This past weekend I found my 15-year-old daughter Sienna tinkering around in the kitchen. She explained, “I have a craving for Korean Beef Bowl, and I’m making it.” The truth was in that moment, I was a little skeptical. I mean, this sounded complicated. Boy am I glad I just nodded encouragement because in under 30 minutes she presented me with a bowl that quite frankly blew me away. So much so, I went back for thirds. Sienna said the secret to making this taste even more delicious than the traditional Korean Beef bowl is using Japanese vinegar rice—the contrasting mildly sweet and spicy beef topped on the vinegar rice make this dish outstanding. Good job, Sienna.
Korean Beef Bowl with Japanese Vinegar Rice
For the beef:
½ cup brown sugar, packed
¼ cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or more if you like it spicy
¼teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cloves garlic, mashed in a press
1 pound really good ground beef
2 green onions, thinly sliced
For the rice:
2 cups cooked Japanese rice, for serving
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoons sugar
1 pinch salt
In a medium bowl combine the brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, and ginger. In a large sauté pan over medium heat, slick the pan with olive oil. When it shimmers, add in the garlic and beef. Brown the beef, moving it around the pan. When it is almost cooked, add in the mixture and stir until everything is well combined. Add in the green onions and give it another good mix. Turn off the heat.
Meanwhile in a small sauce pan prepare the vinegar rice by combining the vinegar, sugar and salt over low heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Turn off the heat. Place the cooked rice in the microwave to warm it and then drizzle the vinegar mixture over it. Fold the rice so that it is well-coated.
To serve, add a little rice to a bowl and top it with some Korean beef. Serve immediately.
This recipe was adapted from www.sixsistersstuff.com/2013/02/korean-beef-and-rice.html.
