A Quick Recipe for Busy Times: Korean Beef & Broccoli
Everyone needs a quick throw-together recipe in their back pocket for when life happens.
For me, I have tacos (which I could eat always), and this recipe.
How I Use It
This past week was nuts.
Several activities for the kids, the adults were down with colds, guests coming from out of town, appointments, sessions, and deadlines, oh my.
It was so crazy I didn’t ever get to sit down to plan my meals for the week, so they were all decided on the spur of the moment.
I’ll be honest, we did eat out a few times, but I also managed to cook a few healthy meals. Korean Beef was one of them.
It’s simple for several reasons:
It freezes well if you just want to have it to pull out of the freezer later.
Any meal works with the hand guide, but this one is particularly easy.
It pairs well with broccoli, so I just cook two frozen bags for a balanced meal.
Plus, it’s delicious, so give it a try!
Ingredients
1 cup quinoa, dry but rinsed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound lean ground beef
1/3 cup brown sugar or coconut palm sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or more if you like it spicy
salt and pepper, to taste
2 green onions, thinly sliced
Instructions
Place the quinoa in a small stock pot and cover with 2 cups water or chicken stock. Bring to a full boil, then reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and let cook for 15 minutes.
While the quinoa cooks, heat the oil in a large pan. Add the ground beef and brown completely. Drain most of the fat. Clear room in the pan to cook the garlic and ginger for about 1 minute or until fragrant.
In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.
Add the soy sauce mixture to the ground beef and let cook for 3-5 minutes to allow the flavors to set.
Once the quinoa is done, take off the heat and fluff with a fork. Serve beef over quinoa, top with green onion.
Optional Pro Tips
If you’ve never used fresh ginger to cook, it’s time to branch out and give it a shot. I can’t imagine cooking without it now.
I don’t use the full amount of sugar. It doesn’t need it all, but it does need some to balance the soy sauce.
Omit red pepper flakes for kids or adults who don’t like spicy. It still tastes great.
