This weeknight Korean beef recipe is a really simple beef stir fry and the stuff that dreams are made. This Korean beef consists of tender beef that marinates in the most delicious Korean marinade then it is cooked up to crisp perfection and served over a bed of fluffy rice with a side of Asian pickled cucumbers for freshness. We have been making this Korean beef every week now, that is how good it is and if you haven't tried it yet, you really need to!
Table of contents
About This Korean Beef Recipe:
This Korean beef is not a spicy dish at all. It is however full of amazing flavor from all the ingredients that makes this a Korean beef recipe. It also uses Korean chili flakes (Gochugaru) which can be found at most grocery stores now and it is relatively cheap.
If you need a substitution idea for these Korean chili flakes, I have included them below in the recipe area. I totally understand if you are not into buying specialty products for a dish but I promise you that when you try this Korean beef recipe, you will be making it so often that you will use up the entire bottle of Korean chili flakes in no time.
Ingredients You Will Need:
- Strip Steak or Flat Iron Steak. PRO-TIP: The Flat iron steak is the more affordable option and comes out just as tender as the strip steak option in this recipe.
- Scallions
- Korean Chili Flakes (Gochugaru)
- Soy Sauce
- Fresh Ginger
- Fresh Garlic
- Granulated Sugar
- Kosher Salt
- Rice Wine Vinegar
- Cucumbers (optional- for the pickled cucumbers to serve with the Korean beef)
About The Ingredients:
When you are making this Korean beef recipe, you want to make sure you work with all fresh ingredients. Powdered garlic or ginger do not work as well as the real thing.
As I mentioned above, the Korean chili flakes are actually not spicy. They have a light smoky sweetness to them and lots of flavor. You can easily just mix together some sweet paprika and cayenne to achieve this same flavor profile if you do not have the chili flakes in your pantry. More on that in the recipe below.
For the cucumber salad portion of this recipe, this is totally optional. I always like adding a fresh component to cooked meat. I do this with my Kofta meatballs, pulled pork rice bowl and many of my other meat dishes.
If you would prefer to skip this part of the recipe, that is totally fine. It will be just as amazing either way.
Steps to Making This Easy Weeknight Korean Beef Recipe:
Pro-Tips When Making This Recipe:
When you are preparing the beef for this recipe, you want to slice the beef as thin as you absolutely can. You will end up with thin strips of beef that are almost shaved.
Cutting the steak very thin allows the steak to brown and caramelize quickly and keeps the meat tender. You can make this part of the recipe easier by freezing the steak for an hour and slicing it partially frozen.
Make Sure to Include These Sides With This Korean Beef Recipe:
- The Perfect Basmati Rice
- Pickled Cucumbers (recipe below)
More Asian Recipe Ideas:
- Chinese Pepper Steak
- Chinese Chicken with Green Beans
- Kofta Meatballs
- Asian Noodle Salad
- Thai Lettuce Wraps
- Chicken Satay without the Skewers
- Korean Sesame Noodles with Roasted Broccolini
- Asian Pork Meatballs
Easy Weeknight Korean Beef
Tried the Recipe? We Would Love To Hear From You In The Comments Below!
Ingredients
- 2 New York Strip Steaks (or Flat iron Steak) About ½ inch thick and outer fat trimmed and removed.
Beef Marinade
- ⅓ cup Low sodium soy sauce
- ½ cup scallions diced. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the scallions for garnish.
- 1 ½ tablespoon garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger freshly grated
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoon Rice Wine Vinegar
- 2 tablespoon Korean chili flakes Substitute for this: 1 ¾ tablespoon of sweet paprika plus ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper.
Pickled Cucumbers
- 2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 seedless cucumber sliced thin
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon Korean chili flakes Substitute for this: ¾ tablespoon of sweet paprika plus ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper.
Instructions
- Make the rice and then set aside making sure it is covered.
- Prepare all the ingredients for the marinade and add to a medium bowl and mix well.⅓ cup Low sodium soy sauce, ½ cup scallions, 1 tablespoon ginger, 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, 2 tablespoon Rice Wine Vinegar, 2 tablespoon Korean chili flakes, 1 ½ tablespoon garlic
- Slice beef as thin as possible, almost shaved.2 New York Strip Steaks (or Flat iron Steak)
- Add beef to the marinade and mix well to coat all the beef in the sauce. Let sit for at least 20 minutes. The beef can marinate up to 24 hours in advance.
- If you are making the pickled cucumbers, you can start them while the beef is marinating.
Pickled Cucumbers (for serving as a side to the Korean Beef)
- Slice cucumbers very thin.
- In a medium bowl add all the ingredients for the pickled cucumbers.2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, 1 seedless cucumber, ½ cup water, 1 tablespoon Korean chili flakes
- Mix well then set aside.
Cooking The Korean Beef
- Preheat a large skillet over medium heat.
- Working in batches, with your hands grab the strips of beef and place on the pan making sure they do not over lap.
- Cook for 1 minute then with tongs, flip them over and cook the other side and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Remove the steak from the pan on to a plate and cover with aluminum foil.
- Continue cooking the remainder of the beef in batches until it is all cooked.
- Once the beef is fully cooked, pour any remaining marinade into the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes until it thickens and caramelizes.
- Add the steak back to the pan and mix well to pick up all of the flavors from the pan.
- Remove from heat and sprinkle the extra scallions over top.
- Serve with rice and pickled cucumbers on the side.
Nutrition
Nutrition Values are estimates only.
See full nutrition disclaimer here
Elaina says
This was AMAZING! Everyone ate this up. We will double this recipe next time it was so good.
TJ says
Really delicious!