30-Minute Asian Beef Bowls
When I chat with other moms about the challenge of getting a well-balanced dinner on the table every night, they often assume that my children are good eaters. Well, I’m sorry to say: wrong! One of my kids, who shall remain nameless, tortures me every night by picking minuscule specks of onions, garlic, or fill-in-the-blank out of her food — and routinely makes Oodles of Noodles after dinner to stave off hunger. So whenever I find a new recipe that my whole family loves, I’m not just happy…I’m ecstatic. Enter these hoisin-flavored beef bowls: not only do they appeal to kids and adults alike, they can also be made in just 30 minutes from ordinary supermarket ingredients. And the beauty of “bowls” is that everyone can create their own. Like it plain? Go for it. Want to dress it up with scallions, crunchy veggies, and cashews? Yes, please. Eating low-carb? Skip the rice and spoon the beef into lettuce cups. I promise, you can’t go wrong!
Begin by mashing the ground beef with the baking soda. The baking soda raises the pH of the meat, helping to lock in moisture and make the beef melt-in-your-mouth tender.
While the baking soda works its magic, chop the ginger, garlic and scallions.
Then get the sauce ready by mixing together the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, tomato paste, sesame oil, sugar and red pepper flakes.
Once the beef is “treated,” brown it in a sauté pan until almost cooked through.
Add the garlic, ginger and light scallions.
Cook for a few minutes, then add the hoisin mixture.
Stir until the beef is well-coated in the sauce and cooked through.
Sprinkle with the remaining scallions and spoon over rice. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, shredded veggies, chopped cashews, or whatever you like. Enjoy!
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30-Minute Asian Beef Bowls
Ingredients
- 2 pounds 90% lean ground beef
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 6 tablespoons hoisin sauce, best quality such as Lee Kum Kee or Kikkoman (use gluten-free if needed)
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce (use gluten-free if needed)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
- 5 scallions, sliced, light and dark green parts separated
For Serving
- Rice
- Chopped cashews
- Sesame seeds
- Shredded veggies, such as carrots, lettuce or bell peppers
Instructions
- In a large bowl, using your hands, mash the beef with the baking soda. Let it sit on the counter for 20-25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, tomato paste, sesame oil, sugar, and red pepper flakes. Set aside.
- Once the beef is "treated" and ready to cook, heat the vegetable oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Brown the beef, stirring frequently and breaking into pieces, until just slightly pink, about 5 minutes. (I don't drain the fat - there's not that much and it adds flavor.)
- Add the garlic, ginger, and light scallions. Cook, stirring frequently, until softened, a few minutes.
- Add the reserved hoisin sauce mixture and cook until the beef is well-coated and cooked through, about a minute. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Gently stir in the remaining scallions and spoon the beef into bowls over rice. Top with sesame seeds, chopped cashews, and shredded veggies, if you like.
- Note: To get this dish done in 30 minutes, chop the garlic, ginger, and scallions while the meat is being treated with baking soda.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 347
- Fat: 19 g
- Saturated fat: 6 g
- Carbohydrates: 11 g
- Sugar: 6 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 32 g
- Sodium: 979 mg
- Cholesterol: 99 mg
Reviews & Comments
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My family loves this meal. I add a 14.5 ounce bag of shredded cabbage/slaw along w/ the onions, ginger & garlic, just to give it a little more volume. The cabbage cooks down to almost nothing, but I like the flavor and texture. (Be sure to use the Hoisin sauce suggested in the recipe – it makes a difference.) I serve it over medium grain “sticky” rice, and the kids usually add a bit more soy at the end. Easy, fast & delicious. Perfect for a busy weeknight. (I’ve made this w/o the baking soda step, and it’s fine.)
I’m a Huge Fan of your Recipes! But oh boy did I get a little heavy handed with the baking soda! (maybe a Tbsp was too much?) Complete destroyed the 1st batch, so the second batch I skipped the beef treatment and just cooked it tender. Delicious… As always!
Hi Lisa, The baking soda should be 3/4 teaspoon – but glad it turned out the second time!
My whole family loves this recipe.I serve it with rice and lettuce wraps along with sirracha for anyone who likes a little more spice.
Flavor bomb and make again! I heeded other reviewers by making a combo of homemade hoisin and added peanut butter, rice vinegar, and honey to store bought hoisin. Agree with another reviewer as I did 1/5 lbs of hamburger and propose the flavor even better with only 1 lb hamburger. Thank you Thank you Jenn for all these great recipes!!
