This Korean ground beef recipe is the kind of dish that both beginning and experienced cooks need in their life.
The meal comes together in minutes and is full of fantastic flavors. It is easier to make than ordering take-out, saves you money, and tastes better too!
Easy Korean Beef
I love so many things about this recipe! This has been one of my favorite takeout meals for a long time. Good Korean beef is salty, savory, sweet, tangy, and spicy all at once.
Everything is simple enough to be found in most grocery stores, too. No running around town looking for hard-to-find ingredients. (Who has time for that?)
The recipe I’m sharing today is a “cheater” version because it uses ground beef instead of the more traditional (and expensive) cuts of meat. This dish includes our favorite Asian ingredients, including fresh ginger.
The fact that this super easy Korean beef is made with ground beef instead of a more expensive cut of meat makes it a really great alternative to pricier meats when you are craving Chinese food or an Asian meal.
Best of all, you can make this recipe from start to finish in less than 20 minutes.
Korean Beef and Rice
I’ve served this over rice, wrapped in lettuce, and on top of a salad. Korean ground beef and rice bowls make for a crowd-pleasing dinner or lunch. It packs up wonderfully in to-go containers to take to work or school and reheats beautifully.
We like this so very much that I’ve taken to doubling the recipe every time I make it just to ensure we have leftovers. I get absolutely giddy when I’m wondering what to serve for lunch and remember I have a container of Korean Beef waiting in the fridge.
Your favorite takeout place is going to start missing you once this Korean ground beef is in your meal rotation. It’s so easy, flavorful, and economical that you’ll wonder where this recipe has been all your life.
And if you love Korean food as much as we do, you need to put beef bulgogi on your list to make soon too!
There are dozens of copycat PF Chang’s lettuce wrap recipes out there, and these are the authentic chicken lettuce wraps you have been looking for! Don’t skip the crunchy rice noodles!
Years ago we used to love getting the lettuce wraps at PF Chang’s and set out to make a copycat recipe. It was full of delicious Asian components like hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, mushrooms and water chestnuts, etc. They were absolutely delicious, but totally not a copycat recipe. The more we’ve tried them and researched the more we discovered that PF Chang’s claims only a few ingredients and no veggies at all. So, we stripped the recipe down and went for a simply delicious, far more authentic copycat.
Ingredients for Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps
I used to be so intimidated when it came to Asian recipes because the ingredients list can be so long and slightly overwhelming, not to mention hard to find and items you only use once in a blue moon. Well, this is NOT a recipe like that! Here is what you will need:
- Rice Noodles – don’t skip these! They are quick and easy to fry up and add a fabulous crunch to the wraps that you don’t want to miss!
- Oil – vegetable oil or canola oil works great
- Ground Chicken – see section below for possible substitutes, but you can keep these lettuce wraps super healthy by using lean ground chicken
- Vegetable and Sesame Oils – the combination of the two oils gives the perfect flavor, that sesame oil is critical in Asian cuisine
- Garlic – adds flavor
- Green Onions – adds flavor
- Soy Sauce – I prefer to use low sodium so I can better control the salt in the recipe.
- Fresh Ginger – you can used dried ginger if you have to, but I strongly suggest to use fresh ginger. See section below for how to peel and grate ginger.
- Iceberg or Butter Leaf Lettuce – these lettuce leaves hold up well for wraps and stay crispy and fresh without breaking
The measurements for all the ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.
Substitutes for Ground Chicken
We’ve found that it’s far easier and faster to use ground chicken because you can use your meat chopper and leave it in minced sized pieces versus the hassle of chopping up chicken thighs. However, that being said, chicken thighs do offer more flavor so it’s up to you. You could also chop up chicken breasts into little bits before cooking or use ground beef or pork as substitutes as well.
What Lettuce is Best for Wraps?
You really want cold crisp lettuce that is hearty and will hold up well wrapped around the yummy filling. We’ve found that iceberg or butter leaf lettuce work best. You would also use romaine hearts though they can be hard to wrap around the filling since they tend to be long and thin.
How to Peel Fresh Ginger
If you aren’t used to using fresh ginger, you might be confused when it comes to peeling it. You can peel ginger one of two ways. First, yo
Saucy bites of chicken are tossed with crispy tender bok choy and a diced jalapeno in this flavorful Chicken and Bok Choy Stir Fry.
