Korean Sticky Beef Bowl Meal Prep
Sticky, saucy Korean beef mince with blanched green beans over jasmine rice, finished with a crunchy cucumber salad on the side. A proper weekly meal prep with real texture contrast in every bowl.
Let the beef mince sit undisturbed for the first 2 minutes, resisting the urge to stir straight away is what builds the browned crust that gives this dish its depth. Shock the green beans in an ice bath the second they come out of the pot too, even a short delay lets residual heat keep cooking them past al dente.
The beef and rice keep in the fridge for 4 days or the freezer for 3 months. Let them cool to room temperature before sealing the containers though, it stops condensation building up and keeps the rice from turning soggy. Keep the cucumber salad in its own section and never freeze it, add it fresh each time instead.
Korean Sticky Beef Bowl Meal Prep
BEEF · DINNER · EASY
Sticky, crunchy, and built to last the week
Letting the beef sit undisturbed for a couple of minutes before breaking it up builds a real crust, which means more flavour in the finished dish than stirring it apart the second it hits the pan.
Balancing the cucumber salad's seasoning right before serving, not right after mixing, keeps it from tasting diluted. Cucumber releases water as it sits, and that water dilutes the dressing right along with it.
Cooling the beef and rice to room temperature before sealing the containers stops condensation building up, so the rice stays fluffy instead of turning soggy by the time you're ready to eat it.
Korean Sticky Beef Bowl Meal Prep
Ingredients
Sticky Beef
- 15 ml Peanut Oil
- 1 Brown (Yellow) Onion Diced
- 4 Garlic Cloves Grated
- 1 kg Beef Mince 10% Fat
- 80 ml Sweet Chilli Sauce
- 80 ml Oyster or Hoisin Sauce
- 30 ml Low Sodium Soy Sauce
- 300 g Green Beans Halved
- 1 Spring Onion (Scallion) Sliced
- Salt & Ground White Pepper To Taste
Korean Cucumber Salad
- 1 Cucumber Diced
- 10 ml Low Sodium Soy Sauce
- 37.5 ml Rice Wine Vinegar
- 20 g Honey
- 10 ml Sesame Oil
- 1 Spring Onions (Scallions) Sliced
- 5 g Gochugaru (Korean Chilli Flakes) Optional
- 5 g Sesame Seeds
- 2 g Coriander (Cilantro) Chopped
- Salt & Ground White Pepper To Taste
Jasmine Rice
- 300 g Jasmine Rice Washed
- 550 g Cold Water
- Salt To Taste
Garnish
- Sriracha Mayonnaise
- Spring Onion (Scallion)
- Sesame Seeds
Method
- Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the green beans and blanch for 2 minutes until al dente. Remove, drain, and plunge into an ice bath to stop them cooking.
- Add all of the Korean cucumber salad ingredients to a bowl and mix well to combine. Store in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Add the washed jasmine rice, cold water, and salt to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid, and cook for 12 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave covered for 4 minutes. Remove the lid and fluff the rice with a fork. Set aside.
- Place a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the oil and onion and sauté for 4 minutes, mixing regularly. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the beef mince and let it sit for 2 minutes to build a crust. Mix and break up the meat, cooking for 6 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 71°C (160°F) and the beef is no longer pink.
- Add the blanched green beans, spring onion, sweet chilli sauce, oyster or hoisin sauce, and soy sauce, and mix well to combine. Cook for 1½–2 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened. Check the seasoning and remove from the heat.
- Place the cooked jasmine rice into 5 x 750ml meal prep containers. Add the sticky beef and Korean cucumber salad. Top with a sauce of choice. Dig in.
Why does the beef need to sit undisturbed before breaking it up?⌄
Those first two minutes of undisturbed contact with the hot pan build a proper crust. Break it up straight away and it just steams instead of browning.
Why cool the beef and rice before sealing the containers?⌄
Sealing hot food traps steam, which turns to condensation and makes the rice soggy. Letting everything cool to room temperature first keeps the texture intact.
Can I make the cucumber salad spicier?⌄
Easily, just add more gochugaru to taste. It's already listed as optional, so there's plenty of room to adjust the heat up or down.
Can I use a different vegetable instead of green beans?⌄
Broccoli or snap peas both work well, blanched the same way as the green beans. Just keep the blanch time short so they stay crisp rather than turning soft.
