UPDATED 3/2024 :: She pretty, ain’t she? I could happily gawk at this plate of food all the live-long day but instead, I suppose I should dish up the deets as to how you, my friend, can go about whipping it up in your own kitchen. It’s incredibly easy to make (just dump everything into a pot and cook, it’s literally nothing more than that), and it tastes absolutely wonderful.
This Korean Braised Beef is served up on some fluffy white rice and supported by a colorful and incredibly flattering cast of characters. I have included slow cooker instructions in the “notes” at the end of the recipe as well. Read on for more about this Korean Braised Beef recipe, or just jump ahead to the main event.
Korean Braised Beef Bowls
This Korean Braised Beef recipe really takes its cues from Korean Jangjorim, an intensely salty and garlicky braised beef that is usually enjoyed as more of a condiment than as the main event. In my recipe today, I’m adding a few more things to the mix to help stretch it a bit further, away from the sidelines and onto a big fat mountain of fluffy white rice.
If the inclusion of pickles in this recipe caused your eyebrows to raise a little, I get it! It’s a little different than what we might be used to seeing beef cooked with here in the States (with the exception of BBQ … pickles + beef brisket = magic).
This, friends, is what makes it so great. I love few things more than the delicious introduction to unique flavors and combinations that may be total commonplace in other parts of the world, but are very new to me. This is exciting. This is what cooking and learning and appreciating other cultures is all about. Let’s bring new things to our tables, share them and sing their praises, and explore the world through the expansion of our palates.
Today, we’re doing it via the amazing and dare I say – perfect – combination of rich, fatty beef and spicy/tangy/sweet pickles. Man is this good. Whew. I first had this combo when I made a slow cooker Korean style beef with pickles recipe from Food and Wine several years ago. This is sort of an adaptation of that, combined with the aforementioned Korean Jangjorim.
Want more beef recipes? I have some pretty great ones here. Just search for ’em!
How to thicken a braising liquid
As I’ve already mentioned a time or two, this Korean Braised Beef recipe is very VERY simple. There is an optional step, however, that I have included to guide you through an easy way to thicken the braising liquid, should you care to do so. This is simple and does not push the recipe out of the easy category at all. It just requires you to get out an extra saucepan and a little bit of cornstarch.
- We’ll separate the impossibly tender beef from its cooking liquid – just for a little while, they will be reunited shortly! Just put the beef on a plate for a minute, and let it wait in the wings.
- Stir together about a tablespoon of cornstarch with some of the hot, soy-saucey, garlicky braising liquid. You only need enough to help the cornstarch liquify and get all smooth and pourable. A few tablespoons should do it. I like to stir with a fork, as I think the tongs have a whisking effect and are helpful with the smoothing out of things.
- Once the slurry (this is what you just made!) is smooth, pour it right back into the pot and bring it all up to a gentle boil. Then, reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer for a few minutes, and watch as your formerly very thin sauce transforms into a rich and glossy little number, right before your eyes.
This is one of my favorite cooking techniques, as it proves useful time and time again. We do it in this red curry drip beef recipe and this excellent Southern Potato Soup as well. My Beef Stroganoff gets a little slurry action, as does this Thai Curried Turkey Soup and this Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic. Again, you don’t have to do it. But I highly recommend it.
What You’ll Need to make this Korean Braised Beef
You can top your rice bowls with whatever you like, of course and as always, but I’ve listed a few classic fixins – things that will truly round out your meal and not only make it look absolutely stunning on the plate/bowl, but they will also add depth of texture and flavor to the whole she-bang.
Korean Braised Beef INGREDIENTS
- 2 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1.5-inch pieces (brisket and eye of round also work)
- 6 whole garlic cloves
- 3 scallions, chopped with white and green parts separated
- â…” cup spicy dill pickles (optional, can sub sliced anaheim or shishito peppers, or even jalapenos)
- â…” cup soy sauce, plus more as needed
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon beef stock concentrate
- 10 to 12 leaves fresh Napa cabbage, shredded
- Lots of freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 4 eggs
- Hot cooked white rice, for serving
Additional serving suggestions/options: kimchi, scallion greens, chopped cilantro, toasted sesame seeds, toasted sesame oil, fresh/cold thinly sliced cucumbers
Additional Korean Cooking Resources
Obviously I’m not Korean. Actually, that may or may not be obvious to you, depending on how long and how much you follow along with me. So I shall simply say – I am not Korean, but I am a very appreciative eater of Korean food and I enjoy learning about it and indulging in it whenever I can. It is my hope that by sharing some of my favorite Korean foods, ingredients, and inspired recipes, you’ll also be inspired to dive into the delicious and deeply interesting Korean food culture.
Of course I hope you give my recipes a try, but I also want you to go and support your local Korean restaurants and, if you’ve got them, Asian grocery stores. I’ll drop some of my favorite resources here, in the hopes that you’d like to further your Korean cooking adventures (you really should).
On Instagram
On YouTube
Maangchi is a great channel to watch if you want to learn some basic (and not so basic) Korean dishes. She is absolutely adorable, too.
Books!
A Common Table, by Cynthia Chen McTernan. This James Beard Award-winning gem is by a blogging peer of mine, and showcases the gorgeous fusion of Korean and Southern-American foods that author Cynthia grew up eating. It’s truly fantastic (she is the keeper of the blog whose IG feed I linked above, Two Red Bowls).