Thumbs up! Really moist beef and nice flavours (although my crew suggested a little less spice so I will cut back to 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes).
There were many ‘Yums ‘ expressed around the dining table. My daughter asked if this recipe was from my new favourite website to which I replied ‘yes’.
I love finding recipes with lots of flavour–and this one definitely makes the cut. I made it twice in one week, once for my husband and the second time for kids and grandkidlets. Oh my, it is so fast and easy, but really delivers. The baking soda treatment renders the ground beef soft and moist, rather than crumbly and dry. Thanks for a great recipe, Jenn. I’ve emailed the link to friends already!
My kids (6 and 3) love this one! In fact, my 6-yr old asks to take leftovers for her school lunch. It’s super easy to make and freezes well. The recipes on this website never fail me!
This was simple to put together and wonderfully flavorful. Thank you for a great recipe!
I love so many of your recipes but thought this one was ok. I really wanted to love it because it looks and sounds so delicious. It was it too sweet for my taste.
So yummy! My family doesn’t want to go out for Chinese anymore. They loved it! Has anyone tried freezing leftover mixture? I’ve thought about putting it in wonton wrappers too. It might make a good appetizer?
It freezes well, Mindy. Glad your family enjoyed!
This was delicious. My mom, who is not even a ground beef fan, loved this. I served with steamed sticky rice, shredded green papaya seasoned with fresh lime, ground arbol chile & bit of fish sauce, and shredded carrots & cilantro.
This was delicious-and a hit with a bunch of my picked eaters. We have a Japanese exchange student staying with us-and she loved it too. I know she doesn’t like spicy food so I left out the red pepper flakes. I served Sriracha on the side for my husband and one of my sons. When I was making it my husband asked me where I got the recipe-and I said “Once Upon a Chef-she never lets me down.” And I was right-delicious!
I love, love, love this dish! So easy & quick to make! I’ve made this twice & even my fiancée, who is a picky eater, loves it! We tried using strips of beef last time & it was still really good. Thank you for the easy, no-hassle, easy clean-up dishes, as we don’t want too much of that during our 120+ weather in Arizona! Definitely adding this to our repitoire!
I have made this dish 4 times now for me and the hubby. It is so yummy! The last two times I used one pound of ground beef and a medium zucchini that I shredded, a handful of shredded baby carrots and a diced vidalia onion that I sauted up first and added it to the mixture at the end. A one bowl meal that is really good after being in the Georgia heat this summer. Thanks for this recipe!
I’ve made this twice now and all of us, including my three-year-old, love it. I omit chili flakes and extra sugar but add a squirt of sriracha. I notice a huge difference tenderizing the beef so for sure worth that extra step in my view. We serve it with rice noodles, lettuce, carrots, cashews, and sesame seeds. Thank you for another winning recipe!
Pet peeve from “other” recipe sites: people commenting “oooh this sounds so good, I think I’ll try it!” Which of course adds nothing of value. Smart bunch here; 99% have actually tried the recipe! Hehe. I just made it for my 5th time, LOVE IT! The first time I made it with 1 lb beef, didn’t notice it said 2 lbs… it was wonderful and I just kept on making it that way, double seasoning. I made the hoisin sauce as others recommended. Really flexible recipe, I’d imagine almost any veggies could work with it; I love the combo of the hot beef with the cool, fresh veggies. And it reheats very well. ❤
Ha ha! I have always been annoyed by those types that of comments too! It’s one of the many reasons I love this site and Jenn’s fabulous recipes.
All your recipes are awesome but this one knocks it out of the park! We served with shredded carrots, peppers and cilantro and it was amazing. Definitely a yummy and easy dish and we will be adding to our rotation.
Could the beef mixture be served cold…kind of an asian version of a taco salad?
Hi Lani, I haven’t had it that way, but I don’t see why not :).
This was a simple and delicious recipe to make. The whole family loved it. We did add some chopped romaine, bean sprouts, and kimchee to top off the bowl. What a great recipe!
Asian Beef Bowls: is this suitable for freezing?
Yep!
This was a wonderful dish! Everyone in our family loved it! It will definitely be in our regular rotation of meals. I have never gone wrong with one of your recipes Jen!
My family loved this meal! Some of us ate the beef and veggies over rice, while others loaded it as filling into lettuce wraps. It was delicious both ways, and a nice change from our norm. Plus, it was SO easy compared with most Asian dishes! We are definitely adding this to our repertoire!
