Korean Ground Beef Bulgogi Recipe

black bowl on a napkin filled with rice, bulgogi, and fried egg

4.88 from 8 votes

An easy and delicious weeknight favorite: Korean Ground Beef Bulgogi. All the traditional flavors of bulgogi with accessible ground beef. Make this easy Korean rice bowl and top with a fried egg for a complete meal. The best kind of 15-minute simple dinner!

Prep Time5

Cook Time10

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: Korean

Keyword: Beef, Bowls, Bulgogi, Rice

Servings:

Calories: 504kcal

Author: Lis Lam

Equipment

wok or cast iron pan

Ingredients

In a bowl:

1 lb extra lean ground beef
1/2 large onion, grated
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp soy sauce (not the low sodium kind)
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp Mirin (Korean sweet cooking wine) rice wine also works
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1-2 Tbsp Gochujang *optional ingredient (for more spicy flavor)

In the wok:

1/2 large onion, diced

Assemble into bowls:

4 cups (cooked) rice
4 sunny side up eggs
2 green onions, chopped

Instructions

Cook rice, according to package directions.
Prep the onion. Grate 1/2 onion on a box grater so that it becomes juicy, onion pulp. Dice the other 1/2 onion in a medium dice.
Marinate ground beef. In a large bowl, add ground beef, grated onion, garlic, soy sauce, sugar, Mirin, and sesame oil. Mix until well combined with hands or a fork. Set aside.
Cook. Heat a wok or cast iron skillet on medium heat. When the pan is hot, add 1-2 Tbsp neutral oil (I use grapeseed oil) and swirl around in the pan. Add onion and saute until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes.
Increase the heat to medium-high heat. Add the marinated ground beef and keep cooking, breaking apart big chunks with a metal spatula or wooden spoon. Initially, a lot of liquid will release from the meat. Keep cooking until most of the liquid has evaporated and the meat has turned dark brown in color with crispy edges, about 8-10 minutes.
Garnish. Remove from heat and add green onion and sesame seeds.
Assemble. Evenly divide rice among 4 bowls. 1 cup cooked rice is a generous portion so feel free to adjust, according to your preference. Evenly divide ground beef bulgogi over the rice. Top with a fried egg. Enjoy!

Notes

Tips:

- Use a wok or cast iron skillet. For that charred, smoky flavor.

- Cook until caramelized. Ground beef releases a lot of water. Cook until crispy and caramelized with a dark-brown color.

- Make in advance. Reheats well. Make once and organize into separate portions for easy lunch meals all week long!
- Make it spicy. If you'd like more fiery heat, add 1-2 Tbsp of Gochujang to the marinade.

Nutrition