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Easy Korean Beef Bulgogi Bowls

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This Easy Bulgogi Recipe makes a great 30 Minute Korean Beef Bowl and is loaded with fresh ingredients & bold flavors, a rainbow of ingredients, and is kid-friendly & quick enough for any night of the week. It will soon be a family favorite!

This easy 30 Minute Korean Bulgolgi Beef Bowl is packed with fresh ingredients and bold flavors, while still being kid-friendly and quick enough for any weeknight! 
bulgogi beef in bowl with toppings

You know that song “It’s a Small World After All”? I mean, how could you not, right? And I’m totally sorry for getting it stuck in your head for the rest of the day.

When you sit down and think about it, the Earth is BIG. I mean, its about 24,860 miles around its circumference. There are 196 countries, and 7.4 BILLION people who live here. We have 24 different time zones, 13 different climates, and so many other awesome and amazing variations.

And yet, even with all this, we are still very much a global community.

A bowl of Korean beef bulgogi with a fried egg on top

What with our neighborhoods, church organizations, work groups, conferences, retreats, and camps, we often get to mingle with people who live all over. And our interactions with people are not limited to face-to-face communities, either. With the advent of technology and social media, we really are becoming a global community.

Because of Facebook groups, I can talk with blogging friends I have made across the world.

Because of Skype my children can actually see their cousins living in Korea.

Because of social media and the internet we can work, play, discover and talk to people all over the world.

Even though we live in this big, vast, amazing planet – it totally feels like a small world, after all!

a plate with rice and Korean beef bulgogi on a wooden table with herbs and limes

Easy Bulgogi Beef Recipe

I love making these type of “bowl” recipes, where you have a few simple staples and then add a billion awesome toppings to them. These Korean Beef Bulgogi Bowls are an amazingly easy weeknight meal that comes together in about 30 minutes or less.

The easy bulgogi beef is tender and flavorful (and I like the slightly sticky quality to the sauce!) and all the different toppings really add a fresh and fun element to the dish.

I suggest placing all the toppings on the table and allowing your family members to each top their own bowl. You can make a recommendation that they place a certain number of items on their bowl (say 3-4 different toppings).

Other great Asian inspired recipes for your family meals:

A bowl of Korean beef bulgogi on a wooden table and white napkin with a silver fork

Shortcuts to Make Beef Bulgogi Bowls Faster:

  • You can make the marinade up to 24 hours in advance and store in an air-tight container in the fridge.
  • You can marinade your beef overnight, or for 30 minutes, depending on how much time you have.
  • Use pre-packaged shredded carrots, cabbage, pre-cut mango, and minute-rice to make this amazingly easy!
  • You can chop your cilantro and basil and slice your cucumbers ahead of time and store them in containers in the fridge until you are ready to use them.
A plate of bulgogi and rice and a bowl of bulgogi with a fried egg on a wooden table with a fork and a glass of ice water

Get your Kids in the Kitchen:

One of the best ways of getting kids interested in eating new foods is to have them help you make the meal! The more involved they are, the more likely they will want to try it. Here are some great age appropriate ways to get your kids in the kitchen with you:

  • Children aged 0-3 can help you measure out and mix the marinade ingredients and also help you place all the topping ingredients in a dish or on a tray for serving.
  • Children aged 4-7 can help you slice the mango, avocado (but cut it in half and remove the seed for them first), cucumber, and chop the cilantro and basil leaves.
  • Children aged 8-12 can help you slice and cook the beef, prepare the eggs, and steam the broccoli, (with supervision!).

*Please note that these recommendations are generalized, and to please use your personal discretion with your child’s skill level. And always, always supervise! Read more about how to have your children help you in the kitchen.

A bowl of veggies, a bowl of rice and meat, and an assembled bowl of Korean beef bulgogi with a fried egg

Interested in adding more Asian flavors to your weeknight meals but not sure how to make it actually doable? Check out my Beginner’s Guide to Asian Cuisine for easy tips and recipes that are weeknight and kid-friendly and will help your weeknight meals be a win!

