Easy Korean Beef

I like easy meal. They save me time, which is definitely not a luxury I have. As I was making this meal last night, I looked at the clock at 3:26pm and thought, ‘why am I pulling the hamburger out of the fridge? It’s way to early to start browning it…’, so I put it back and went on with a few other chores, that honestly never even got finished. (someone please tell me how you manage to keep your kitchen counters clutter free???) Before I knew it, it was 4:47pm, and now I’m running behind. So, slightly frantic, I pull the hamburger out and start browning, not realizing, until I was almost done with the whole cooking process, I should have started the rice first. gah! Someone lie to me and tell me that at some point in our lives we actually do regain our brains back. K? Thanks.

The other thing an easy meal saves me is my sanity, and as you can see from the paragraph above I don’t have a whole lot of that left.  Not in the sense of ‘yay minimal ingredients’, but more so because of the minimal effort. You see, I have picky kids. (don’t we all? Yes. We all do. *it’s ok, lie to me*) And there’s nothing worse than spending the effort on a new meal that you JUST KNOW the whole family is going to love, only to have all three kids dissect the meal with their noses turned up, and looks on their faces that would almost have you believe they’re performing an autopsy on 3 month old roadkill. Yeah, it’s quite maddening actually. So, it’s nice to have something that’s easy to make and takes little effort, so if the kids like it, BONUS!!!!, and if they are just so-so about it or completely turn their noses up, eh – it is what it is. I didn’t slave over it.

So I’m excited to share with you this recipe that I found on The Girl Who Ate Everything. It was EXTREMELY easy. And? No. It didn’t really get a thumbs up from my kids. Meat is a food they are still really finicky about. But, because it was so easy to make, my feelings weren’t hurt that they were less than thrilled. My son chowed down the beef, and the girls inhaled the rice. My husband had seconds. I call it a success.

Easy Korean Beef

• 1(ish – because no package seems to be 1lbs exactly) lbs lean ground beef **consider using 93% beef. I used 96% and it was a little…dry and chewy.
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce **i used more soy and sugar because I wanted mine saucier. The original calls for less
• 1 tbs sesame oil
• 3 to 4 large cloves of garlic
• green onions chopped

START STEAMING THE RICE!! I promise you, the rice will be done about the time you’ve finished cooking the beef. Don’t make the mistake I did and start the rice too close to the end, so you’re waiting forever on it!

1. In a large skillet, brown the hamburger over medium heat in the sesame oil. I added the garlic in the middle of the browning process. When it’s done, drain the fat (though with 96% beef there was nothing to drain).
2. Add the brown sugar and soy sauce and let simmer while you’re waiting for the rice to finish steaming. (is it already done? good, go ahead and set the table hehehe)

 

aaaaaand, that’s pretty much it. You can have this meal ready in 30 minutes or less. (you can find the original cheater korean beef recipe here)

Do you have an easy go-to recipe? Share the link in the comments below! I’d love to try it out.