Korean-Inspired Ground Beef Bowls
a quick, flavorful, and nutritious dinner the whole family will love.
Ingredients
- oil spray
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 or 2 large carrots, finely shredded see note for veggie options
- 1 small zucchini, finely shredded
- 2 cups baby spinach, finely chopped
- 3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tsp grated fresh ginger/ginger paste
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce, tamari, or coconut aminos
- 1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp honey or sweetener of your choice
- 1 Tbsp gochujang sauce or paste*
- 4 large eggs, optional
- cooked rice, for serving
- sliced scallions, for serving optional
- toasted sesame seeds, for serving optional
Instructions
- Spray a large skillet with oil spray and place over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the ground beef. Crumble and cook until browned and cooked through. Drain any excess fat.
- Stir in the carrot, zucchini, and spinach (or whatever vegetables you'd like to use). Lower the heat to medium and continue to cook until all the vegetables have softened, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic and ginger and continue to cook for another minute.
- Add the water and simmer, scraping up any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.
- Add the soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, honey, and gochujang. Stir well to combine. Taste and add more seasonings as desired. Keep warm over low heat.
- Before serving, fry the eggs in a separate non-stick skillet to your preference.
- Serve the ground beef mixture and eggs, if using, over rice. Top with scallions and sesame seeds.
Notes
Veggies: you can really use as much or as little grated or finely chopped veggies as you'd like in this recipe. If your family isn't used to loading up ground meat with vegetables, just do a cup or so of grated carrot and go from there. Frozen riced cauliflower is also great option. It's so easy and it blends right into the meat.
For any easy sauce/shortcut: use a store-bought teriyaki or other Asian sauce to taste. We like Bacahan's Japanese Barbecue sauce a lot.
Gochujang is a spicy, sweet, and savory fermented Korean chili paste. It isn't super spicy but add a little at a time if you are unsure. You can leave it out if you don't have it.