Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Recipe ⬇️ or print: recipetineats.com/easy-korean-beef-bulgogi-rice-bowls
Meet my new favourite beef mince recipe - Korean Beef Bulgogi Rice Bowls! ! Made with ground beef rather than pricey steaks. Same authentic Bulgogi marinade, all the flavour, but at a fraction of the cost and effort. I’ve made rice bowls, but you can also do noodles, wraps, burritos or tacos (so trendy!).
See the website post for lengthy list of various ways to serve it, extra sauce and topping/stuffing options. Enjoy! - Nagi x
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Korean Beef Bulgogi Rice Bowls - the easy way!
500g / 1 lb beef mince (ground beef), any fat % you like
1 tbsp canola oil, or any other plain flavoured oil, + 2 tsp (to wilt baby spinach)
BULGOGI SAUCE - mix:
1 tbsp onion, finely grated (~1/4 onion)
3 tbsp red apple, skin on, finely grated (~1/2 apple)
3 garlic cloves, finely grated
1 tsp ginger, finely grated
2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce, light or all-purpose (not dark soy)
1 tbsp each sesame oil, mirin*, brown sugar
1/8 tsp black pepper
RICE BOWL SAUCE - mix:
2 tbsp soy sauce + 1 tbsp sesame oil + 2 tsp brown sugar + 2 tsp rice vinegar
FOR RICE BOWL (VERY FLEXIBLE!):
White rice (medium or short grain, if you can)
4 large handfuls baby spinach (or similar)
1 large carrot, peeled and julienned or grated using box grater
Pink pickled ginger
1 avocado, mashed
1 1/2 cups baby cos / romaine lettuce, torn into bite size pieces
1 tsp white sesame seeds
1 green onion, finely sliced
1. Wilt spinach using the 2 tsp oil on high heat (do in batches if needed), remove.
2. Cook Bulgogi beef – Add the 1 tbsp oil to the pan. Still on high heat, cook beef, breaking it up as you go, until you no longer see raw beef. Add the Bulgogi sauce, then let it simmer rapidly, stirring every now and then, until the sauce is mostly evaporated. Then stir regularly until the beef gets a bit of lovely caramelisation on it, but is still moist from the sauce.
3. Assemble bowls – Spoon beef over rice, place spinach and carrot on the side. Top with pickled ginger and a dollop of mashed avocado. Tuck lettuce down the side. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onion, serve with sauce for drizzling all over everything!
* Omit for no alcohol. No, it’s not authentic in Bulgogi but compensates for not using $50/kg steak, not marinating 24 hrs and not cooking over charcoal!
Recipe ⬇️ or print: recipetineats.com/easy-korean-beef-bulgogi-rice-bowls
Meet my new favourite beef mince recipe - Korean Beef Bulgogi Rice Bowls! ! Made with ground beef rather than pricey steaks. Same authentic Bulgogi marinade, all the flavour, but at a fraction of the cost and effort. I’ve made rice bowls, but you can also do noodles, wraps, burritos or tacos (so trendy!).
See the website post for lengthy list of various ways to serve it, extra sauce and topping/stuffing options. Enjoy! - Nagi x
—————————
Korean Beef Bulgogi Rice Bowls - the easy way!
500g / 1 lb beef mince (ground beef), any fat % you like
1 tbsp canola oil, or any other plain flavoured oil, + 2 tsp (to wilt baby spinach)
BULGOGI SAUCE - mix:
1 tbsp onion, finely grated (~1/4 onion)
3 tbsp red apple, skin on, finely grated (~1/2 apple)
3 garlic cloves, finely grated
1 tsp ginger, finely grated
2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce, light or all-purpose (not dark soy)
1 tbsp each sesame oil, mirin*, brown sugar
1/8 tsp black pepper
RICE BOWL SAUCE - mix:
2 tbsp soy sauce + 1 tbsp sesame oil + 2 tsp brown sugar + 2 tsp rice vinegar
FOR RICE BOWL (VERY FLEXIBLE!):
White rice (medium or short grain, if you can)
4 large handfuls baby spinach (or similar)
1 large carrot, peeled and julienned or grated using box grater
Pink pickled ginger
1 avocado, mashed
1 1/2 cups baby cos / romaine lettuce, torn into bite size pieces
1 tsp white sesame seeds
1 green onion, finely sliced
1. Wilt spinach using the 2 tsp oil on high heat (do in batches if needed), remove.
2. Cook Bulgogi beef – Add the 1 tbsp oil to the pan. Still on high heat, cook beef, breaking it up as you go, until you no longer see raw beef. Add the Bulgogi sauce, then let it simmer rapidly, stirring every now and then, until the sauce is mostly evaporated. Then stir regularly until the beef gets a bit of lovely caramelisation on it, but is still moist from the sauce.
3. Assemble bowls – Spoon beef over rice, place spinach and carrot on the side. Top with pickled ginger and a dollop of mashed avocado. Tuck lettuce down the side. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onion, serve with sauce for drizzling all over everything!
* Omit for no alcohol. No, it’s not authentic in Bulgogi but compensates for not using $50/kg steak, not marinating 24 hrs and not cooking over charcoal!