How to make this amazing Korean Braised Beef
This Korean Braised Beef recipe really couldn’t be much simpler, so far as the actual method goes. Truly – we’re just going to throw everything into a pot and cook it. That’s it, that’s the whole assignment here, folks.
I suppose we could go to the trouble of searing the beef first, sure. But the end result isn’t really noticeably different that way – not at all actually. So, in the name of ease, time and reducing kitchen messes that we have to clean (always a top priority here on MKL), let’s just stick to the essential stuff and leave the rest out, what do you say?
I love this Korean Braised Beef recipe for it’ straightforward nature and its fantastic ability to feed a lot of hungry mouths. I have noted that it “serves 4” because it does. But, thanks to the fact that you can add more eggs, rice, kimchi, cukes, etc – you can stretch the beef as far as you’d like it to go. This is an incredibly appealing quality to me, and probably why I tend to gravitate toward recipes just like this Korean Style braised beef when I’m entertaining.
Anyway, here’s how we’ll do it:
Korean Braised Beef DIRECTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Adjust the rack to the middle position.
- Put the beef into a large Dutch oven, followed by the garlic cloves, scallion whites (save the green parts for topping!), pickles, soy sauce, brown sugar, stock concentrate, 2.5 cups water, and lots of freshly cracked black pepper. Put the lid on the pot and let it cook for 3 hours, undisturbed.
- To make the soft boiled eggs: Fix a bowl of ice water (will hold the cooked eggs). Boil a small pot of water. Gently put the eggs into the boiling water and boil for exactly 6 minutes. Immediately transfer them to the ice water. When they’re cool enough to handle, peel them and slice them lengthwise.
- Optional sauce thickening step: When the beef is finished transfer it to a plate, leaving the sauce in the pot (with the pickles). Combine 1 tablespoon cornstarch in a small bowl with 3 tablespoons of the hot braising liquid. Stir until smooth, and pout into the pot, stirring to ensure no clumps form. Allow the sauce to come to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. This will thicken it nicely, making it very glossy and luscious. It’s optional, though.
- To build your braised beef and rice bowls, put some rice in a bowl and top with some of the braised beef (and lots of sauce!). Top with whatever you like really, but especially a jammy egg, some chopped scallions and cilantro, kimchi, and toasted sesame seeds.
If you like the looks of this Korean Style Braised Beef, you might also want to try:
Bulgogi Beef Meatballs with Roasted Carrots
Thai Beef with Basil (Pad Kra Pow)
Spiced Beef Stew with Sweet Potatoes
Cozy and Comforting Cider Braised Pork and Apples
PrintKorean Braised Beef with Pickles and Jammy Eggs
A incredibly simple yet immensely flavorful braised beef, made Korean-style thanks to the addition of soy sauce, cabbage, pickles, sesame oil, and served up with eggs, kimchi, and other amazing aromatics. This one tastes as beautiful as it looks. (I’ve given the simple slow cooker alternative method below).
- Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1.5-inch pieces (brisket and eye of round also work)
6 whole garlic cloves - 3 scallions, chopped with white and green parts separated
- 2/3 cup spicy bread and butter or spicy dill pickles
- 2/3 cup soy sauce, plus more as needed
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon beef stock concentrate
- 10 to 12 large leaves Napa cabbage, shredded (this will cook down dramatically)
- 3 to 4 cups water
- Lots of freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 4 eggs
- Hot cooked white rice, for serving
Additional serving suggestions/options: kimchi, scallion greens, chopped cilantro, toasted sesame seeds, toasted sesame oil, fresh/cold thinly sliced cucumbers
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Adjust the rack to the middle position.
- Put the beef into a large Dutch oven, followed by the garlic cloves, scallion whites (save the green parts for topping!), pickles, cabbage, soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, stock concentrate, 2.5 cups water, and lots of freshly cracked black pepper. Put the lid on the pot and let it cook for 3 hours, undisturbed.Â
- To make the soft boiled eggs: Fix a bowl of ice water (to hold the cooked eggs). Boil a small pot of water. Gently put the eggs into the boiling water and boil for exactly 6 minutes. Immediately transfer them to the ice water. When they’re cool enough to handle, peel them and slice them lengthwise.Â
- Optional sauce thickening step: When the beef is finished transfer it to a plate, leaving the sauce in the pot (with the pickles). Combine 1 tablespoon cornstarch in a small bowl with 3 tablespoons of the hot braising liquid. Stir until smooth, and pout into the pot, stirring to ensure no clumps form. Allow the sauce to come to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. This will thicken it nicely, making it very glossy and luscious. It’s optional, though.Â
- To build your braised beef and rice bowls, put some rice in a bowl and top with some of the braised beef (and lots of sauce!). Top with whatever you like really, but especially a jammy egg, some chopped scallions and cilantro, kimchi, and toasted sesame seeds.
Notes
This can be made in a slow cooker, if preferred. Simply put all of the ingredients, through the pepper – along with 2.5 cups water – and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or until the beef is fall-apart tender. You can transfer the beef to a plate and thicken the sauce in a sauce pot on the stove, as instructed in the directions above.
This wad delicious! I bought some pickles that came in a jar with a chili pepper called Wickles and poured the entire jar in. Was the sesame oil just supposed to be drizzled on top when serving? I just realized I never used it. Still very good! My husband will be requesting this again.
I tweaked the sesame oil description to make that more clear, thanks so much for bringing that to my attention. So glad you guys enjoyed this one.