Say goodbye to boring beef mince recipes….. these Asian Beef Bowls are super tasty, super easy and SUPER fast! Made with just a handful of staple Asian condiments, the ground beef can be switched with chicken, pork or even turkey.
Also, don’t miss the popular noodle version of this recipe – Asian Beef Ramen Noodles!
Super quick beef mince recipe!
This one is for all those nights when you peer into your fridge, find a packet of beef mince and are completely uninspired to make Spag Bol – yet again.
This is also one for all those nights when you’ve been baking, filming and photographing recipes all day, and you swear you don’t have the energy to make anything for dinner but your mother brain washed you so well, you feel guilty for even thinking about picking up the phone to order home delivery.
Oh wait. Is that just me? 😂
This is not a traditional Chinese or other Asian recipe, hence the obscure name “Asian Beef Bowls”.
However, if you have ever made a Chinese stir fry – or in fact, any Chinese recipe – you will likely instantly recognise all the ingredients in the sauce. No Western ingredients. This is made with 100% authentic Asian ingredients. And when you take the first bite, it will be so familiar to you.
Because the sauce is so similar to many stir fries, yet an exact replica of none!
Here’s what you need
And here’s how easy it is to make:
What to serve on the side
Serve this over rice or, for a healthy low carb option, Cauliflower Rice (77% fewer calories and 87% less carbs than rice).
For a side salad, here are a few suggestions.
Side Salads to accompany this dish
I love this recipe because it’s made with beef mince (ground beef) i.e. no meat slicing. Asian recipes made with beef mince aren’t that common, but there are a handful of terrific ones and they are worth knowing for the convenience of being able to make a quick meal when you’ve got a packet of mince on hand. Here’s a handful of my favourites:
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Japanese Pork and Green Bean Stir Fry <<– On my mother’s website, RecipeTin Japan
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Larb Gai (Thai Lettuce Wraps) and San Choy Bau (Chinese Lettuce Wraps)
Unlike most stir fries, this one doesn’t come with a ton of sauce. But it’s juicy and the beef has a ton of flavour in it so when it’s all mixed up with the rice, you certainly won’t feel like you’re missing sauce. Promise! ~ Nagi x ❤️
Watch how to make it
“Wow! Can’t believe something that was so quick to do was also so tasty.”
– Jacqui, January 2019
“This would have to be the tastiest easiest mince dish I have ever cooked in 15 minutes.”
– Wendy, 10 May 2017
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Asian Beef Bowls
Ingredients
Sauce:
- 1 tbsp Hoisin Sauce (or sub with Oyster)
- 2 tbsp Oyster Sauce (or sub with 1 1/2 tbsp Hoisin)
- 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (or Mirin, dry sherry, sake or any rice wine) (Note 1)
- 2 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce (Note 2)
- 2 tsp white sugar
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 1/4 tsp white pepper (or sub with black)
Stir Fry:
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 500 g /1 lb beef mince (ground beef) (lean is good)
- 1/2 cup shallots / scallions , sliced, plus more for garnish
Garnishes:
- Sesame seeds
Instructions
- Mix Sauce together in a bowl
- Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add garlic and onion, cook for 1 minute or until onion starts browning.
- Add beef and cook, breaking it up as you go.
- Once the beef has all changed from red to brown, add Sauce. Cook for a further 2 minutes, or until Sauce has evaporated and beef is cooked. If you want the beef cooked more, add a splash of water and keep cooking (I don't do this).
- Stir through shallots, then serve over rice, garnished with more shallots and sesame seeds, if desired. Or for a low carb, low cal option, try Cauliflower Rice!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published May 2017, updated with new video, new photos, step photos, refreshed writing, and latest and greatest in Life of Dozer!
More quick 15 minute Asian meals
-
Quick Asian Beef RAMEN Noodles and Chicken Vegetable Ramen Noodles – 15 minutes, made in one pot
-
Chinese Chicken and Corn Soup with Egg Ribbons – so simple, this will blow your mind…
-
Pork Stir Fry with Green Beans – flavour packed!
-
Egg Fried Rice – it all comes down to the sauce…
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Very tasty and so quick and easy. My stupid husband doesn’t like rice, seriously? We had it with 2 min wholegrain noodles, steamed broccolini and carrot. Next time I’ll try chicken mince, double the sauce and add a load of veggies. Thanks Nagi, another winner!
Absolutely delicious! Thanks so much for this quick and easy dinner 😋💚
Very quick meal as promised! Doubled the sauce as I added a bunch of veggies (shredded carrot, kai-lan, broccoli and mushroom). The kids loved this too, so total bonus. Thanks Nagi!
Another absolute winner – even the finicky boys love it.
I’ve made this twice now. The first time I made it according to the recipe (but used tamari cause GF). The second time I made it, tonight, I used 1/2 lb beef and upped the sauce ingredients by half. I added 1 inch of fresh ginger and a healthy amount of red pepper flakes to the sauce. I added green beans, carrot, red bell pepper, a second (coarsely) chopped onion, and broccolini – hence the extra sauce. It was beautiful and very tasty over rice! I love the recipe. It is so adaptable. Next I’ll try tofu with the veggies and maybe quinoa instead of rice. Can use almost any veggie good in stir fry. Thank you for this recipe!!!
This is fantastic! When I asked my husband if he thought it was nice, he said it’s not nice, it’s amazing!
I served it with noodles and some stir fried cabbage/grated carrot. Will be putting this on regular rotation.
Thank you for the recipe! This is amazing, so tasty, easy and quick to make. I added some carrots and zucchini to it so I didn’t have to make a salad and it worked perfectly
Hubby had to ask if it’s take away or i made the sauce? My 10y made sauce! Lunch was ready in less then 20min or so!
Thank you! I needed something quick but good. This fit the bill.
The level of umami in this is mindblowing! So good and fantastically quick to boot! Can’t wait to start playing with what veggies to add to this recipe!
Family loved this one too!! None left.
Great doubled with half lean beef half minced turkey breast. Put some celery with the onion. Added diced zucchini with the meat. Julienned carrots with the shallots at the end. All gone!
This was delicious with steamed rice and steamed broccoli! It definitely allows for adding diced pepper, ginger, onion and/or other veggies which I may try next time and double the sauce. This is a keeper!
Easy, fast, and delicious! I stretched it a little by adding a handful of diced bell peppers and zucchini at the same time as the onions. Perfect for a quick meal
My husband told me that he doesn’t like cooking with ground beef, nothing is ever good. Proved him wrong with this recipe. It’s so so good.
Easy and delicious! Added toppings of diced carrots and red pepper for added crunch and color. Good dish to make when you want something filling and quick!
This is an awesome tasty recipe. I made meatballs for my kid so had half pound of beef left… I halved all the ingredients. Tip: get all the condiments out, take caps off and use the same spoon for measuring but start with sesame oil so everything else slides off the spoon. I used maple syrup instead of sugar and added gochujang.
This is my first time trying out your recipe, Nagi. You have earned a new subscriber! My partner is a chef and when I made this, he was truly impressed. 🙂 Thanks for the recipe and more power!
Easy to make and so full of flavour. Eating with a fluffy bowl of rice will even out the saltiness.
Have done with beef, trying pork tonight. Might throw in some small vegies too.
Yum.
Will try some of your other recipes next.
Thanx.
So easy, full of flavour….can’t wait to have the leftovers on a toasted sandwich. There’s nothing you can’t put on a toasted sandwich. 😊