Korean Beef and Rice {Or Quinoa}: Simple 20-Minute Meal
This simple, delicious meal of flavorful Korean beef (you can use ground turkey, too!) is tasty and comes together in 20 minutes!
Anyone else playing major catch up after the holidays? I haven’t even thought about New Year resolutions (snore), I’m seriously still trying to crawl out from piles of laundry and chocolate.
If you are like me (high five?? or not…), let’s all give a little cheer for this 20-minute meal that most likely will save your bacon some time in the near future.
It has for me, that I know. I’ve been making it for months now, tweaking it here and there, and the fact that it can be thrown together in 20 minutes nearly makes me weep.
We love the simple, Asian flavors; it’s delicious served over rice or quinoa but let me tell you, it’s equally divine as a lettuce wrap or a combo of all (see the notes below the recipe title).
Interestingly enough, I’ve actually been to Korea (in a past lifetime, over 16 years ago when my brother dragged me there to go backpacking and I ended up with a really, really bad stomach issue after eating raw cow liver; delightful experience, really) and it should come as no surprise that I didn’t taste anything in Korea remotely close to the recipe I’m sharing today.
That may be a good or bad thing, depending on how you view life.
And since we are talking false advertising here, I should probably mention that “beef” is used loosely as I alternate between ground beef, ground turkey and have even used ground chicken with super stellar results.
Anyway you look at it, this quick, weeknight meal is a staple in our dinner rotation. Fast, easy, tasty and healthy! As I like to say: no better way to bring on 2015 than a meal that could save your sanity.
What To Serve With This:
Skillet Green Beans
Fresh fruit or this Honey Lime Fruit Salad
One Year Ago: Video Tip: How to Cut Grape Tomatoes and Other Pesky Foods Quickly
Two Years Ago: Chewy Granola Bars
Three Years Ago: Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake
Korean Beef and Rice {Or Quinoa}
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds ground turkey or ground beef or ground chicken
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- Salt and pepper
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup low-sodium chicken or beef broth
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes plus more to taste or 1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger or 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger
- 3 green onions, chopped
- Hot, cooked rice or quinoa for serving
Instructions
- Start the rice or quinoa, cooking according to package directions (usually about 15-17 minutes cooking time).
- While the rice/quinoa cooks, in a large, 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat, add the meat, garlic and 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Cook, stirring to break the meat into small pieces, until the meat is cooked through and crumbly, about 7-10 minutes. Drain any excess grease.
- In a liquid measuring cup or bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, soy sauce, broth, sesame oil, red pepper flakes (or chili-garlic sauce), and ginger.
- Stir the sauce into the meat and simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes or so.
- Serve over hot, cooked rice or quinoa, topped with the chopped green onions.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted from Damn Delicious (used less sugar, took out the cooking oil, increased meat slightly and added more liquid so it wasn’t dry, varied the other ingredients)
108 Comments on “Korean Beef and Rice {Or Quinoa}: Simple 20-Minute Meal”
We needed a quick meal tonight and had all the ingredients for this one on hand! All four of us eating loved it!
I have made this many times and my family and I love it! My favorite way to eat it is to skip the rice and quinoa and have it piled on roasted spaghetti squash. Yum!
Can you use honey instead of the brown sugar?
I haven’t tried that, but I’m sure you could.
Just made this tonight and it was SO good! We loved it!
I love this recipe. I make this all the time and so quick and easy. I appreciate you and your blog!
Thank you so much, Laura!
I can’t believe I haven’t made this until now! It’s easy to make and all the ingredients are things I normally have on hand!! It was SO YUMMY! Everyone ate multiple servings (we put it in lettuce wraps). Next time I might put less red pepper flakes and let people add their own Siracha sauce if they want more heat (my younger kids drank a lot of milk with it haha)
I’ve made this recipe probably once a month for our lunches for probably a year so I figured I’d finally comment. For a healthy lunch, we make this into a “lettuce wrap” salad as you’ve suggested. I serve the meat on a bed of lettuce, top with some rice, the Korean beef, matchstick carrots, cucumbers, green onions, chow mein noodles, and Thai sweet chili sauce on top. It’s delicious! Thanks for a great simple recipe.
