Name: Easy Korean Bulgogi Beef Bowl
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 300 g (1 ½ cups) short-grain white rice; 420 ml (1 ¾ cups) water; 1 medium cucumber (about 200 g / 7 oz), thinly sliced; 2 tbsp (30 ml) rice vinegar; 1 tsp sugar; ½ tsp fine sea salt; 60 ml (¼ cup) soy sauce; 2 tbsp (25 g) light or dark brown sugar; 60 g (¼ cup) finely grated Asian pear or apple; 4 garlic cloves, finely grated; 1 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger; 1 tbsp (15 ml) toasted sesame oil; ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper; 1 tbsp (18 g) gochujang (optional); 1 tbsp (15 ml) neutral oil; 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) minced (ground) beef, 15–20% fat; 1 small onion, thinly sliced; 3 spring onions (scallions), whites and greens sliced separately; 1 medium carrot, cut into matchsticks or coarsely grated; 4 large eggs (optional); 150 g (1 cup) kimchi; 1 tbsp (9 g) toasted sesame seeds; roasted seaweed (gim) strips (optional)

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This is a weeknight rice bowl with the flavours of bulgogi: minced beef browned hard, then glazed in a sweet, garlicky sauce of soy, brown sugar, sesame oil, ginger and grated pear, and spooned over short-grain rice with quick-pickled cucumber, carrot, kimchi and a fried egg. It takes about 30 minutes, and the rice cooks while you do everything else.

To be clear about what it is: traditional bulgogi is made with thin slices of marinated beef, not mince. Using minced beef keeps the flavour but skips the slicing and marinating, which is what makes this a 30-minute dinner. If you’d like the real thing, there’s a sliced-beef version further down.

Serves 4.

What bulgogi is

Bulgogi means “fire meat” in Korean, a reference to cooking over a flame. Its roots are usually traced to neobiani, a dish of marinated, grilled beef from the Joseon era, and it became one of Korea’s best-known dishes during the 20th century. The classic marinade is soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, spring onion and often grated Asian pear, which adds sweetness and helps tenderise the meat. Beef bulgogi isn’t usually spicy; the red, chilli-hot version is a different dish, most often made with pork. Gochujang in this recipe is optional.

Ingredients

Rice

300 g (1 ½ cups) short-grain white rice
420 ml (1 ¾ cups) water

Quick cucumber pickle

1 medium cucumber (about 200 g / 7 oz), thinly sliced
2 tbsp (30 ml) rice vinegar
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp fine sea salt

Bulgogi sauce

60 ml (¼ cup) soy sauce
2 tbsp (25 g) light or dark brown sugar
60 g (¼ cup) finely grated Asian pear or apple (about ¼ fruit)
4 garlic cloves, finely grated
1 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger
1 tbsp (15 ml) toasted sesame oil
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp (18 g) gochujang (optional, for gentle heat)

Beef

1 tbsp (15 ml) neutral oil
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) minced (ground) beef, 15–20% fat
1 small onion, thinly sliced
3 spring onions (scallions), whites and greens sliced separately

To serve

1 medium carrot, cut into matchsticks or coarsely grated
4 large eggs (optional)
150 g (1 cup) kimchi
1 tbsp (9 g) toasted sesame seeds
Roasted seaweed (gim) sheets, cut into strips (optional)

Method

Rinse and cook the rice. Put the rice in a bowl of cold water, swirl it with your hand and drain. Repeat 3–4 times until the water is only slightly cloudy. Put the rice and 420 ml (1 ¾ cups) water in a heavy saucepan, bring to a boil, then cover, turn the heat to the lowest setting and cook for 15 minutes. Take it off the heat and leave it covered for 10 minutes, without lifting the lid.
Pickle the cucumber. Toss the cucumber with the vinegar, sugar and salt in a small bowl and set aside. It’ll be lightly pickled in 10 minutes.
Mix the sauce. Stir together all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
Brown the beef. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the beef and press it into a flat layer. Leave it alone for 3–4 minutes, until the underside is deep brown and crusty, then break it into small pieces and cook for 2–3 minutes more until no pink remains. If there’s a lot of fat, spoon off all but about 1 tbsp.
Add the onion. Add the sliced onion and the spring onion whites and cook for 2–3 minutes, stirring, until the onion softens.
Glaze. Pour in the sauce and cook, stirring, for 2–4 minutes, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the beef looks glossy and sticky rather than wet. Taste and adjust with a pinch of sugar or a dash of soy sauce. Turn off the heat and stir in half the spring onion greens.
Fry the eggs. If using, fry the eggs in a little oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat for 2–3 minutes, until the whites are set and the edges are crisp, with the yolks still runny.
Assemble. Divide the rice between 4 bowls. Spoon the beef over one side and arrange the drained cucumber, carrot and kimchi around it. Top with an egg, the rest of the spring onion greens, sesame seeds and seaweed strips. Mix everything together as you eat.