30 Minute Korean Bulgogi Beef Bowls

This easy 30 Minute Korean Bulgolgi Beef Bowl is packed with fresh ingredients and bold flavors, while still being kid-friendly and quick enough for any weeknight! 
5 from 19 votes
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Course: 30 Minute Meal
Cuisine: Korean
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 Servings
Calories: 819kcal
Author: Jenni

Ingredients

Beef Marinade:

  • 1 cup soy sauce
  • cup brown sugar
  • 1 tsp gojuchang or sriracha
  • 1 TBSP fresh minced ginger
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 TBSP sesame oil divided
  • 2 lb skirt steak sliced into thin strips

For Serving:

  • 3-4 cup white or brown rice
  • 1 cup shredded cabbage
  • 1 mango sliced into strips
  • 1 cup steamed broccoli
  • 1 avocado sliced
  • 4 eggs soft boiled or fried
  • 1 Lime cut into wedges
  • ¼ cup each basil and cilantro chopped
  • 1 medium cucumber cut into slices
  • 1 cup shredded carrot

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, combine the soy sauce, brown sugar, gojuchang, ginger, garlic, 1 TBSP of the sesame oil, and the thinly sliced skirt steak. Stir to coat well and set aside (unless you are marinading it for 30 minute or longer, then cover and place in the fridge).
  • Prepare the rice.
  • Prepare the topping ingredients - shredded cabbage, mango, steamed broccoli, avocado, eggs, cucumber and shredded carrots.
  • Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
  • When the pan is hot (make sure its hot, first!) add the remaining 1 TBSP of sesame oil.
  • Using a slotted spoon, place the beef slices into the hot skillet (try to keep most of the marinade in the bowl, not in the pan. Save the marinade!)
  • Cook for 2-3 minutes, until nice and caramelized.
  • Stir/turn the beef over and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes on the other side, until all the beef is well caramelized.
  • Add 2 TBSP of the marinade to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes, allowing the marinade to create a lovely sticky sauce for the beef.
  • Remove from the pan and place in a serving bowl with the rice. Top with the chopped basil and cilantro.
  • Portion out into 4 individual servings and top with toppings.
    Enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 819kcal | Carbohydrates: 81.5g | Protein: 43.6g | Fat: 36.5g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 36g | Cholesterol: 321mg | Sodium: 1157.2mg | Fiber: 19g | Sugar: 31g

Interested in more recipes that feature Goguchang? Try Dak Galbi Street Tacos – a fiery but seriously tasty treat. This might be one of the only non-kid friendly meals on my blog, but my husband adores it and we make it often. Its seriously one of the only times the kids get chicken nuggets while Mommy and Daddy get something else!

Looking for other global inspired recipes for your family to try? Check out:

 

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14 Comments

  1. Sam Larson says:

    I’m excited to try this (we are making it tonight!!) and I love that you put age appropriate things for getting your kids into the kitchen with you! I’m such a fan.

    1. Thanks!! I hope you enjoyed it!

  2. Rose Hodgson says:

    Our last international meal was tacos! 😳

  3. These sound really good! The last internationally inspired meal I made was a whole roasted Mexican chicken with Spanish rice. Yum!

  4. I love bulbogi & love the tips on getting the kids involved!

  5. Shelley Blechar says:

    I haven’t made bulgogi at home so I”m looking forward to trying this!

  6. Neli @ Delicious Meets Healthy says:

    What a great family meal, Jenni! The last globally inspired meal I made was Teriyaki Chicken – even though it’s very popular in the States, I believe it has some Japanese roots.

  7. I made Greek chicken and veggie skewers with lemon rice last week. So delicious!

  8. Susan Berry says:

    Last week I made Indian butter chicken in my Instant Pot…super yummy!

    1. YUM! That sounds awesome!

  9. Kylee from Kylee Cooks says:

    Last night I made halibut poached in a tomato curry broth. It was Indian inspired and amaaaaazing!!

    1. That does sound amazing!

  10. This sounds like a great meal! I am going to be making this for dinner tonight.

  11. Ohhh loved it! Thanks for such an easy dinner that has such healthy ingredients. The marinade for the beef was just awesome – sesame oil and sriracha are a match made in heaven that go so well with this flavor profile. Can’t wait to have it again!

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