Korean-Inspired Ground “Beef” Bulgogi Bowls

• servings: 3
• active time: 10 mins
• total time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

SAUCE/MARINADE

2-4 tbsp soy sauce adjust to taste (see notes)

2 tbsp packed dark brown sugar , 28 g

1.5 tsp grated ginger , 4 g

1 tsp gochujang Korean chili paste

2 tbsp toasted sesame oil , 30 ml

3 cloves garlic minced

1/3 cup finely grated Asian pear or pear puree , 85 g

1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

1 tsp dark soy sauce

BULGOGI

1 tbsp sesame oil

14 oz plant based ground meat (see notes)

TO SERVE:

Steamed short grain rice

Vegan kimchi

Sliced cucumber

Sesame oil

Sliced carrot I sautéed this with some sesame oil and seeds until tender

Chopped spring onions or scallions

Gochujang (Korean chili paste), optional

Directions

Mix all the sauce ingredients in a large bowl then place the plant-based ground. Mix well to coat.

Heat a large pan or wok over medium high heat. Once hot, add in the sesame oil. Add in the plant-based ground/TVP. Stir-fry over medium high heat for 6-8 minutes or until the sauce has been absorbed and the sugars start to caramelise and coat the ground ‘meat’ pieces.

Taste the pieces and then feel free to season with more soy sauce, sugar, or chili paste, to taste. Sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds and mix well. Remove this from the pan.

If using carrots for topping, sauté these over medium high heat with a little sesame oil until tender.

Assemble your bowls with some rice then top with the bulgogi-style ‘beef’, kimchi, carrot, sliced cucumber, spring onion/scallions and a generous drizzle of sesame oil. You can also enjoy these bowls like bibimbap (Korean mixed rice bowl) by adding some gochujang or Korean chili paste.

Notes

Plant-based meat – you can also use TVP or texturised vegetable protein for this recipe. You can simple rehydrate dried TVP in water for 5-10 minutes until doubled in size. Afterwards, drain this from the water and squeeze out any excess liquid.