Skip to main content
Epicurious

Korean-Style Grain Bowls with Spicy Marinated Steak

By Rhoda Boone

4.1

(19)

Image may contain Food Egg Plant Dish Meal Dessert Ice Cream Creme Cream Vegetable Lunch and Platter
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Anna Hampton

These Korean bibimbap-inspired grain bowls are brimming with bright vegetables and spicy, flavorful steak. Pear juice, a traditional ingredient in Korean barbecue, helps to tenderize and caramelize the beef.

Cooks' Note

You can find gochujang at Asian food markets or online. Sriracha has a different flavor profile, but is an acceptable substitute and more widely available in grocery stores. If spice isn't your thing, feel free to omit the hot sauce entirely. This recipe makes extra marinade; use it on chicken or toss with salads or cooked grains.

Recipe information

  • Total Time

    1 hour 45 minutes

  • Yield

    Serves 4

Ingredients

For the marinade:

1 cup pear juice
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup neutral vegetable oil, such as grapeseed
3 garlic cloves, finely grated
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
1 teaspoon gochujang or Sriracha
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

For the beef:

2 teaspoons gochujang or Sriracha
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 pounds (1/2"-thick) flanken-cut, bone-in short ribs or 1 pound (1/2"-thick) boneless rib eye
1 tablespoon neutral vegetable oil, such as grapeseed

For the grain bowls:

1 1/2 cups thinly sliced purple cabbage
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar, divided
1 large carrot, julienned with a mandolin or coarsely grated using the large holes of a box grater
4 cups baby spinach
4 cups cooked grains, such as farro, quinoa, and/or brown rice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 ounces sugar snap peas, trimmed, strings removed, or snow peas, blanched
1/2 cup kimchi, preferably daikon radish, sliced (optional)
4 fried eggs (optional)
1 scallion, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
Gochujang or Sriracha (for serving)

Preparation

  1. Make the marinade:

    Step 1

    Whisk pear juice, soy sauce, vinegar, vegetable oil, garlic, sesame oil, ginger, gochujang, brown sugar, and salt in a medium bowl.

  2. Marinate and cook the beef:

    Step 2

    Pour 1 cup marinade into a large resealable bag or bowl; reserve remaining marinade. Whisk in gochujang, brown sugar, and salt. Add steak and toss to coat, then let rest at room temperature at least 1 hour.

    Step 3

    Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Remove steak from marinade and pat dry; discard marinade. Cook steak until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 125°F, 2–3 minutes per side for medium rare. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 10 minutes before slicing against the grain.

  3. Assemble the grain bowls:

    Step 4

    Toss cabbage, 1 Tbsp. marinade, and 1 Tbsp. vinegar in a small bowl. Toss carrots, 1 Tbsp. marinade, and remaining 1 Tbsp. vinegar in another small bowl. Let rest at least 10 minutes.

    Step 5

    Toss spinach, grains, and salt with 1/2 cup marinade in a large bowl. Divide among 4 bowls. Top with beef, cabbage, carrots, peas, and kimchi, if using. Place 1 fried egg in the center of each bowl, if using. Top with scallion and sesame seeds. Serve with gochujang and remaining marinade alongside.

  4. Do Ahead

    Step 6

    Steak can be marinated 10 hours ahead; chill in bag. Let steak come to room temperature at least 1 hour before cooking. Cabbage and carrots can be marinated 1 day ahead; cover and chill.

TagsRice BowlGrain BowlKoreanEast AsianAsianShort RibBeef RibBeefMeatRib Eye SteakSteakBrown RiceRiceRice & GrainsFarroQuinoaMainDinnerLunchNut FreeDairy FreeMake AheadFryEpicurious

See Related Recipes and Cooking Tips

Read More
Stir-Fried Phở Noodles With Beef
This dish is not only a quick meal option but also a practical way to use leftover phở noodles when you’re out of broth.
Smothered Italian Sausage
This is what I call a fridge-eater recipe. The key here is getting a nice sear on the sausage and cooking the tomato down until it coats the sausage and vegetables well.
Charred Vegetable Ragù
This sauce is slightly magical. The texture cloaks pasta much like a traditional meat sauce does, and the flavors are deep and rich, but it’s actually vegan!
Beef Stroganoff Ramen
This traditional dish of beef, sour cream, and mustard may have originated in Russia, but it’s about time for a version with ramen noodles, don’t you think?
Oxtail Guisado
A slow-simmering, comforting braise delivering healing to both body and soul.
Sofrito Bolognese
An ex-boyfriend’s mom—who emigrated from Colombia—made the best meat sauce—she would fry sofrito for the base and simply add cooked ground beef, sazón, and jarred tomato sauce. My version is a bit more bougie—it calls for caramelized tomato paste and white wine—but the result is just as good.
Crispy Oyster Mushroom Skewers With Bok Choy Salad
Oyster mushrooms are a strong all-rounder in the kitchen, seeming to straddle both plant and meat worlds in what they look and taste like when cooked. Here they’re coated in a marinade my mother used to use when cooking Chinese food at home—honey, soy, garlic and ginger—and roasted until golden, crisp, and juicy.
Kung Pao Cabbage With Tofu
Reliable cabbage is cooked in the punchy sauce and then combined with store-bought baked tofu and roasted cashews for a salad that can also be eaten with rice.