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:
Japanese Pork and Green Bean Stir Fry <<– On my mother’s website, RecipeTin Japan
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…
- See 15 Minute Recipes
Life of Dozer
Project Manager Dozer, reporting for duty!!!
Tried this dish today and tasted fantastic! Really tasty on a bed of white rice.
That’s so great to hear Tommy! I’m so pleased you enjoyed this, thank you for letting me know! N x
I freakin’ love this! 😁
🙌🏻 🙌🏻 LOVE hearing that! Thanks for letting me know Frances! N x
Hey Nagi! I made this for dinner just tonight – and the family loved it! And even requested for me to repeat it some time this week. heehee.. At first I thought it might be a tad too salty, but not at all! Thanks again!
Sooo good! I had 3 bowls 😅
Made this today for something quick for myself and my 2year old as the husband was
Working late. Added steamed brocolli and carrot, she devoured this (so did I). Leftovers for lunch tomorrow yay!
I’m so pleased you enjoyed this Amy! Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback! N x ❤️
I cooked this tonight and it was very simple and oh so tasty! I also added some vegetables after browning the meat. Nagi, I have now cooked several of your recipes and never been disappointed. You are my go-to culinary guru these days! It is great to follow someone who creates recipes with everydsy ingredients for us not-so-cheffy cooks . Thank you for sharing your talent.
Regards Martin
Wonderful! So glad you enjoyed this Martin, thanks for letting me know! N x
Simple, Quick and Delish!!!!
Cooked tonight, had to modify a bit as suggested, didn’t have rice wine and added celery and carrot, OMG!!!
Thank you so much for sharing!!
I just made this the other day and it is delicious!! I love that it is so quick to put together with a few simple ingredients yet so flavorful. Will be one of my go-to recipes for sure!
That’s so great to hear Vida! Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed it! N x
I am currently living abroad and I was looking for simple recipes. I tried this earlier and it tasted so good! This is really easy-to-make and delicious! Thank you for sharing this ◡̈
I LOVE HEARING THAT!! *Sorry for shouting* 😂
Hi Nagi. I tried your receipe and indeed its delicious. I add some scramble egg inside just because i am lazy and just everything in and in came out great!
LOVE hearing that Rusdan!!! So glad you enjoyed it! N x
So quick, easy, delicious & sooo not spag bol…..just what I was after!
Ha ha ha! I know exactly what you mean! 😂
Hi Nagi, made this tonight and it was tasty and easy.
I added two chopped up dried chilies to the onion and garlic segment as we like a bit of heat and it worked a treat. Love your work, and thanks for the recipe.
Hi Nagi. Fabulous dish. I’ve just put a little twist by adding some chopped up omelette and some blanched carrots and capsicum. Truly special dish and so quick!!! Thank you
Love hearing that Murray! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know – N x ❤️
My wife and I love this dish. It’s so easy and fast, too. I, also, couldn’t find dark soy sauce in our local store or in a big chain supermarket, so I had to use the common type. This is a dish we will enjoy regularly. Thanks much.
That’s wonderful to hear Rod! Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed this – N x ❤️
Another dinner winner! This was so easy and so delicious! I’m disappointed to discover my only local supermarket stopped selling dark soy sauce, so I had to substitute with normal soy sauce, but it was still amazing! Thank you, Nagi!
Hi Nagi, tonight I made this for dinner along with your mom’s recipe for Japanese rice. Everything was delicious! One of the best results from a package of ground beef I’ve ever had. I added some snow peas and it was really good, next time I might try some shredded cabbage and carrots like another commenter recommended. Thanks for the great recipe; it will be going into our regular rotation!
That’s fantastic to hear Lisa! Thanks for leaving a review! N x ❤️
Delish and fast! Was fab with cauliflower/broccoli rice and added courgette to the beef to increase the vegetable content. Was a hit with the meat loving & vege phobic other half, thanks Nagi and Dozer from Denmark x
I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed this Sharon! Thanks so much for letting me know – N x
Yum! So good. Mixed in some shredded cabbage and topped with a runny fried egg 🙂
Pleased to hear you enjoyed it Caitlin, thanks for letting me know! N xx
So good! And yes, nice not to be making a tomato based spaghetti.
I added three cups of grated carrots/zucchini to the mix and doubled the sauce to make up for the extra stir fry ingredients.
Leftovers have gone into the freezer for a quick meal. (can’t wait for that dinner!)
YES! That’s exactly what I think!!! 🙂 PS LOVE the addition of veggies N xx
What a great basic recipe as well as a (gasp- an abomination in most Asian cuisine)
very decent make-ahead recipe. Just don’t add the scallions to the part you want
to save for tomorrow. I like it with Indonesian kecap manis (sweet dark soy- ABC brand)
subbed for the dark soy and sugar. Very easy recipe to serve as is or with a partner
veggie dish or combined into one dish. Make the meat ahead and combine with
different julienned veggies (carrots, Bok Choy, leeks, daikon, peppers…anything fairly firm) for
different combinations for a few days. (next days- do the veggies until almost done then
add the saved meat). This allows a single person to make variants on a (very nice)
theme for 2 or 3 days without having to do the meat part again. You will want
to add some more sauce- yet another place to vary the dish so you don’t get
bored.
So great to hear you enjoyed it Greg! And YES to combining with veggies 🙂 – N xx ❤️