I have been lacking when it comes to my blog, posting only photos and ideas via social media and I apologize for the long absence. First it was the craziness of finishing the semester and then the holidays, but I was also struggling behind the scenes with the format of my posts. I really wanted to find a print-friendly plug in to make it easier for you, my audience, to take advantage of my recipes. If only I had just sat down and looked it up, I would have realized how incredibly easy that task would be. Instead, I avoided it. I prefer it when things come easy and can be quickly ticked off my to-do list. I had convinced myself that it would be hard, or expensive, or just plain time consuming. In the meantime, recipes are piling up, waiting to get some recognition. And who would have thought in less than 30 minutes this evening, I would be off and running?

The following recipe is my favorite of late. In fact, I really can’t wait to make it again and from someone who loves to try new things and rarely repeats recipes on a regular basis, that’s really saying something. We lived in Korea for a year twenty years ago (I absolutely can’t believe it was that long ago but it was 1999-2000), and this is the best bulgogi I’ve made since. I took a package of ground beef out of the freezer for dinner, and wanted to make something besides burgers or meat loaf. After some random web searching and reminiscing about favorites, I settled on my own version of an adapted recipe from https://www.simplyhappyfoodie.com. What is most amazing about this recipe is the cut of beef. I often shied away from making bulgogi because I could never seem to make the strips of beef steak as tender as the grills in Korea. Well, that was not a problem with this adaptation. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Print Recipe

Ground Beef Bulgogi Bowl

A very tasty alternative to traditional Korean beef bulgogi. Could be altered for Korean tacos or lettuce wraps.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Korean

Keyword: beef, bulgogi, rice bowl

Servings: 4

Ingredients

Bulgogi Beef

• 2 tsp garlic olive oil
• 1 lb ground beef
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/3 c. soy sauce
• 1/2 c. water
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp ginger root, grated
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Rice

• 1 c. white or jasmine rice
• 2 c. water
• 1 tbsp ghee butter
• 1/2 tsp salt

Bulgogi Bowl

• 1 avocado, cut into quarters
• 4 eggs, fried in 1/2 tsp. ghee butter
• 2 green onions, chopped

Instructions

• In a hot skillet, heat olive oil. Cook ground beef until no longer pink, breaking it up into small pieces. Drain any excess fat.
• Add remaining ingredients for the bulgogi. Mix well. Cook over medium low heat. The sauce should thicken as it cooks.

  Note: If the sauce does not thicken, grab a small lidded container or jar, add about 1/4 cup cold water and 1-1 1/2 tbls of cornstarch. Shake well to mix. Add it to the sauce while boiling and it will thicken in no time.
• Meanwhile, cook the rice in water, butter and salt according to the package instructions.
• Fry the eggs in ghee butter over medium low heat. Add salt and pepper, if desired. Cover with a lid, and do not turn. You may add a tbls of water to baste to preferred doneness.
• To plate, put a serving of rice in a large bowl or plate, top with beef, avocado, egg and sprinkle with green onion.

Notes

For Korean tacos, I recommend a flour tortilla shell and eliminating the egg. Similarly for the lettuce wrap, I would likely leave off the egg, just for ease of serving and eating.

P.S. Do you prefer a more traditional bulgogi dinner? Never fear, I’ve got some tips to help – just swap out the meat of your choice…
👩‍🍳 Choose thinly sliced, long strips of (brisket, sirloin or ribeye) beef (but, pork and chicken work too!)
👩‍🍳 Use a very hot grill or tabletop grated grill rather than a flat bottom pan on the stove
👩‍🍳 Embrace the marinade. Your beef should be bathing for hours before grilling
👩‍🍳 Use a rice cooker so you don’t get distracted when the rice boils over on the stove, the measurements are the same for stovetop
👩‍🍳 Make it colorful and packed with protein by adding an avocado or a fried egg on top
👩‍🍳 Get creative with some banchan or kimchi options at home just like they do in the restaurants (e.g. traditional cabbage, green beans, radish, sprouts, cucumber or seaweed salad).

Blessings,
Tina

Copyright © 2019 Montana Mountain Maven / Tina R. Cusker. All rights reserved.