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A sizzling skillet filled with Korean beef, vegetables, and rice, with steam rising

Korean Beef Bowl Skillet

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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound 80/20 ground beef
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger grated
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or gochugaru optional
  • 2 green onions sliced
  • Cooked rice for serving

Method
 

  1. Brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat, then drain the fat.
  2. Push the beef to the edges and add the garlic and ginger to the center of the pan, letting them bloom for about 30 seconds before mixing in.
  3. Stir in the soy sauce and brown sugar and simmer 3 to 4 minutes until glossy.
  4. Remove from the heat and finish with the sesame oil and red pepper flakes.
  5. Serve over rice topped with sliced green onions.

Notes

Not traditional bulgogi, which uses thin-sliced marinated beef, but the same soy-sugar-sesame trifecta. 80/20 browns best but drain after browning. Sesame oil is a finisher, not a cooking fat - high heat kills its delicate flavor. Blooming the ginger and garlic in the center of the pan is brief but matters for depth. Gochugaru is the closer, more authentic swap for red pepper flakes.