Asian Beef Bowls (Super Quick!)

A terrific super quick stir fry made using beef mince (ground beef) and just a handful of staple Asian condiments. Pile it on rice to make Asian Beef Bowls that you can have on the table in less than 15 minutes!

Also, don’t miss the popular ramen noodle version of this recipe – Asian Beef Ramen Noodles!

SUPER QUICK BEEF MINCE RECIPE!

“This would have to be the tastiest easiest mince dish I have ever cooked in 15 minutes.”
– Wendy, 10 May 2017

This one is for all those nights when you peer into your fridge, find a packet of beef mince and are completely uninspired to make Spag Bol – yet again.

This is also one for all those nights when you’ve been baking, filming and photographing cupcakes all day, and you swear you don’t have the energy to make anything for dinner but your mother brain washed you so well, you feel guilty for even thinking about picking up the phone to order home delivery.

Oh wait. Is that just me? 😂

I’ve made a video for these Asian Beef Bowls (it’s below the recipe). And it’s barely 30 seconds long. Because it really is incredibly quick to make. And for something so fast and easy, you are going to be amazed how great it tastes. It’s everything you know and love about Chinese food. Savoury, touch of sweet, depth of flavour. Perfectly juicy (you can see how juicy it is in the video!), and unlike stir fries, you don’t need a sauce because the beef mixes through the rice, dispersing flavour all throughout it.

This is not a traditional Chinese or other Asian recipe, hence the obscure name “Asian Beef Bowls”. However, if you have ever made a Chinese stir fry – or in fact, any Chinese recipe – you will likely instantly recognise all the ingredients in the sauce. No Western ingredients. This is made with 100% authentic Asian ingredients. And when you take the first bite, it will be so familiar to you. Because the sauce is so similar to many stir fries, yet an exact replica of none!

I love this recipe because it’s made with beef mince (ground beef) i.e. no meat slicing. Asian recipes made with beef mince aren’t that common, but there are a handful of terrific ones and they are worth knowing for the convenience of being able to make a quick meal when you’ve got a packet of mince on hand. Here’s a handful of my favourites:

• Japanese Pork and Green Bean Stir Fry <<– On my mother’s website, RecipeTin Japan
• Larb Gai (Thai Lettuce Wraps)
• San Choy Bau (Chinese Lettuce Wraps)
• Thai Chicken or Pork Stir Fry
• Chinese Pork Mince with Noodles “Chinese Bolognese”

Keeping today’s post short and simple because I actually was baking cupcakes all day. Regular readers know I’m a bit pedantic about recipe testing when it comes to baked goods. That’s why you only see sweet recipes every few weeks around here. The recipe testing kills me!!

I need to go collapse on the couch! – Nagi xx

WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT

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Asian Beef Bowls

Author: Nagi

Prep: 5 mins

Cook: 7 mins

Total: 12 mins

Mains

Asian

4.98 from 48 votes

Servings4

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A fabulous quick stir fry made using beef mince (ground beef) <<-- No slicing meat! It's not saucy like usual stir fries, you don't need sauce because the beef mixes through the rice, and it has plenty of flavour! Recipe video is below so you can see how juicy and flavourful this looks. Unlike most stir fries, I make this in a large fry pan - more suitable for cooking the amount of beef I use in this recipe. Great recipe to add diced or julienned veggies!

Ingredients

Sauce:

• 1 tbsp Hoisin Sauce (or sub with Oyster)
• 2 tbsp Oyster Sauce (or sub with 1 1/2 tbsp Hoisin)
• 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (or dry sherry, sake or any rice wine) (Note 1)
• 2 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce (Note 2)
• 2 tsp white sugar
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp white pepper (or sub with black)

Stir Fry:

• 1 tbsp oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 500 g /1 lb beef mince (ground beef) (lean is good)
• 1/2 cup shallots / scallions, sliced, plus more for garnish

Garnishes:

• Sesame seeds

Instructions

• Mix Sauce together in a bowl
• Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add garlic and onion, cook for 1 minute or until onion starts browning.
• Add beef and cook, breaking it up as you go.
• Once the beef has all changed from red to brown, add Sauce. Cook for a further 2 minutes, or until Sauce has evaporated and beef is cooked. If you want the beef cooked more, add a splash of water and keep cooking (I don't do this).
• Stir through shallots, then serve over rice, garnished with more shallots and sesame seeds, if desired.

Recipe Notes:

1. If you can't consume alcohol, add 1/4 cup of chicken stock/broth. The sauce will take around 3 minutes to evaporate. The end result will be very similar.

2. This recipe calls for DARK soy sauce. It has more flavour than light and all purpose soy sauce, and makes the food a deeper brown colour. You can substitute with all purpose soy sauce, but the beef colour won't be as brown) or reduce to 2 tbsp if substituting with light soy sauce.

3. FROZEN RICE: Freezing rice is common practice in Asia. All my relatives in Japan do it! Use medium or short grain rice - they are slightly stickier than long grain, basmati, jasmine rice so they reheat better i.e. they don't dry out as much. To reheat the rice, sprinkle with water and microwave from frozen for 1/ 1/2 - 2 minutes.

The reason I've sharing this tip is because this stir fry is quicker to make than rice! So having serving size portions of rice in the freezer is pretty handy. 🙂

3. Nutrition per serving, excluding rice.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 174gCalories: 363kcal

Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

LIFE OF DOZER

I did collapse on the couch as soon as I finished this post. Dozer followed.