Easy Korean Beef

A truly easy recipe for very tasty Korean beef. There’s no need to marinate the beef! Simply stir fry, add the yummy sauce and serve.

This easy recipe is ready in just 30 minutes. It’s made with pre-sliced sirloin steak and does not require marinating the beef. Simply stir-fry the beef, add the sauce, garnish and serve.

This recipe is so easy to make!

I love the flavors of Korean beef and make this recipe quite often, but not just because it’s so tasty.

This is a very easy recipe, one of the easiest and quickest in my repertoire. (Another good one, and a variation on this recipe, is Korean ground beef).

I have several stir fry recipes on this blog (this beef stir fry is excellent), but most require me to prep vegetables. It’s not that adding veggies to a dish is a bad thing. But when truly pressed for time, I really appreciate how easy this recipe is.

The ingredients used in this recipe

Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this tasty dish. Exact amounts are listed in the recipe card below.

1. Light soy sauce: Or a gluten-free alternative.
2. Honey: Adds just a touch of sweetness.
3. Cornstarch: Helps to thicken the sauce.
4. Seasonings: crushed red peppers, garlic, and ginger.
5. Avocado oil: A healthy cooking oil.
6. Beef sirloin: You can splurge and use beef tenderloin, which is more tender but also more expensive. But sirloin works just fine.
7. For garnish: Green onions, sesame seeds, and sesame oil.

What meat to use?

To make this recipe as easy as can be, I tend to use pre-sliced sirloin (sold in trays and marked as “beef for stir fry”). Of course, it’s fine to simply buy sirloin steaks and slice them yourself.

Sirloin is appropriate for this recipe because it’s lean, and while it’s not super tender, it’s also not overly tough. So you can get away with not marinating it.

How to make Korean beef

As I said, it’s so easy. Here are the basic steps. The detailed instructions are in the recipe card below.

1. Start by whisking together a tasty sauce, made with soy sauce and honey.
2. Brown the beef in oil, then add the garlic and ginger.
3. Add the sauce and cook until it thickens.
4. Garnish with green onions, sesame seeds, and sesame oil.

How to serve Korean beef

Traditionally, you would serve it o a bed of white rice. But we’re trying to keep it low-carb here. If you serve it on a bed of cauliflower rice, you don’t even need to feel bad about the lack of vegetables in this dish!

You can also mix it into cooked shirataki noodles. This is super-filling, by the way. Lots of fiber in those noodles.

How to keep the leftovers?

You can keep leftovers in the fridge, in a sealed container, for 3-4 days. Reheat them gently, covered, in the microwave on 50% power. This is one of those dishes that actually keeps quite well. Just make sure you reheat it gently – you don’t want to dry out the meat.

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4.98 from 36 votes

Korean Beef

A truly easy recipe for very tasty Korean beef. There’s no need to marinate the beef! Simply stir fry, add the yummy sauce and serve.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time30 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Korean

Keyword: beef, stir fry

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 301kcal

Author: Vered DeLeeuw

INGREDIENTS

• 1/3 cup reduced sodium soy sauce (or use a gluten-free alternative and add salt as needed)
• 2 tablespoons honey*
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red peppers
• 2 tablespoons avocado oil
• 2 lb. beef sirloin, cut into strips
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 1/4 cup green onions, green parts only, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil

INSTRUCTIONS

• In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, honey, cornstarch and red pepper flakes. Set aside.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sliced beef. Stir-fry the beef until browned, about 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, 1 more minute.
• Add the soy sauce mixture. Reduce heat to medium and stir-fry until beef is well coated and sauce has thickened, about 2 minutes. 
• Turn the heat off. Spoon the Korean beef and the pan juices into plates or bowls. Top with the green onions and sesame seeds, drizzle with the sesame oil, and serve.

NOTES

*You can try replacing the honey with a low carb sweetener such as this, but as you can see, this is still under 10 grams of carbs per serving, and the real honey is delicious. To me, it’s worth it.

NUTRITION INFO Nutrition info is approximate and may contain errors. It is calculated using the SparkPeople.com recipe calculator, and the carb count excludes sugar alcohols. Please feel free to make your own calculations. Please read the disclaimers in our Terms of Use carefully before using any of our recipes. Recommended and linked products are not guaranteed to be gluten-free. Please verify they are before using.

Nutrition Facts

Korean Beef

Amount Per Serving

Calories 301 Calories from Fat 117

% Daily Value*

Fat 13g20%

Saturated Fat 3g19%

Sodium 610mg27%

Carbohydrates 9g3%

Fiber 0.3g1%

Sugar 6g7%

Protein 33g66%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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