I made this with one pound of ground turkey, half the sugar (coconut) and coconut aminos. It was delicious! And so fast/easy. It has earned a place in our go-to recipe book. Thanks Mel!
I’m pretty sure this is my second comment on this post – but just have to say again how much I love this! I doubled it last night and used 2 lbs ground beef and 1 lb ground turkey. Just for fun I used 1 T sesame oil, 1 T peanut butter. Not sure it altered the flavor much – but just thought I’d try something new (and my sesame oil is getting low!). I also put about 1 tsp corn starch in the sauce because I remember it being a little thin on previous times I made it. I made it with quinoa then made a really tasty Asian slaw (coleslaw mix, red onion, jalapeño, cilantro; dressing: rice wine vinegar, honey, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper). Then I made a sriracha mayo (made with half greek yogurt) and like juice. My husband and friend who joined us for dinner kept discussing how delicious it was – and I was thinking why is this not on my weekly rotation?! I also made it a while back in taco form (as inspired by your Korean beef taco recipe!) This recipe is a winner! Thanks so much, Mel! I feel like I owe so much of my increased cooking game to you!
This sounds amazing, Anna! I might have to copy that whole lineup!
It was a hit! And I made rice in the instant pot for the first time and that worked, too!
Very simple and very delicious! My recipe books are 95% filled with your recipes, Mel. Thank you for sharing (and my family REALLY thanks you :))!
Thanks so much, Becky!
Made this with ground pork tonight, yummy! Used half coconut aminos and half Tamari in place of soy sauce, and only added half the brown sugar since coconut aminos are sweet. Added shredded spinach with the rice in my bowl and it was delicious.
I had this at a friend’s house and loved it! I made it for my family tonight (so easy!) with 1 lb of turkey (it was just as delicious with turkey as beef). Thank you for this great recipe!!
I love this recipe! I add a bed of chopped lettuce under the rice and drizzle Sriracha mayo on top. Way easier than the previous recipes I have found, and really delicious!
Absolutely delicious and quick and easy to make!
Made this last night and it was so tasty! I used beef better than bullion in the sauce and probably had a little less meat and the same amount of sauce – but it was so good. Made it with quinoa and made a broccoli slaw with a little Asian dressing (rice vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic and sesame oil) and served it altogether. Will definitely be making it again! My boyfriend said it was the best thing he’d ever eaten with quinoa.
This was so tasty! I love that it was fast, and full of flavor. Another great one, Mel!
Tried this one tonight and everyone loved it!! Going into my meal rotation for sure. Love quick and easy dishes like this using simple ingredients we all have on hand. Thanks for another great recipe, Mel!! I love your blog and so many of my family’s favorites come from you!!
Made it with ground venison and doubled the sauce just because we like a little sauce to pour over the rice. Also added about 2 teaspoons of corn starch to thicken it just a little bit. If making for lettuce wraps, I would make this just as printed.
Over all was super easy and tasted good. Everyone liked it and we will be adding this to our rotation, along with some stir-fried veggies to go on the side.
Yum!!!!!! I just made this recipe but lightened it up a little with a sprinkle of coconut sugar instead of 1/4 C brown sugar and a mix of Braggs liquid aminos & coconut aminos instead of soy sauce! So delicious!
I browned 3lbs of ground beef and used half to make your amazing spaghetti sauce last night and saved half to make this tonight…Do I need an intervention? I soak chopped water chestnuts in the soy mixture before adding to the ground beef, huge favorite around here! Thanks for sharing all your culinary genius!
This is so, so delicious. I have made it every week for months, and my family and I still look forward to it every single time. Thank you, thank you, Mel!!
