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Korean Beef Bulgogi Bowls are a meal-prep dream come true! These flavorful Korean beef bowls are ready in under 30 minutes. Thinly sliced, marinated ribeye beef with vegetables makes for a delicious lunch or dinner recipe that’s a perfect fit for any day of the week. 🍜
Korean BBQ recipes make some of the best BBQ you will ever try, and beef bulgogi is by far our favorite alongside Galbi Jjim (Korean braised short ribs). You can serve it with rice, vegetables, noodles, or even in tacos!
🍽 Equipment
To make Korean beef bowls, you will need a knife and a skillet to cook the beef, and that’s it!
For this beef bulgogi recipe, we use a grill pan, but you can use a regular non-stick or cast-iron skillet as well.
A cast-iron skillet will give you the best sear on your beef, so we recommend using one.
🥩 Ingredients
Beef and marinade ingredients:
- 1.5 pounds boneless ribeye beef, sliced into thin strips
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 pear, peeled and grated
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced (approx. 2 cloves)
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
Ingredients for serving:
- 1 cup rice
- ¾ cup cucumber cut into strips (4 oz.)
- ¾ cup carrots peeled and cut into strips (4 oz.)
- Optional: ¾ cups shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced (4 oz)
- Optional: 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
👪 Serving Size
These Korean Beef Bulgogi Bowls make enough to serve 4.
This dish is so easy to prep ahead of time, it’s simple to make it all ahead and then quickly cook up when you’re ready to enjoy.
Perfect for getting your meal prep for the week done!
🔪 Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix ¼ cup soy sauce with 2 tablespoons sesame oil, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, 1 peeled and grated pear, 2 sliced green onions, and 1 tablespoon minced garlic.
- Cut 1.5 pounds boneless ribeye into thin slices, trimming the fat as you do. Then, cut the slices into bite-size pieces, and add to the bowl with the marinade. Mix together.
- Marinate the beef in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
- When ready to cook, preheat a skillet to medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons olive oil to the skillet, then add the slices of beef. Place them in a single layer. It will cook quickly – about 1 minute on each side – so keep an eye on it.
- After cooking all of the beef, add it back to the skillet with the remaining marinade. Cook for an additional minute or until the beef is well-coated with the marinade.
- Serve over rice with cut vegetables such as ¾ cup sliced cucumbers, carrots, and shiitake mushrooms, and enjoy!
⭐ Best Beef Recipes Tips
- Use pre-sliced steak. If you would prefer not to cut the beef into strips yourself, you can ask your butcher to do it for you or buy pre-sliced steak.
- Don’t overcrowd the pan. When cooking the beef, do not overcrowd the pan. Add in a single layer and cook for 1 minute on each side. Cook the beef in batches.
- Freeze your beef in the marinade. To make meal prep even easier, you can add the beef to the marinade, then freeze it. When you defrost it, the beef will absorb the marinade.
- Leave out the cucumber when reheating. When reheating, do not reheat with the cucumber. Leave the cucumber for last until the rest is reheated.
🧂 Variations
- Make it spicy. Make the beef bulgogi bowls spicy by adding a little Gochujang (Korean red chili paste). Gochujang is a popular ingredient in Korean dishes with a nice kick.
- If adding, mix it in when cooking the beef at the very end, and add just a teaspoon. Taste, then increase if you’d like a little more spice.
- Alternatively, you can use a dash of crushed red pepper flakes in the marinade if you know you like a little spice.
🥫 Storing
Store leftover Korean beef bowls in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Store separately from any vegetables or other side dishes you serve it with for best results.
Can I freeze beef bulgogi bowls?
Yes, you can! We recommend freezing beef bulgogi before you cook it. Store it in freezer-safe zip-lock bags with the marinade and squeeze the air out. Label with the storage date and freeze for 2-3 months.
When you remove it to defrost, the beef will absorb the marinade and be ready to cook right away.
💭 Frequently Asked Questions
Is Korean beef bulgogi gluten-free?
Most soy sauces contain gluten, so make sure you use a gluten-free soy sauce. You can also use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce. However, aside from the soy sauce, the other ingredients necessary for beef bulgogi do not include gluten.
If using gochujang to add a little spice, make sure you purchase a gluten-free variety!
Are Korean beef bowls keto-friendly?
Because this beef bowl recipe uses soy sauce, pear, and maple syrup, it is not keto-friendly. You can use the following substitutes to make the dish keto-friendly:
- Maple syrup: Use a sugar-free maple syrup or a maple flavored syrup that uses monk fruit as a sweetener, if you prefer
- Pears: You will have to leave out the pear, as they are unfortunately high in carbs. Your marinade will still have a great flavor without the pear.
- Soy sauce: Instead of soy sauce, you can use coconut aminos or a low-sodium soy sauce. However, the relatively small amount of soy sauce in this recipe should be fine for a keto diet.
For more keto-friendly ideas, check out our Keto Beef and Broccoli Recipe!
🥗 Side Dishes
Korean beef bulgogi bowls are delicious over rice with cut vegetables like carrots, cucumbers, and mushrooms.
However, you can also serve this beef with stir-fry rice or noodles, kimchi, or even in soft taco shells! Korean BBQ tacos are out-of-this-world delicious.
Check out this Perfect Rice Recipe for tips on making the best rice to use with these Korean beef bowls!
Or, if you have an Instant Pot, give this Instant Pot White Rice a try. It’s perfect for a stir-fry! Instead of pork, you can use beef bulgogi in this Pork Stir Fry Recipe.
📖 Similar Recipes
Love Asian-inspired recipes? We do, too! Try our favorite Asian beef recipes here:
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Korean Beef Bulgogi Bowls
Equipment
- Skillet
Ingredients
Beef and marinade ingredients
- 1½ pounds boneless ribeye beef sliced into thin strips
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 pear peeled and grated
- 2 green onions thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced (approx. 2 cloves)
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
Ingredients for serving
- 1 cup rice
- ¾ cup cucumber cut into strips 4 oz.
- ¾ cup carrots peeled and cut into strips 4 oz.
- Optional: ¾ cups shiitake mushrooms stems removed and sliced (4 oz)
- Optional: 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix ¼ cup soy sauce with 2 tablespoons sesame oil, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, 1 peeled and grated pear, 2 sliced green onions, and 1 tablespoon minced garlic.Cut 1½ pounds boneless ribeye into thin slices, trimming the fat as you do. Then, cut the slices into bite-size pieces, and add to the bowl with the marinade. Mix together.Marinate the beef in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.When ready to cook, preheat a skillet to medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons olive oil to the skillet, then add the slices of beef. Place them in a single layer. It will cook quickly – about 1 minute on each side – so keep an eye on it.
- After cooking all of the beef, add it back to the skillet with the remaining marinade. Cook for an additional minute or until the beef is well-coated with the marinade.Serve over rice with cut vegetables such as ¾ cup sliced cucumbers, carrots, and shiitake mushrooms, and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Photo credit: Caroline Williams
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