Korean Beef Bowl
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I’m not sure what came first, the kimchi or the beef, but we’ve spent a couple of winters with this one.
When I have kimchi in my fridge, I want this beef bowl. When I make this beef, I wish for kimchi. And sometimes these two things come together at the same time, and I actually snap a picture before we eat it!
This recipe here is my meal prepping evolution wrapped up in a bowl. It goes like this, make the parts, store them in the fridge, and for every time someone asks what they can eat whether it’s breakfast, lunch, or dinner I can say, something with the delicious beef. Done.
Here’s my thing about meal prepping, I cannot make it all on Sunday, divide into dishes, and cruise through my week like I love it. And it’s not because I haven’t tried it, or that I don’t like the way it feels. I have, and I do! I’d suggest to anyone that eats, to give meal prepping this way a try at least once in their life. You’ll learn fast what you like and what works for you, and what doesn’t. When you set yourself up for the week, whatever it looks like, you’ll reap the benefits and learn something about YOUR best ways to feed yourself.
Why does this prepping this beef bowl work for us? We can prep the parts and make it work in every situation and for every person who lives here.
If Cole needs a second lunch or after school snack, he might just eat a couple of tacos.
Did Ella dance through dinner time? Then she can make a bowl and put an egg on top. When all the parts are available, anything is possible. Spice it up, cool it down, make a salad, put it in a corn tortilla or create a bowl.
Here’s our Korean Beef Meal prep list:
- Korean Shredded Beef – recipe below
- Rice, quinoa, or cauliflower rice
- Spinach or kale greens washed and ready
- Eggs – fried or hard boiled
- Jalapenos or Thai Chilies
- Kimchi
- Peanuts
- Avocado slices
- Cilantro
- Hot sauce or spicy vinegar
- Optional: shredded cold carrots, strips of daikon radish, edamame beans shelled, sliced scallions, etc.
Meals we can make with our prepped parts:
- Tacos with beef and kimchi
- Breakfast tacos with eggs, beef, and kimchi
- Bowls with all or a few parts
- Salad with all or a few parts
- Hash- add beef to potatoes or a root vegetable hash, kimchi, and an egg on top
- Sandwich – shredded beef and kimchi on toasted bread or bun with spicy mayo and hot sauce
Here’s the recipe using an instant pot!
Ingredients
- 1 lime zested and squeezed
- 1/2 cup coconut aminos or tamari
- 3 inches of ginger peeled
- 1 Asian pear peeled and seeded
- 1 large handful of cilantro leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon of gochugaru or red pepper flakes to taste
- 4 garlic cloves peeled
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons of toasted sesame oil
- 3 pounds of top sirloin beef roast chuck beef roast works too, see note below
- 1 white onion cut into large chunks
Bowl Options:
- Rice quinoa, or cauliflower rice
- Spinach or kale greens washed and ready
- Eggs - fried over-easy or hard boiled
- Jalapenos or chilies
- Kimchi
- Peanuts
- Avocado slices
- Cilantro
- Hot sauce or spicy vinegar
- Other options: shredded cold carrots strips of daikon radish, edamame beans shelled, sliced scallions, etc.
Instructions
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine all ingredients except meat and onion.
- Process until pureed and all the garlic and ginger is finely minced.
- Cut sirloin into 2-inch chunks and place into a glass dish or plastic bag with the marinade. Coat all the pieces. Refrigerate covered or sealed for at least an hour and up to 4. (You can skip this part if you are in a hurry.)
- In the bowl of an instant pot, place all the meat and marinade, plus the chopped onion. Stir and close the lid.
- Lock the lid into place and press [Manual] and then use the [+] button to choose 40 minutes pressure cooking time.
- When time is up, let steam release for about 10 minutes and finish with a quick release.
- Remove meat pieces with a strainer spoon to a plate or large dish to rest.
- Take leftover juices and sauce and bring to a boil in a large saucepan on the stove. Once boiling, turn down the heat slightly but keep it simmering and moving.
- While sauce is cooking down, shred the meat with 2 forks. When all meat is shredded, and the sauce has started to thicken, add the shredded meat to the pan of sauce and combine.
- Turn heat down, remove from heat if the meat starts to burn on the bottom of the pan. If the liquid is still too thin and watery, continue to cook it down.
- When the sauce is thick enough to coat all meat, remove from heat. Ready to serve.
- If saving for later, store cooled meat in a covered dish with all the sauce in the refrigerator. Heat as needed.
I've made this recipe multiple times with chuck beef roast. It shreds easily and is flavorful but sometimes too marbled with fat. Sirloin worked the best for me in the Instant Pot.
This post contains affiliate links to products I know and love. I recommend any of them for this recipe!
I’ve made this recipe with 3-4 lbs of chuck beef roast using the oven and the crockpot. All three ways work and especially if you cook down the sauce and stir back into meat at the end. For roasting in the oven, keep meat whole, salt and pepper both sides, sear meat on all sides in roasting pan heated with oil, pour pureed ingredients on top of meat, bring to a boil, cover and move to the oven and roast for about 2 1/2-3 hours at 350°, flipping meat halfway through. Meat should pull apart with 2 forks when it is done. If it does not, it will need more time. I usually don’t marinade the meat before cooking but you could.
Enjoy!
~Heather
Last Updated on June 15, 2022 by Heather Bursch
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