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White bowl with rice, Korean beef, slaw, sauce, and lime wedges.

Easy Korean Beef Bowls

Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

Quick Slaw:

  • 4 cups shredded cabbage (napa, green, purple or a combo) - see note
  • 1 cup shredded or grated carrots
  • 1 cup chopped cucumbers
  • ¼ to ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • Sriracha, to taste

Sauce to End All Sauces:

  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Korean Beef:

  • 1 ½ to 2 pounds lean ground beef
  • ½ cup low-sodium soy sauce
  • ¼ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger or ginger paste
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic (4 to 5 cloves) or 1 teaspoon garlic powder

For serving (optional but tasty):

  • Hot, cooked rice
  • Naan bread
  • Avocado slices
  • Fresh lime wedges
  • Chopped cilantro

Instructions 

  • For the slaw, in a large bowl, combine the cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, and cilantro. In a small bowl whisk together the lime juice, soy sauce, olive oil, salt and pepper (start with a pinch of each and add more to taste, if needed), and sriracha. Pour the dressing over the slaw and toss to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve (it can be made 4-6 hours in advance).
  • For the sauce, stir together all the ingredients and refrigerate until ready to serve (it can be made several days in advance).
  • For the beef, in a 12-inch nonstick skillet set over medium heat, brown the ground beef, breaking the meat into small pieces, until no longer pink. Drain excess grease.
  • To the skillet, add the soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, sesame oil, ginger and garlic or garlic powder. Stir to combine and bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer for 3 to 4 minutes until heated through.
  • For serving, to each bowl, add a scoop of rice (if using), add a portion of beef and slaw. Drizzle with sauce. Serve with lime wedges, avocados, and naan bread, if desired.

Notes

Slaw: this makes quite a bit of slaw as we like to load up our bowls with a lot of slaw. If you think you might want less, you can halve the slaw ingredients.
To speed up prep time, you can use part of a 14-ounce bag of pre-shredded coleslaw mix (without the dressing) for the cabbage and carrots called for in the recipe.