Stir Fry Chicken and Bok Choy
When I saw this recipe in an issue of Everyday Food, I immediately added Bok Choy to my grocery list.
This was a hit with every member of the family. It’s amazing how a great sauce will make even my pickier eaters devour every bite on their plates.
There is almost no heat from the jalapeno in this recipe, it simply adds another layer of flavor to the dish. Feel free to increase the amount of jalapeno to your heart’s desire.
I often increase the jalapeno because my family enjoys spicy dishes and a bit of heat is a terrific addition to this recipe.
Bok choy is a mild slightly sweet Chinese cabbage. The soft green leaves and flavorful crunchy stems add a delicious texture and color to this dish.
Bok Choy and Chicken Stir Fry
Stir fries come together fairly quickly over medium-high heat in one skillet. With that being the case, I recommend prepping all of the ingredients before turning on the stove.
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All the ingredients we love in classic Chinese Egg Rolls come together in this Egg Roll Stir Fry recipe. This is an irresistible bowl of deconstructed egg rolls and you’re going to love it.
Don’t skip the crispy fried wonton strips on top to give your meal a true egg roll flavor and crunch!
Egg Roll Skillet
It’s not exactly a secret that I love Chinese food. From Kung Pao Chicken to Egg Drop Soup, very few things make me happier than all those garlicky savory-sweet flavors coming together in one meal.
Most of the time, I prefer to skip the take out order and make my own favorite Chinese inspired recipes at home–it’s usually just as fast and way more budget-friendly.
However, when it comes to egg rolls I don’t always have the time or patience to wrap the filling in individual egg roll wrappers.
That’s where this deconstructed egg roll comes to the rescue! This dish is everything I love about pork egg rolls made in a quick and easy Egg Roll Stir-Fry.
If you could happily eat a whole meal of just egg rolls then you’re going to LOVE this Egg Roll in a Bowl!
Deconstructed Egg Rolls
Cooked in a skillet, this easy weeknight meal is exactly what the name suggests: an egg roll unwrapped, deconstructed and served in a bowl.
While you could make a similar eggroll in a bowl with ground beef or ground turkey, I’m partial to the ground pork in this version. The pork is cooked with fresh ginger and garlic for that authentic flavor I can’t get enough of.
The ginger and chili paste in this egg roll stir-fry give the dish a bit of a kick that replicates the best egg rolls from my favorite Chinese restaurants.
Soy sauce and 5-Spice complete the irresistibly savory flavor profile while just a touch of cornstarch helps the sauce thicken up to the perfect texture.
I used a bag of coleslaw mix to make this even quick
This Bourbon Chicken is tender, moist, and full of flavor and so simple to prepare! I’ve been testing this recipe for 20 years exactly now, and it was time for a refresher on this recipe! It is my new fav thing!
One of the things that we absolutely love is that it’s so easy to spice it up or take it down a few notches depending on who you will be sharing your meal with.
There was a great bourbon chicken, hold your breath, at the Washington Square Mall when I was in high school. I know, mall food. Can you even believe that I said that?! It’s completely ridiculous, and if I went back I’d probably be a bit disappointed now that my palate has evolved. Or, at least I hope that it has! And this sauce isn’t exactly like the one from the mall, it’s even better!
And I won’t even tell you about Hot Dog on a Stick. Or should I say…the cheese on a stick. I know, I know, it’s ridiculous. That one I’m still tempted to make a homemade version though…
Ingredients Needed for Bourbon Chicken
This chicken is sweet and sticky and made with tender and flavorful chicken thighs. You start by browning the chicken on the stove top with a simple dry rub and then it finishes cooking in the oven in the sauce. Here is what you will need:
Chicken
- Chicken Thighs – boneless and skinless thighs, you can also use chicken breasts if you prefer
- Salt – adds flavor
- Garlic Powder – adds flavor
- Onion Powder – adds flavor
- Pepper – chicken should just always be seasoned with salt and pepper
- Olive Oil – gives the chicken a good sear and keeps it from sticking to the pan
Sauce
- Garlic Powder – paired with the ginger, it is that essential Chinese food flavor combo
- Ground Ginger – it’s very fine and blends into the sauce beautifully
- Apple Cider – adds richness, tang and a fruitiness
- Water – thins out the sauce some
- Brown Sugar – adds the perfect sweetness to the sauce
- Rice Vinegar – gives the sauce a nice tang
- Soy Sauc