Is there something I could use as a substitute for the sesame oil?
You could try leaving it out or adding a touch of olive oil.
The olive oil worked really well! Thank you so much!!
This was quick and delicious! I added a diced green bell pepper and broccoli for the last few minutes to make a complete meal. We’ll definitely be adding this to the regular rotation.
Question though: the sauce turned out quite thin. Is that normal? Would there be a good way to thicken it that wouldn’t affect the flavor?
If you add a little bit of cornstarch mixed with cold water (maybe 2 teaspoons with 2 tablespoons water or something like that), it can help thicken it!
I make this recipe at least 2x a month and we never get tired of it. I double the sauce recipe and stir fry some veggies to add on top of the rice and beef. Baby bok choy, cabbage, snap peas, edamame, green beans, broccoli, carrots…. just about anything I stir fry tastes amazing because of your sauce. Even my pickiest of eaters will eat it. I add a sprinkle of furikake before serving for some extra sesame seed crunch.
Yum! Love your additions, Karen!
Pretty sure I have already commented on this but just want to report that I make this just about once a week. My family never tires of it. If it’s Monday in my house we are probably eating Korean stir fry! Although this week has been crazy so we are just now eating it on a Wednesday.
These kind of left a strong yucky taste in my mouth that wouldn’t go away. 🙁 I’m wondering if I did something wrong…or maybe I was just expecting it to be sweeter and more teriyaki-ish?
Darn. Not complaining. Just adding versatility to these reviews! 😉
Hi Mel!
Thank you for this recipe! I have been making it regularly at least 2 to 3 times a month since you posted it and we all love it so much.
I thought I’d tell you about an addition we made last night and loved. I had a big bucket of chopped green/red cabbage, kale, carrots and green onions in the fridge. I keep it on hand for a quick lunch or dinner salad. On a whim I added this to our rice and Korean beef and it was so good! The rice and beef were warm and the salad mix was fresh and crunchy. Well, for lunch today my husband decided to wilt the salad greens and put them on our left over rice and beef and that was sooo good too. Now I’m not sure which I like better!
Thank you for all of the wonderful recipes. I have been following your blog since 2008 when I was a new wife and had my fist baby. We are now a family of 6 and so, so many of your recipes have become our family favorites. I talk about you as if you are a close, personal friend. haha. I moved to the Boise are from LA and I always hope to run into you at the grocery store 🙂 Maybe some day! Anyhow, just wanted you to know how much I appreciate you!
have a great day!
Thanks for the update on this recipe, Caroline! I love, love the idea of adding those fresh vegetables to this dish. I will definitely be copying that idea. And that would be so fun to run into you! I can’t believe you’ve been a reader since the very beginning. That’s more awesome than I can even say. Thank you!
Hi Mel! Thank you so much for this recipe! In the year since you posted it I’ve made it once sometimes twice a month. It has become a regular and we all love it, especially my husband! Thank you!
This is one of my favorite recipes and is in regular rotation on my meal plan. I usually make this with ground turkey and quinoa. I add a little extra ginger and brown it with the turkey and garlic. Last time I made it, I added some edamame. Otherwise, everything else is the same. Delicious and cooks up quickly!
I have made this several times now. The first time was on a whim since I needed a quick dinner. Everyone loved it! I keep coming back to it over, and over again. It’s my go-to when my menu isn’t panning out. It always sounds good for dinner 🙂 I like to serve my with stir-fry veggies (like peppers, mushrooms and zucchini). Quick, easy, delish. Doesn’t get much better!
This dish saved my Sunday night! I made it as-written except with 1 pound ground beef. I steamed 1 pound of frozen broccoli and stirred it in at the end. It was perfect!
Just had to say that this was so very delicious! I had some kale & red & yellow peppers that I wanted to use up; they were a really easy add in. My husband couldn’t get over how tasty this was; it made for some great leftovers, too. I will be making this again & again.
