Weeknights don’t need to be boring. You can whip up a Korean beef bowl in around 40 minutes.
Dinner on the table in less time than it takes to order in. A whole lot less expensive too I bet.
And it scales. Feed a crowd if you need to. No problem. Just up the quantities.
Might need to cook the beef in batches. So it browns instead of steams. But everything else scales perfectly.
Korean beef bowl is like super simple bibimbap
That’s kind of how I think of Korean beef bowl. A simple way to make bibimbap. Really easy. Speed fix. Not quite authentic. But close enough for Tuesdays.
You could even just make the beef and serve it on rice. A little kimchi on the side. Pretty tasty. I’d eat that. And smile.
But I like it better with a couple banchan. And a couple different drizzles. A little extra flash. For not a lot more work.
Use whatever banchan you want
Banchan is the name for all those funky condiments served with rice. The army of little side dishes they put out at Korean restaurants
Kimchi is probably the most famous. And for me it’s essential to Korean beef bowl. But there’s no reason you can’t add others.
Kimchi is easy where I live. They sell it at the regular grocery stores now. It’s arrived. It’s a thing.
For other flavours you might have to do a little more work.
There are all sorts of goodies in the coolers at your local Korean grocer. Have a look. Assuming you have a local Korean grocer I guess. I’m lucky that way.
If buying banchan isn’t an option you can make your own. Banchan don’t tend to be a lot of work. But they will push you past the 40 minute mark.
If you have no idea what I’m talking about go to a Korean restaurant. Order something that comes with banchan.
15 little bowls of delicious. A bowl of rice and an army of banchan is good living. Nothing else required.
I bought the kimchi. But I made the marinated spinach. It probably took me as long as making everything else in this dish.
You’ll have a pretty big mess on your hands if you try to get this done too and still hit the 40 minute mark.
Better to do it the day before. Or just buy it. The spinach recipe is from Serious Eats if you’re wondering.
It has to be sticky rice
If you want to eat Korean beef bowl with chopsticks you are going to need sticky rice. Straight jasmine isn’t going to cut it.
It’s a double whammy. Rice and ground beef is tough. Not easy unless you are a chopstick grand master.
But a big part of the flavour is in the sauce. And that sauce has the juices from browning the beef.
And those juices coat the rice. So they separate into individual grains. About impossible to pick up with chopsticks.
See what I did there? I called the rendered beef fat “juices”. To soften the blow. Because the beef fat is a huge part of the flavour.
Embrace it. Live a little. It tastes good. Fat tastes good. Thank you Julia Child for showing us the way.
Use lean ground beef though. Medium is pushing it. Even I think that’s too much.
So you have a choice. Give up on chopsticks. Or make sticky rice.
An easy way to make sticky rice
There’s the real way to make sticky rice. Soaking. Steaming. Special gear.
It’s magical stuff. But it’s not weeknight cooking. Not for me anyway. If it is for you go for it.
There’s an easier way. Might not quite have all the magic. But at least you’ll be able to get the rice to your mouth. With chopsticks. And eat your dinner in less than an hour.
I didn’t invent this. It’s an undocumented trick. I heard from a friend. Not sure why it’s not a thing.
Or maybe it is a thing. And I just can’t come up with the right search terms. Don’t know. But I do know it’s easy.
There’s this stuff called glutinous rice. Or sweet rice. You can get it at Korean groceries.
Straight up it’s like making a rice hockey puck. Or whatever sport uses a puck where you live. Not great.
But if you use a little bit. Mixed in with the jasmine rice. Then you have something that works in a Korean beef bowl.
And it’s no more work than making the rice you were going to make anyway. I call that a win.
Food truck style Korean beef bowl
If I had a food truck I’d serve this. And I’d want it to stand out. A little wow. To keep them coming back.
So there’s two drizzles. But one is a variation of the other. So it’s not a big deal. Like they do in restaurants. Or food trucks I guess.
The first is the gochujang drizzle. It’s a red sauce. Big flavours. Wake your mouth up type flavours.
You don’t need the second drizzle. But it’s fun. And it adds a little creaminess.
