Korean Beef Bowl

I had a most wonderful birthday on Saturday — an amazing dinner with friends at Radar and followed it up with drinks and more friends at The Lost & Found. I finally had an excuse to open up the bottle of 2007 Fanti Brunello di Montalcino that Lanny gave us after her wedding. I think it’s definitely my favorite wine of all time.

I know it’s weird to see something with beef in it from me. I don’t eat a whole lot of beef unless it’s burger time [like it was on Friday]. I always forget how much cheaper ground beef is compared to the other meats. I usually have my blinders on when I’m picking up chicken. That’s usually the go-to.

The sauce in this Korean beef dish is worth stepping into the world of beef if you don’t normally. It was a nice change of pace from the usual stuff, and it didn’t take nine years to make. I have a terrible habit of picking a recipe, and not paying attention to how long it’ll take. At that point, I’m probably starving. This is almost too easy because you probably have most of the ingredients on hand. I don’t keep ingredients on hand, and even I had most of it. I think I went to the store for beef and some green onions. Easy peasy.

Inspiration: Kitchen Simplicity

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked rice
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
• 1lb ground beef
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped red, yellow, and orange peppers

Preparation

Cook the rice according to your package while you brown the ground beef. In a small bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, and grated ginger.

Drain the ground beef once it’s browned. Add it back to the skillet along with the garlic. Cook on medium-high heat for about 60 seconds. Add the sauce, peppers, and half of the green onions. Let the sauce simmer for about two minutes. It should thicken a little bit and coat everything. Serve over the rice and garnish with the rest of the green onions.