Finally made this after much debate on whether or not my not-so-adventurous-when-it-comes-to-trying-new-foods family would actually eat it. They all loved it, even my youngest who is a super picky eater! Thank you!!! We adore (okay, mostly me because I love to bake more than cook) your dessert recipes and now I’m very excited to try even more of your other recipes. Keep up the great work!!!
Made this tonight and it was a big hit. Everyone including the toddler ate it and asked for seconds. Awesome!
This is excellent!
This was delicious! I loved it, and I weirdly used the leftovers as a base for tacos. Wasn’t sure how that would turn out, but they were awesome with the meat, black beans, sriracha, and cilantro.
Hi! I am trying to find the recipe box on this site…has it been removed?
Ziplist has discontinued their service for the shopping list and recipe boxes – sorry for any inconvenience.
I have been making the Damn Delicious version for a while now. I like to double the sauce add about 2 cups of finely diced veggies; usually carrots, onions, mushrooms, peppers, maybe sprouts. My husband served an LDS mission in Korea and loves Korean food. This dish passes the test!
Made this tonight for dinner and served it over quinoa. It was very easy and tasty. I could see how you could add any veggies to this dish. Another fast go to dinner in this house. Thanks again Mel!
I made this tonight for dinner. Super easy to throw together, and it was delicious! Both my little boys gobbled it up. Thank you for all your fabulous recipes. We eat your food almost every night of the week!
Thanks for this recipe! I’ll be adding this to my list of quick meals for when I need to whip up something fast for the kids. I love the versatility of it since we can switch out rice or the main protein with other options.
Loved this, and so did my young kiddos! We added about 2 cups of red cabbage (just sautéed in a little olive oil after removing the meat from the pan to drain. Made a colorful and delicious (not to mention EASY) dinner!
I love so many of your recipes and I use your blog seriously all the time! Made this last night and it was very good however next time I will definetly be cutting down on the soy sauce. Way too much in my opinion. Other than that loved it!
Made this. Loved this! Will make this again and again. Question-any idea if I could cook this and freeze the meat? Baby #3 just arrived and I’m trying to stock my freezer before my husband goes back to work. This would be a great easy meal to have on hand. I figure it is similar to taco meat so it should work. Anyone tried it?
I haven’t tried it, Dawn, but I think this stands a good chance of freezing really well!
Eating this right now and it’s great!! Very quick and delicious. Perfect weeknight dinner
I have made this twice now and boy, is it good. I’ve been wanting to find a recipe that mirrors my favorite chinese restaurant’s lettuce wraps and this is so close to their flavor I will quit looking for one. The first time I made I grabbed extra lean ground turkey instead of the lean. I won’t do that again, it was a tad dry. This time I used ground chicken and it’s a lot better. I added finely diced water chestnuts and carrots as that is in the wrap from the restaurant. Another great recipe from you! Thank you!
I made this the other night and my entire family of 5 (including 3 little picky eaters) loved it! So simple and quick to make, but full of flavor! I used 93/7 ground turkey over quinoa with steamed broccoli on the side. Great quick weeknight dinner!
Made this tonight, substituting water for broth because I didn’t have broth on hand. It is amazing!! Thanks so much!
I have never been successful when attempting any type of asian food. This was super easy, super delicious and EVERYONE in the family ate it…..including all of the leftovers! Yeah ME! And thanks Mel….you are a ROCK STAR!!!
Yummy, this was a hit with everyone here.
I have made the “damn delicious” recipe several times and it’s always a hit. Since my family loves all things “Mel”, I had to try your spin on it. Your recipes never disappoint, and this was another great one.. Thanks for sharing!
I made this last night and it was awesome! So easy! I reduced the amount of soy sauce a bit and left out the red pepper flakes (was afraid my daughter wouldn’t like them). Everyone loved it, even my 2 year old daughter. Will be making this again and again! Thank you!!