Easy, great tasting , weeknight dinner! I use whatever vegetables I have on hand. My entire family loves this one… it’s in my regular dinner rotation! Thanks
I love this easy recipe. When I make it I double the meat part and then freeze half, so it’s even easier on those extra busy nights to just pull from the freezer and reheat. It’s a great recipe that my whole family enjoyed! Thanks!
This was fantastic! My husband and I loved it. I couldn’t find gluten-free Hoisin sauce after visiting 3 grocery stores, including an Asian Market, so I made my own. I thought the tastes were terrific!
Gluten Free Hoisin Sauce:
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons peanut butter
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons seasoned rice vinegar
1 garlic clove, finely minced
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon chinese hot sauce (more or less to taste) (I omitted since we don’t like hot)
1⁄8 teaspoon black pepper (I omitted since we don’t like pepper)
I am never skeptical of any of Jenn’s recipes but for some reason this one didn’t exactly call my name. I tried it last night in a pinch because I shockingly had every ingredient on hand. MAKE THESE BOWLS. They are insanely delicious. We used low-sodium soy and about 1.5 lbs of ground beef and the salt content was perfect for us. I cannot believe what the baking soda does to the meat– it makes it so smooth. We added a pinch more red pepper flakes to increase the spice level. We topped our bowls with lettuce, avocado, radishes, cucumbers, carrots, sesame seeds, kimchi and a fried egg! I cannot wait to make these again and I’m pretty sure I texted the recipe to everyone I know. Thanks for another outstanding recipe; you are my dinner savior!
Made this dish for the second time last night and it was a hit!
I cut the beef to 1.5lbs because I only needed 4 portions, but still made the sauce as written in the recipe (and the full amount of ginger, garlic and scallions) and it was delicious and so flavorful! I also added a little bit of fish sauce. Served over brown rice with peppers, carrots, cashews, and sriracha-can’t wait to make this one again! Thanks for the great recipes as always.
This recipe is fantastic! So much depth of flavour! My only tweak was adding fresh broccoli to meat to add some more veg to the dish. We added lots of julliened veggies and some more chopped green onion. Such an excellent recipe and absolutely doable on a week night.
Made the recipe as shown, but used ground chicken (we prefer over beef). It was just okay. On the 2nd day I added more sauce and that was a big improvement, plus the fact that the meat had a chance to “season”.
Great recipe! Loved the flavor of the beef. Not sure the baking soda made a difference, seemed to cook and taste the way it usually does, but loved it. Trying to limit carbs so I put it on a bed of romaine lettuce with lots of veggies on top (carrots and green onions). Will definitely make again!
This was a hit with 6/7 of my family! (There’s always one, *sigh)
Did not like this 5-star recipe. Made exactly as written. The meat “sauce” was overly salty–I used regular soy–we only ate a little and discarded the rest. IMO the dish definitely needs additional toppings otherwise it’s just a bowl of rice with some seasoned meat.
Two questions –
1. could you leave out the tomato paste?
2. have you tried with all ground beef?
Thanks. As always, looking forward to a new treat from the Chef!
Hi Bonnie, yes and yes! (If you’d like you can replace the tomato paste with ketchup.)
Absolutely loved this dish! As recommended I adjusted the seasonings to taste – a bit salty so I added a bit more sugar and about 1/4 cup water. PERFECT
Hello! HUGE FAN. Trying to find an alternative for white rice. Do you think quinoa with raw veggies (diced bell peppers, cucumber) in it would work?
Definitely!
This was really good! Hubby LOVED it. Will be adding to my weekly rotation! Thanks Jen!
You can also serve over cauliflower rice.
This was so good! Everyone, including the kids loved it. I had to stretch it to feed 6 people with only 1lb of beef. I put this over a bed of rice and sauteed cabbage. I put an over easy eggs on top and it was perfect. Thank you for the delicious recipe!
Another hit! Will keep this recipe in rotation. Pretty easy too – delicious!
Just made this the other night and we both really enjoyed it! I followed the recipe although decreased the beef (only two of us) but kept the same amount of “sauce”. I would probably eliminate the sugar on next round.
This recipe prompted me to investigate the comment made by another poster regarding the use of baking soda for tenderizing and the use of corn starch. I might try the “velveting” method the next time I make this out of curiosity. I added broccoli, shredded carrots, canned water chestnuts and fresh bean sprouts and had it over thai rice noodles and jasmine rice. Big hit in our house and my son loved it for the leftovers!
