Mackenzie says
You’re totally right! I do have everything I need for this already (except the asian pear). I love all the tips you’ve given for it as well. The idea of making lettuce wraps sounds amazing. Plus, I’m all for using my Vitamix to speed up the process. I would always much rather was my blender than my grater! This prep recipe is so handy!
Sues says
I’ve always wanted to make bulgogi, but for some reason, I haven’t yet. This is just the push I need and your tips are super helpful. I love that it makes an absolutely delicious dinner, but will also allow for plenty of lunch leftovers the next day!
Sean says
I’ve been making Korean marinades for years and I didn’t know that the pear had an enzymatic role, rather than just a flavour one! Very interesting! I’ve meal-prepped some Korean marinade meats in the past and always really appreciated how easy they are to get ready on a weeknight, and this simple tweak sounds like a perfect addition to the repertoire. Oh and I totally agree about doing the marinade in the Vitamix – that’s absolutely my favourite way to do it. It makes things even easier!
Marisa Franca says
For the longest time I’ve been fascinated by Korean Bulgogi. I first heard about the dish on the Chicago WLS station. One of the hosts loved the dish and would go into detail describing it. Ever since then I’ve wanted to taste it. We are new to this area so I don’t know if there is a good Korean restaurant. So, since you’ve posted this delicious looking beef bowl, I can make my own. Not only does it sound good, it looks very attractive too.