Prep time: 10 minutes – Cook time: 20 minutes – Serves: 4-5 people
INGREDIENTS
- 1 lbs ground beef (or ground turkey, chicken, or tofu)
- 1 lbs of veggies such as asparagus, green beans, snap peas etc.
- 4-5 servings of prepared rice
- 3 -6 cloves garlic, minced OR ½ – 1 tsp of garlic powder
- 2-3 green onions, thinly sliced
- 2 TBSP brown sugar, maple syrup, honey etc.
- ¼ cup (reduced) sodium soy sauce
- 1 TBSP sesame seed oil
- ½ tsp crushed red-pepper flakes, or more to taste
- 1 TBSP freshly grated ginger OR 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- ½ teaspoon sesame seeds
- Optional but oh so tasty and healthy: Kimchi
METHOD
- In a small bowl, add brown sugar (or sweetener of choice), soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flakes and ginger.
- Heat large skillet over medium high heat. Add olive oil.
- Add garlic and cook, constantly stirring for about 1 minute, until golden brown. Add ground beef (or protein of choice) and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, stirring and crumbling the beef as it cooks.
- Add mixture and continue to stir.
- Add veggies and stir.
- Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes, while, you guessed it, you stir. Every now and again.
- Serve over rice, garnished with green onion, sesame seeds, and kimchi, if desired.
DO WE NEED A BACKSTORY?
I just wanted an excuse to eat kimchi. Really!
It is a variation of the beef bulgogi. Is it authentic, no, but it certainly is easy to prepare and comes pretty close, flavor wise. I love to cook different types of cuisines, but there is no way I can rival with the land’s own spices and cooking styles or traditions. And I don’t aspire to.
You can go all over the world and visit a certain fast food chain and the food absolutely tastes the same. It is rare to find an authentic dish from another country or area and have it taste exactly the same. But to me it’s about adding a little variety into weekly dinners. Not having spectacularly fancy meals but just dinners I can put on the table within 30 minutes start to finish, that my crew will actually eat and not whine at.
My family loved this dish as well!! And I also love that it is a very quick dish. Making the rice always is the overwhelming part for me. I have no idea why!? I also believe that asparagus are the easiest when it come to veggie prepping. Snap off the ends, and snap to size, sauté for a few minutes and DONE!