Hello, lovelies, our quick and easy weeknight dinner series continues today with a dish that is honestly an absolute staple in my house. In fact, I make this dish at least once a week, and it’s just as loved as my delicious one-pan ground beef and rice recipe.
Why You’ll Love This
It’s got the perfect balance of sweet, savory, and tangy flavors, and it is so incredibly easy to make, which is why it is perfect for weeknight cooking. Not to mention the fact that my daughter L absolutely loves this dish, so it is one you are going to want to add to your repertoire, especially if you have kids, very kid-friendly meal. This is just one of those dishes you have to taste to believe. This is just one of those dishes your family is going to adore.
Ingredients
- For the Sauce:
- tamari sauce (gluten free soy sauce, reduced sodium or regular sodium)
- agave syrup (or honey, or brown sugar)
- rice vinegar
- toasted sesame oil (about a teaspoon or so)
- minced garlic
- freshly grated ginger (or pre grated ginger)
- For the Main Dish:
- ground beef (or ground chicken, or ground turkey, or ground pork, or tofu, or mushrooms)
- a little bit of oil
- matchstick carrots
- For Garnish/Optional Heat:
- finely sliced green onion
- red chilis (or sriracha, or chili garlic sauce)
Instructions
- So the first step, and quite honestly, the most important, is going to be mixing up our sauce.
- To get started, in my bowl, I have got some tamari sauce.
- I want to add some sweetness. I’m using agave syrup to do that.
- Next I want to add a little acidity and some tang, and to achieve that, I’m going to be adding some rice vinegar.
- Then for just a touch of nuttiness, I’m going to be adding a little splash of toasted sesame oil.
- Then we’ve got, of course, our classic ingredients, some minced garlic, and some freshly grated ginger.
- Next we are just going to give this a quick mix, and it’s that simple, much like preparing a quick and easy homemade hamburger helper.
- We’re just whisking this all together, and then we’ll set it aside while we get to work on cooking up our ground beef.
- Now I’ve got a nice low skillet heating up here over medium high heat, and I’ve added a little bit of oil to it, and just as soon as that oil is hot, I’m going to go ahead and get my beef right into the pan.
- And I’m just going to cook my beef, breaking it up with the side of my spoon, until it’s no longer pink, similar to how you would prepare perfectly cooked garlic butter steak bites.
- Next, I’m going to go ahead and sneak some veggies in here with some matchstick carrots.
- And at the very same time, I’m also going to pour over that delicious sauce.
- Basically, what we’re going to do is let this cook away for four to six minutes until all of the liquid has evaporated, and what we’re left with is just that amazing flavor.
- The final step here is just to add some beautiful, finely sliced green onion, just to freshen things up a little bit.
- And if you’re anything like me and you like the heat, you can go ahead and stir in some red chilis here, or some sriracha, or chili garlic sauce.
Cooking Tips
Sesame oil is very strong in flavor, so it’s one of those things where just a little bit goes a long way. I use about a teaspoon or so, and that is usually plenty. Now in my opinion, freshly grated ginger is really the way to go in this recipe to get the best flavor, but of course, I am also all about saving time in the kitchen, so if you have pre grated ginger, that will definitely work in a pinch. Beef is really traditional in this recipe, but I’ve totally done this with ground chicken before or ground turkey. You could even use ground pork here, all of those will work, or if you wanted to keep this vegetarian, tofu would be another great option, or even some mushrooms. For another hearty option, consider making hearty crock pot beef tips and gravy. This sauce is really the secret to goodness, and it’s basically delicious on anything, even something like a creamy beef pasta for a delicious meal. I actually buy these in matchstick shape from my supermarket. You could, of course, julienne your carrots yourself, but buying them pre-chopped is really convenient, and I have to say, I’ll really love this shape, so I just go for it. What I like to do is just remove els portion before I go ahead and add my chilis to the pan. That way, Greg and I can enjoy the nice spicy version, and El can have the more mild version.
Serving Suggestions
I love piling it on top of some cooked rice and serving it up with some greens.
And as you saw, so easy to make, I hope you love it as much as I do and that you’ll give it a try for yourselves. If you do, be sure to tweet me a photo, because you know how much I love seeing your kitchen creations. Remember, this recipe, like all of my recipes, is featured on our amazing meal planning site that allows you to browse more than a thousand recipes, drag and drop them into your weekly meal plan, and then automatically generates your grocery list for the week. What is not to love about that?
Easy Korean-Inspired Beef and Rice for Quick Weeknight Dinners
This quick and easy Korean-inspired beef and rice dish is a perfect weeknight dinner staple. It offers a delightful balance of sweet, savory, and tangy flavors, and is incredibly simple to prepare, even appealing to kids.
- 1 lb ground beef (or ground chicken, turkey, pork, tofu, or mushrooms)
- 1 tbsp oil (for cooking beef)
- 1 cup matchstick carrots
- Finely sliced green onion (for garnish)
- Red chilis, sriracha, or chili garlic sauce (optional, for heat)
- 1/2 cup tamari sauce (gluten-free soy sauce, reduced or regular sodium)
- 3 tbsp agave syrup (or honey, or brown sugar)
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tbsp minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
- 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger (or pre-grated ginger)
- **Prepare the Sauce:** In a medium bowl, combine the tamari sauce, agave syrup (or honey/brown sugar), rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil, minced garlic, and freshly grated ginger. Whisk until all ingredients are well combined, then set the sauce aside.
- **Cook the Beef:** Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add a little oil. Once the oil is hot, add the ground beef to the pan. Cook the beef, breaking it up with the side of a spoon, until it is no longer pink. Drain any excess fat if necessary.
- **Add Carrots and Sauce:** Add the matchstick carrots to the skillet with the cooked beef. Pour the prepared sauce evenly over the beef and carrots.
- **Reduce the Sauce:** Continue to cook the mixture for 4 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all of the liquid has evaporated and the beef and carrots are coated in the rich, concentrated sauce.
- **Garnish and Serve:** Remove the skillet from the heat. Stir in the finely sliced green onion to freshen things up. If you enjoy heat, you can also stir in red chilis, sriracha, or chili garlic sauce at this stage. Serve the Korean-inspired beef and rice hot, typically piled on top of cooked rice with a side of fresh greens.
- If serving children or those sensitive to spice, you can remove a portion of the beef and rice before adding any chilis or spicy sauces.
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