You ready? It’s just a bit of the gochujang drizzle with some mayonnaise and a bit of sour cream to lighten it.
Not even homemade mayonnaise. Hellmans. Or Duke’s I guess. If you’re lucky enough to live where they sell that.
Just not that sandwich spread stuff that calls itself a miracle though. That stuff is not mayonnaise.
Weekend flash for weeknight cooking
This isn’t as complicated as you think. Mix up a sauce. 3 minutes. Fry some hamburger. Under 10 minutes. Make a drizzle or two. 5 more minutes. Cook some rice. Well – that takes as long as it takes.
It is totally doable during the week. Korean beef bowl. For when you want better than takeout. On a Tuesday. Seriously.
Korean beef bowl with gochujang drizzle
Ingredients
simple bulgogi style sauce
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger grated on a microplane
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- pinch black pepper
easy sticky rice
- 3 tbsp glutinous rice also called sweet rice.
- 13 tbsp jasmine rice 1 cup less three tablespoons. Put the three tablespoons of glutinous rice in your measuring cup and top it up with jasmine rice. Easy.
- 1 tsp kosher salt – a little less if you are using regular table salt
- 1 1/2 cups water
gochujang drizzle
- 2 tbsp gochujang
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp water
- 2 tsp rice wine vinegar
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp soy sauce I like Thai thin soy for this recipe but a good Japanese soy works well too.
Creamy gochujang drizzle
- 1 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tsp sour cream
- gochujang drizzle to taste. Maybe a teaspoon or so.
korean beef bowl
- 12 oz lean ground beef
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- banchan of your choice to serve – I think kimchi is a must
- white sesame seeds to garnish
Instructions
Make the simple bulgogi style sauce
- Mix the soy and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Warm until the sugar fully dissolves.
- Let cool and add garlic, ginger, sesame oil and black pepper.
Red gochujang drizzle
- Combine all the ingredients. Mix completely. Set aside.
Creamy gochujang drizzle
- Combine the mayonnaise and sour cream.
- Add a bit of the red gochujang drizzle. Taste. Decide if you want more. A teaspoon or so should get you to where you need to be. You want a lighter counterpoint to the beef and red drizzle so don’t go crazy here.
Easy sticky rice
- Combine the glutinous rice with the jasmine rice. The easiest way to do this is to put 3 Tbsp glutinous rice in the measuring cup and add enough jasmine to make up one cup total rice.
- I use a rice cooker for this. Shame on me. Toss everything in a rice cooker. Hit a button. Wait. Perfect rice every time.
- If you don’t have a rice cooker it’s a little trickier because jasmine cooks faster than glutinous rice. Combine the rice, salt and water in a saucepan that has a lid. Bring to a lively simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for the time specified for the jasmine rice (around 12 minutes). Let stand 5 minutes. Try this once with whatever rice you get to make sure everything works for you before going for it at dinner.
Korean beef bowl
- Add the oil to a frying pan that is large enough to hold the beef and sauce.
- Add the beef, breaking it up into small pieces, and brown. You need to make sure you cook the beef through. Underdone ground beef is not to be trifled with.
- When the beef is done add the simple bulgogi sauce and stir. Simmer for a couple minutes.
- To assemble your Korean beef bowls put a layer of rice in each bowl. You might not need all the rice – unless you are really hungry. Beef goes on the rice, then the drizzles. Spinkle the beef with sesame seeds and garnish with the banchan of your choice.
Notes
Nutrition
Korean beef bowl with gochujang drizzle
Ingredients
simple bulgogi style sauce
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger grated on a microplane
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- pinch black pepper
easy sticky rice
- 3 tbsp glutinous rice also called sweet rice.
- 13 tbsp jasmine rice 1 cup less three tablespoons. Put the three tablespoons of glutinous rice in your measuring cup and top it up with jasmine rice. Easy.
- 1 tsp kosher salt - a little less if you are using regular table salt
- 1 1/2 cups water
gochujang drizzle
- 2 tbsp gochujang
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp water
- 2 tsp rice wine vinegar
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp soy sauce I like Thai thin soy for this recipe but a good Japanese soy works well too.