I made this last week and this will be added to the list of recipes to make again and again. I used ground turkey that is sold in 1 1/4 pound package. I omitted the red pepper because I didn’t know how spicy it would be for my kids but may go ahead and add it next time. Would you lessen the other amount of ingredients if you start out with a slightly lesser amount of meat like I did? Thank you so much for making these recipes and perfecting them with your family and then sharing them with your readers. We are all grateful!
I’d probably just keep everything the same if it were me.
Made this last night and it was delicious! I made one pan with just veggies (I’m a vegetarian) and one with meat. I loved the sauce on the veggies and my husband said that it tasted like something he’d order in a restaurant. Thank you for the great recipe!
This was awesome! I will use this as one of regular meals from now on.
Thank you, Mel! You are truly an amazing cook who is changing my life. You gave given me the courage and confidence to try hard things.
This was fantastic, and so easy. I eliminated the salt but made the recipe as posted (used beef broth with ground dark meat turkey). I forgot to buy green onions, but will remember next time as I love them. I served it with my favorite quick cooking farro from Trader Joes and some green beans. It was delicious and my kids want me to make it again next week! Thanks Mel.
Fabulous!!! My PICKY eater (such a challenge!) ate three bowls full. Miracles never cease!
This was the perfect last minute meal for me this week. My family loves this kind of flavor and it was easy! Perfect weeknight recipe combination. You rock Mel!
Quick and delicious! Love this recipe! Thanks!
My mom is Korean and this definitely had those characteristic Korean flavors. Instead of the chicken stock, my mom would use 7Up & let the meat marinate in it over night. I added cauliflower, carrots, mushrooms and onions. The only thing missing was a side of kimchee and roasted seaweed. Mmmm hmmm.
I made this for dinner last night and it was quick! I loved the sweet/salty flavors and that it uses everything I already had on hand. I also squeezed some fresh lime juice on mine after tasting it. With the lime it reminded me of my favorite Thai lettuce wrap, too! My daughter thought it was too salty, but that can be modified to suit her. All in all, I will keep it for a quick, easy and relatively healthy option for busy nights. Thanks.
My family and I totally enjoyed this! So easy, so good! It is something I see myself making often. Thank you, Mel for all that you do. I hope 2015 if a great year for you and yours!
So yummy! I made it with lean ground beef and served it over brown rice. Thanks for yet another delicious recipe!
Made this tonight, yumm!!
This is a fantastic recipe! I make something similar called “Thai Basil Turkey”. The main difference is 1/2 c fresh basil (about 12 leaves, chopped) thrown in at the end. Light, but filling meal! My husband and I always feel good after we eat this 🙂
I made this already last night since I had all the ingredients. For an extra veggie boost I subbed cauliflower fried rice for the rice, and replaced the soy with liquid aminos (although you don’t need as much) and it was so good!
Let’s talk about chili garlic sauce. I currently have fish sauce, sriracha sauce, and hoisin sauce in my possession. Is it THAT much different from any of those, or is it the secret weapon in this recipe?
Good question, Maggie. Of all those sauces you have, chili garlic is closest to sriracha because it’s spicy and garlicky. I suppose you could use a bit of sriracha and up the garlic.
This is exactly the kind of recipe I need at the moment. Like most, I’m in that post-holiday must-cook-at-home but have zero time to do it mode. Happy New Year Mel!
White sesame oil or the dark toasted sesame oil?
I’ve used both – equally delicious (obviously the toasted gives a bit more depth to it).
Mel!! Where has this recipe been all my life. I had no idea what to cook for dinner until I saw this post. I am eating it right now as I type this. I am putting this on my favorites. Thanks Mel.
Made this tonight to rave reviews! We like spicy food so added extra chili/garlic sauce. So delicious I also forwarded the recipe to me kids. They will enjoy this dish as well!
Made this tonight and loved it! Thank you Mel!
