30 min Bulgogi Beef Rice Bowls

definitely not traditional, but still delicious

I've been loving tasty and fun 30 minute dinners, and this bulgogi beef rice bowl is one you and your fam will all love. It's got all the familiar sweet and savory components of beef bulgogi, but you don't have to run and find specific thinly shaved beef that might end up being too chewy.

We use ground beef for a simple, no frills, no 6 hour marinade protein, and toss it with a super yummy, gochujang-sesame-scallion sauce. The beef can feel a little heavy on its own, so we're pairing it with sautéed broccoli and red peppers, quinoa rice, and a light and refreshing cucumber pear salsa. The salsa is completely optional, but I love the crunch and freshness it brings.

If you happen to have leftovers of the ground beef, broccoli and red peppers, you can also make a this into a noodle dish the next day. Add this to a pan along with 1/4 cup of chicken broth and bring everything to a simmer. Reduce until the sauce is bubbly (add another tablespoon of oil if it's not thickening when bubbly), then add some cooked noodles to this and serve.

Tip - the momofuku instant noodles would be great here, as would any fresh wheat noodle. The method is similar to my buttery garlic noodles, but just imagine the sauce includes some of that leftover bulgogi beef and broccoli mixture <3

The best parts about this recipe

• It uses ground beef, which is very easy to find (and you might actually have some in your freezer you can go shopping for).

• Flavorful but still fresh and well balanced with the broccoli, peppers, and optional salsa.

• Start by making the rice, and this should be a 30 minute meal!

Table of Contents

• Ingredient Notes

• How to make Bulgogi rice bowl Step by Step

• Recipe and Cooking Tips

• Storage and Reheating

• FAQ

• Video Tutorial

• The Recipe

Ingredient Notes: 

Ground Beef - Most beef bulgogi recipes call for thinly shaved ribeye or steak. Those are great, but usually require a long marinade time, as well as a trip to the asian grocery store. I use a 1 lb package of ground beef - usually aiming for the 85/15. If you use a fattier beef, that's also ok, you just might want to drain some of the fat to prevent the dish from feeling too heavy.

If you want to double this recipe, feel free to do so - everything scales proportionally, and leftovers make for a great addition to noodles!

• Substitutions - if you don't eat beef, you can substitute any ground meat, firm tofu, or even a plant based ground protein.

Asian Pear - Traditional beef bulgogi uses some type of pear in the beef marinade to add a layer of sweetness. Since we're not marinating the beef but I wanted to incorporate pear into the dish, I use an asian pear in the cucumber pear salsa. These are quite large so you can just use 1/2 a pear and snack on the rest.

• Substitutions - you can also use a regular pear, peach, or mango for this.

Korean spices (gochujang and gochujaru) - So yes, I did say this recipe was a easy breezy one since you don't have to go to the asian store for the beef. However, the sauce does call for both gochujang (a fermented Korean chili paste) and gochujaru (a Korean red chili flake). I have this stocked in my pantry at all times, but if you don't, these are actually quite common in all supermarkets in the asian section. I've seen them at Trader Joe's recently which is pretty cool!

• Substitutions - You can substitute 1/2 the amount of crushed red pepper flake for gochugaru if you cannot find it. Gochujang is harder to replace, but feel free to omit.

How to make the Bulgogi rice bowl- Step by Step:

Step 1: Start by making your rice or quinoa rice. This takes the longest amount of time, and should be finished by the time you make everything else.

Step 2: Prep the vegetables and aromatics for the sauce ingredients. Chop the broccoli into 1” pieces, the red bell pepper into thin slices, slice the scallions, and mince the garlic.

Step 3: Then, make the sauce by combining all the ingredients in a bowl or jar. Whisk or shake together and set aside.