Creamy gochujang drizzle
- 1 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tsp sour cream
- gochujang drizzle to taste. Maybe a teaspoon or so.
korean beef bowl
- 12 oz lean ground beef
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- banchan of your choice to serve - I think kimchi is a must
- white sesame seeds to garnish
Instructions
Make the simple bulgogi style sauce
- Mix the soy and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Warm until the sugar fully dissolves.
- Let cool and add garlic, ginger, sesame oil and black pepper.
Red gochujang drizzle
- Combine all the ingredients. Mix completely. Set aside.
Creamy gochujang drizzle
- Combine the mayonnaise and sour cream.
- Add a bit of the red gochujang drizzle. Taste. Decide if you want more. A teaspoon or so should get you to where you need to be. You want a lighter counterpoint to the beef and red drizzle so don’t go crazy here.
Easy sticky rice
- Combine the glutinous rice with the jasmine rice. The easiest way to do this is to put 3 Tbsp glutinous rice in the measuring cup and add enough jasmine to make up one cup total rice.
- I use a rice cooker for this. Shame on me. Toss everything in a rice cooker. Hit a button. Wait. Perfect rice every time.
- If you don’t have a rice cooker it’s a little trickier because jasmine cooks faster than glutinous rice. Combine the rice, salt and water in a saucepan that has a lid. Bring to a lively simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for the time specified for the jasmine rice (around 12 minutes). Let stand 5 minutes. Try this once with whatever rice you get to make sure everything works for you before going for it at dinner.
Korean beef bowl
- Add the oil to a frying pan that is large enough to hold the beef and sauce.
- Add the beef, breaking it up into small pieces, and brown. You need to make sure you cook the beef through. Underdone ground beef is not to be trifled with.
- When the beef is done add the simple bulgogi sauce and stir. Simmer for a couple minutes.
- To assemble your Korean beef bowls put a layer of rice in each bowl. You might not need all the rice - unless you are really hungry. Beef goes on the rice, then the drizzles. Spinkle the beef with sesame seeds and garnish with the banchan of your choice.
Notes
Nutrition
Tandoori masala is a little bit of Indian BBQ fairy dust. The stuff that makes grilled chicken magic. Or lamb chops crazy tasty.
You can buy tandoori masala. Just about anywhere. Every Indian grocer on the planet sells it.
Super convenient.Comes in a nice neat container even. But it has a fatal flaw. And I just can’t take it anymore.
There is too much salt in commercial tandoori masala
And that makes me a little crazy. Commercial tandoori masala is made to season meat right before it hits the grill. Nothing else.
So it’s salty. Like commercial dry rubs. Or cajun spice. Salt is sometimes even the first ingredient.
It works. It’s ridiculously expensive for something that’s mostly salt. But it works. A one trick pony. A good trick. Grilled chicken likes salt.
But it is a real pain when you want to use it as an ingredient. In a chicken tikka masala for instance.
You have to figure out how it will impact your salt balance. That’s the part that drives me crazy.
And every brand is different. Some have more salt than others. Some use a mix of salt and MSG. Two separate ingredients. So they go lower on the list of ingredients. Sneaky.
Makes it really hard to write recipes. One brand works but another one is way too salty. That’s why I am doing this post. I’m tired of being limited.
I’m working on a hotel style chicken tikka masala right now. And commercial tandoori masala is messing with my ability to get the results I want. So it has to go.
Amchoor is the secret ingredient
I thought a lot about this recipe. Tasted a lot of spice mixes. Ate a fair bit of tandoori chicken. Not a hardship. I love tandoori chicken.
I came to the conclusion that the error bars on tandoori masala are pretty big. A little more of this. A little less of that. Doesn’t make a huge difference.
Except for one ingredient. Amchoor. Ground dried mango powder. There’s a tang to tandoori masala. It’s important. Critical even.
That tang has to come from somewhere. Cheaper blends use citric acid. The better ones use amchoor. I’m going with amchoor.
Red doesn’t mean anything
Tandoori chicken is red. Right? It’s always red. Here’s the thing. It’s really supposed to get its colour from a whole lot of chili powder, paprika and turmeric.