I made something very similar to this the other day and added leftover cauliflower, broccoli and carrots from a veggie tray. I chopped them real small in the food processor and added a bag of pre-shredded coleslaw mix. Some of it made it into eggroll wrappers, but it was so good the majority was served over rice, minus the stuff I stole and ate right out of the pan.
Looks awesome, Mel! Thanks for sharing! Quick question- where do you find your quinoa, and what brand do you use? I have tried to buy it in bulk but there are so many options, and I have no idea which one to choose (at Winco). I also used to buy mine at Costco but when the price when up from $9 a bag to $22 a bag, I had to start using brown rice, instead. Any suggestions would be welcome! Thanks!!!
Hey Amy – when I lived in Northern Minnesota (up until just a few months ago), I was buying it at a local organic mill there. But lately I’ve been buying it on Amazon (the truRoots brand) or at Costco (I haven’t bought it there in a month or so – I’m not sure if it’s gone up in price here or not). I read somewhere that quinoa prices would be rising so that may be contributing to the cost changing at Costco. I use ours sparingly on meals that really count, if that makes sense, since it is more expensive than rice.
I envy you…I’ve been wanting to go to Korea. Maybe one day. Meanwhile let me have this delicious korean beef with quinoa (love it) and folding my pile of laundry.
My son and one of my daughters were adopted from Korea so we’ve tried lots of Korean food over the years. Some I like, especially the BBQ, but usually I pass on all the pickled vegetables. This looks good and I hope to try it soon!
Have you ever had a Korean Bibimbap? My husband is planning to attempt to make them for dinner this week, I think this may have to be the meat component! If so, I will tag you on instagram so you can see it. You always seem to post something just when I need it. 🙂
Yum! I love easy recipes like this. Other than rice, what do you serve it with?
Kirsten G. – Right above the recipe there is a what to serve with this icon with some suggested sides.
Love this – and excited to have your version to try next! We make it an “all-in-one ” meal by throwing in some red peppers, broccoli and/or carrots.
Thank you! I made this for lunch (a few minutes ago) and I am back to report that it’s awesome and tasty and amazing and although I didn’t have rice, it was perfect in a lettuce wrap as suggested. Worst run on sentence ever? Maybe. Great recipe, thanks! 🙂
Love that you made this so fast! Love that you use run-on sentences like I do! Love that you came to report back!
This looks amazing Mel!! Like, I’m in love with the flavours!! I would love it served in lettuce with kimchi!
Yum! I have a “cheater Korean beef” recipe that my family loves. This looks easier, so we will definitely be trying it. Thanks! Quick dinners are so needed! I use your list of 30 minute meals often. Thank you!! Yum!
Relatively new member to this site, but LOVE LOVE LOVE. Thank you Mel!
As I’m trying to refocus on healthy eating after holiday-calorie-overload, I am excited to try this with ground turkey or chicken. I spent a chunk of time yesterday checking out all of your healthy recipes, and will have to add this to my next menu plan. Looks tasty!
This looks amazing! I bet it’s great as a lettuce wrap!
I love how easy this recipe is. I actually taught English in Korea for awhile and am not a huge fan of Korean food (I was on kimchi overload) but this sounds delicious!
So excited all my food bloggers are back! Since we just got back from a trip and I need to head to costco today, this just may wind up for dinner!
Ewwwww. . . .raw cow liver! Love that you gave us this 20 minute recipe. Thank you. Happy New Year!
Yes, I need them to go back to school so I can get something done without those little tornados undoing it behind me. We also need our schedule back we have had like 16 movies or games nights in a row. Thanks for the recipe they will love it. You mentioned in an early post that you would like to blog twice a week have you thought about Tuesday- Thursday post. Most bloggers do Mon-Wed-Fri. Selfishly, that way I have a little something something to look forward to everyday of the week. Thanks
Thank you!!! This looks amazing …. And I can’t wait to try it, hopefully today !! Anything that can be made in 20 or 30 mins is a win!!