Tips for a better bowl

Get some colour on the beef. The most common problem with mince is that it steams in its own liquid and turns grey. A hot pan, a flat layer and leaving it undisturbed for a few minutes gives you browned, crisp bits that taste much more like grilled bulgogi. If your pan is small, brown the beef in two batches.

Grate the pear finely. Asian pear (also called nashi) adds a fresh, rounded sweetness that’s typical of bulgogi. A sweet apple such as Fuji is the next best thing. Use a fine grater so it melts into the sauce. If you have neither, add an extra 2 tsp brown sugar.

Choose the right rice. Korean meals are served with short-grain rice, which is slightly sticky and holds together in the bowl. Calrose or Japanese-style rice is easy to find. Jasmine rice works but is drier and looser; cook it according to the packet.

Reduce the sauce properly. A watery sauce soaks into the rice and makes it mushy. Cook it down until the beef is glazed.

The sliced-beef version

For traditional bulgogi, use 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) ribeye or sirloin. Freeze it for 30–45 minutes to firm it up, then slice it across the grain as thinly as you can, about 2–3 mm (⅛ in). Some Korean and Asian grocers sell beef already sliced for bulgogi. Mix the meat with the sauce and the sliced onion and marinate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 24 hours in the fridge. Cook it in batches in a very hot, lightly oiled pan for 1–2 minutes per batch, spreading the slices out so they sear rather than stew. It’s also excellent on a barbecue in a grill basket.

Substitutions and variations

Other meats: minced pork, chicken or turkey all work. For lean turkey or chicken, add 1 extra tbsp oil.
Vegetarian: use 400 g (14 oz) firm tofu, crumbled and pressed dry, or a mix of finely chopped mushrooms and crumbled tofu. Brown it well before adding the sauce.
Gluten-free: use tamari instead of soy sauce, check your gochujang (many brands contain wheat), or leave it out, and check the kimchi label.
Lettuce wraps: spoon the beef and rice into leaves of butter lettuce or red leaf lettuce with a little ssamjang or gochujang.
More vegetables: add blanched spinach dressed with sesame oil and salt, sautéed courgette (zucchini) or beansprouts, as in a bibimbap.

Meal prep, storage and reheating

These bowls are good for packed lunches. Cook the beef and rice, and keep them separate from the fresh toppings.

Beef: refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat in a pan with a splash of water, or in the microwave, until piping hot (74°C / 165°F).
Rice: cooked rice needs care. Spores of a bacterium called Bacillus cereus can survive cooking and produce toxins if the rice sits warm. Cool leftover rice quickly by spreading it on a tray, refrigerate it within 1 hour, eat it within 24 hours, and reheat it only once, until steaming hot. Sprinkle it with a little water before microwaving so it doesn’t dry out.
Toppings: the cucumber pickle keeps for 2 days in the fridge, the carrot for 4 days. Fry eggs fresh.

What to serve with it

The bowl is a full meal, but a couple of small side dishes make it feel more like a Korean table: kimchi, quick-blanched spinach dressed with sesame oil, garlic and salt, or seasoned beansprouts. A bubbling pot of doenjang jjigae, a soybean paste stew, is a common partner, too.

To turn leftover rice into another quick dinner, try our kimchi fried rice. For a weekend Korean feast, pair the bowls with a plate of our crispy Korean fried chicken.

Can’t find gochujang? Our world pantry guide lists the closest swaps.