That’s the awesome version. Maybe not for the faint of heart though. So the watered down version uses food colouring.
Food colouring adds no flavour. None. Looks good though. It’s what people expect to see.
Think of red icing. Does that taste like tandoori? No? Same stuff. Zero added flavour. Literally. Pure cosmetics.
I don’t know where it started. It has to be bright red/orange or it’s not tandoori. Why is that even a thing?
I’m feeling the shame here though. The hypocrisy is almost more than I can bear. Almost. I’m bad. I use food colouring when I take pictures for glebekitchen.
Terrible. I know. But red sells. Nobody would care otherwise. Which is unfortunate. But also fact. I am guilty of propagating the myth.
I’m going to stop. Enough is enough. Truth in tandoori chicken here from now on. Well mostly anyway. Like I said. Red sells.
Fresh ground spices make a big difference
I’m not sure it’s possible to overstate how big a deal freshly ground spices are. Game changer. Mind blower even. Huge.
I clearly remember the first time I did it. Was a long time ago. My memory sucks. I don’t remember what I had for breakfast this morning.
But I remember that first bite. A simple chicken curry. An extraordinary chicken curry.
I don’t always do it. It’s work. I’d have some of the best recipes on the internet if I asked everyone to grind their spices for every dish.
I’d also have the smallest audience on the internet. So I try to keep it in check. It’s a balance. I save it for when it really matters.
There’s a time and place for everything. Your kitchen is the place. This is the time. Tandoori masala is so worth the effort. Try it. You’ll see.
Small batches are best for tandoori masala
This recipe does not make a lot of tandoori masala. And there’s a reason for that. The wonder that fresh ground spices brings does not last forever. It fades.
It does scale though. If you need a lot of it just use the slider in the recipe card. You can make a kilo of it if you want.
I like to keep my batches small. Use it up. While it’s still amazing. And then make some more.
Tandoori masala from scratch
It’s not hard to make tandoori masala. Dead easy really. If you can measure spices you can make it.
Toss some whole spices in a pan. Toast them until fragrant. Grind. Mix with some ground spices. That’s it. Boiling water is more complicated.
You control the salt. You control the colour. And you enjoy the flavour that only fresh ground spices can bring.
If you are really hung up on eating red chicken then do it. A little red food colouring changes nothing. Flavour-wise anyway. Doesn’t really matter.
We do first eat with our eyes. It’s your kitchen. Your call. I’m about flavour. Colour is up to you.
Bottom line. If you want maximum flavour this is for you. Tasty stuff. Red or not.
tandoori masala
Ingredients
whole spices
- 3 tbsp coriander seed
- 1 tbsp cumin seed
- 3 blades mace – about 1-2 grams
- 1 tsp black pepper corns
- 1 inch cinnamon not cassia for a change
- 3 whole cloves
- 3 green cardamom
ground spices
- 1 tbsp paprika for colour
- 2 tsp kashmiri chili powder
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 4 tsp amchoor powder
- 1 tsp granulated garlic powder
Instructions
Toast your whole spices
- Pre-heat a small skillet over medium-low heat. Toast the spices, shaking the pan constantly, until fragrant. This should take about 2 minutes.
- Allow whole spices to cool. Transfer to a spice grinder (I like my old blade style coffee grinder for this). Grind to powder.
- Combine with powder spices and shake well to combine. Store in a glass jar in a cool, dark place.
Use your tandoori masala
- You can use it as is in dishes calling for tandoori masala. You may need to up the salt. If a recipe calls for store-bought tandoori masala they are counting on the salt in the mix.
- To make a simple tandoori marinade combine 3 tbsp tandoori masala, 1 tbsp garlic ginger paste, 2 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of kasoori methi and 1/4 cup of vegetable oil. A little naga pickle is nice if you like some extra heat. A little mint sauce is a nice touch as well if you have it. Stir to combine.
- Pour over your chicken and mix. Marinate up to 4 hours. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 a lemon and mix again. BBQ. Preferably over charcoal. Or in your pizza oven to mix things up.