I enjoy every recipe I try of yours!! Thank you!!
I made this last night for my wife and me. It was delicious! Plus, for the two of us, we had a ton of leftovers, which makes it a great midweek meal. I added the cashews as suggested. I also added raw broccoli slaw and avocado. The avocado really tasted really great with the meat! Thanks for another great recipe.
This recipe is a win win for the whole family!
Made the 30 minute Asian Beef Bowls last evening to rave reviews (ages 7 to 70). I added radishes, red bell peppers, cucumbers and shredded lettuce to the carrot matchsticks. I even got a thank you for dinner hug from my grandson! Thank you Jen, for another great recipe.
Awww, a thank you dinner hug – that’s so sweet!
I tried this recipe tonight. My family absolutely loved it so much I wanted to get online and tell you!
I was excited to read a few modification ideas in the other reviews – such as using chicken or adding other veggies. Great ideas!
Made the 30 min Asian Beef Bowl. Delish! Used Korean hot pepper flakes(amazon) and coconut oil in place of
the veg oil. Would definitely make this again. TY Jennifer!
Coconut oil! Great idea! Thank you!
These are amazing! Entire family loved them. I ran carrots and summer squash through my shredder and used them as toppings.
Also – I thought I had hoisin sauce at home, but I was mistaken
so I made my own from a BBC recipe. I will never purchase bottled hoisin again.
4 tablespoons soy sauce.
2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter.
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar.
2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar.
1 garlic clove, finely minced.
2 teaspoons sesame seed oil.
1 teaspoon hot sauce (more or less to taste)
1/8 teaspoon black pepper.
I tried this tonight with the Lee Kum Kee hoisin sauce and my family didn’t like it nearly was well as when I make the hoisin from scratch. Shoot – they never let me take any shortcuts!
Does baking soda do that to other meats? Say beef cubes?
Hi Karen, I’ve never used baking soda on other meats, but I know sometimes it’s done in Asian cooking. If you want to try it, sprinkle it on the meat for about 20 minutes then rinse it off and proceed with the recipe.
Thanks for another great recipe, Jenn! I fixed this with chicken rather than beef and it was just delicious. We made lettuce wraps using leaves from hearts of romaine, which are ideally shaped for this purpose. I made some basmati rice too, but we put it inside the wraps along with the chicken. My son has already claimed some of the leftovers for his lunch on Monday. YUM!
When you say chopped ginger and garlic, is it more like minced or actually chopped?
Finely chopped, so more liked minced :).
I loved this dish, as I have with almost everything I have tried. The crushed red pepper goes a long way, so I would suggest cutting it in half if kids will be eating this. Also, I have a question. What would you do to lessen the salt content in this dish without sacrificing flavor. If I lessen soy or hoisin, maybe add more garlic or ginger?
Glad you liked it, Marcia! You could cut down on the sodium a bit by using reduced-sodium soy sauce. Hoisin sauce also has a lot of sodium; there aren’t any reduced-sodium brands on the market as far as I know, but I have seen recipes for low sodium homemade versions online if you wanted to go that route. Also, you could try cutting back on both a bit, but you want to make sure you have enough sauce to adequately coat the beef.
Made this for dinner tonight and everyone loved it. Seasoned just right the way it is written. So fast and easy! Will definitely be making again and again, and probably double the recipe. Thanks for another great recipe Jenn.
Jen,
can this be made with steak or stew meat instead?
thanks!
-Birgitte
Hi Birgitte, It could be made with thinly sliced steak (just keep in mind that it will cook more quickly than the ground beef). I would not recommend stew meat here.
Yum! Don’t question the baking soda, it seemed to work wonders for the meat. I followed the recipe to a t but added cucumber for crunch. Next time I will try bean sprouts. I’ve been following your blog for a long time and every recipe I have made is a success. Thanks!
I made this for this evening dinner, WOW so delicious. I added fresh carrots and broccoli to the stir fry dish. It was a hit??
This was OUTSTANDING! I used ground turkey (not ground breast) and it was just great. Another home run. Plus, I used Trader Joe’s frozen rice medley, which was easy and added some additional nutrition.
Hi Jenn! I just made this (it’s almost dinner time here in CO) and it’s super delicious! I’m waiting for the rice to cook but the boys keep going back to the kitchen for “another sample” of the beef. They love it! I omitted the red pepper flakes bc the boys don’t like anything spicy but I will definitely be sprinkling it on my plate. I also added a bit more of sesame oil bc we like it. No raw cashews on hand, only salted ones, so I did a quick cold water rinse and it turned out yummy! Thanks so much! So fast and so good! This will definitely be a repeat dish!
What a good idea. My boys are grown, gone and cooking for their own families, but when they were young I used to make salads, ramen bowls and baked potatos with lots of options for toppings. They had to have some veggies, but being able to choose was always a plus.
I teach cooking classes and offering choices and not allowing snacks after dinner except on special occasions is my only advice for feeding kids!
This looks so good but so high in sodium per serving almost my sons daily limit.
Want to try – would low sodium soy make a difference?
Any other suggestions to lower sodium?
Thanks!
Hi Terry, the soy and hoisin sauces definitely boost the sodium in this recipe. Using reduced-sodium soy sauce will help. As far as I know, there aren’t any reduced-sodium hoisin sauces on the market, but I googled it did see some recipes for making your own reduced-sodium version if you wanted to go that route.
Hi Jen! Love your site and this recipe looks delicious! Definitely am going to give this recipe a try tonight. Just wanted to give you a heads up that most asians tend to use corn starch instead of baking soda when marinating and tenderizing the meat. Thanks again for all your hard work!
Good to know Sandy– thanks for the tip (and hope you enjoy the beef bowls)!
It is so encouraging to read your posts! I have two boys, 4 and 2. They take turns being picky at dinner table. I just keep trying. I think I have cooked through almost all of your recipes on this website. My children’s recent favorite is your Italian salad dressing and they insist on dipping everything in it… I am making the beef bowl tonight!
Can this be made ahead of time or is it best served fresh? Thanks! Love ALL your recipes.
Hi Janet, I think it’s best served fresh but don’t let that stop you if you need to make it ahead – it reheats well.
I can’t wait to try this recipe! I would prefer to have cooked vegetables than raw. Would you recommend adding the vegetables to the meat to cook together?
Hi Lily, I’m not sure the veggies will cook properly if you add them with the meat — it really depends on the veggies you use — so I’d probably cook them separately.
I made this tonight and it was delicious! I love that it was quick and easy. I would love more quick recipes from you.
Thank you Jenn!
This looks great! I’m going to try it ASAP….
I would like to substitute ground turkey for ground beef — would you still recommend the baking soda?
Also, do you have any good Passover recipes? Some of my guests don’t eat beef.
Thanks!
Hi Sandy, I think you could use ground turkey, but I’d suggest going with ground chicken if you eat that. Regardless of which one you choose (chicken or turkey), no need to treat it with baking soda.
I have a niece (also nameless – she knows who she is!!) who won’t touch anything that has visible onion or garlic in it. I use the little mini processor that came with my blender stick to whizz them into a mush, then stir it in when I’ve browned the mince or whatever. In anything like this, they then literally disappear. I know in a dish like this, it is a shame not to be able to identify the scallions, but at least it gets some veg inside her – it works with celery too. She doesn’t mind carrots, so I leave those just chopped finely. This dish looks delicious – it’s going on this week’s menu.
Hi Jenn,
Made the Shrimp and Feta…It was so good all the family loved it and might be our favorite shrimp dish. Do you think this dish could use ground turkey instead of beef?
So glad you enjoyed the Greek shrimp! I’d opt for ground chicken over ground turkey, but either would work (and no need to treat the meat with baking soda either way).
Confused by the “shrimp and feta” reference? Is it a different recipe?
The person that left that comment had also made this Greek Shrimp dish. Sorry for any confusion!
Made this last night and split the difference-1/2 ground chicken and 1/2 ground beef. I also made Bok Choy in the wok with toasted sesame and did brown rice and quinoa. So good, the baking soda really helps. Another tested recipe that gets 5 stars.
I love your recipes! I would love to try this one, but I don’t eat red meat. Could you make this with ground turkey? What changes would I need to make?
Thank you!
Hi Jill, Thank you! I do think it’d work with ground turkey, but ground chicken would be better. If you go that route, there’s no need to treat the meat with baking soda. Please let me know how it turns out if you try it :).
Can lean ground turkey be substituted for the ground beef?
Hi Marcia, Yes but I think you’ll have better results with ground chicken (and you can omit the baking soda step – it’s not necessary with poultry).