This bulgogi rice bowl is an easy one-dish meal! The recipe adds extra veggies and sauce to make it a well balanced one-dish meal.
What is deopbap?
Literally meaning “covered rice,” deopbap (덮밥) basically is a bowl of rice topped with some sort of topping. It’s a casual one-dish meal that can be prepared with any dishes or ingredients that are enjoyed with rice. The full name of the dish is determined based on the main topping, such as ojingeo (squid) doepbap, dubu (tofu) deopbap, jeyuk (spicy pork) deopbap, etc.
As is the case in many other Asian cuisines, there are many types of rice bowls in Korea. Bibimbap is similar in concept, i.e., toppings on a bowl of rice, but it gets the name from the way it’s eaten – mixing everything with a sauce.
While there are exceptions, doepbap generally is a rice bowl type where a little bit of saucy toppings is eaten with a spoonful of rice without being completely mixed like bibimbap.
Bulgogi deopbap is a common deopbap dish in Korea. This recipe has a full bulgogi recipe, but you can easily make this with leftover bulgogi simply by adding more vegetables and sauce for a well balanced one-dish meal.
How to make a bulgogi rice bowl
When you cook bulgogi, it will naturally release some delicious sauce. Try not to cook it off by lowering the heat.
I add a little bit more sauce when cooking the marinated meat, depending on how much sauce you want mixed in your rice. Anchovy broth or dasima broth is great for that extra sauce, but you can simply use water if you like. Make sure to season the broth/water not to dilute the seasoning of the meat.
When the rice absorbs that slightly sweet and savory sauce from the bulgogi, it’s incredibly tasty!
You can use the same concept to make deopbap with dak bulgogi (chicken) or jeyuk bokkeum (spicy pork bulgogi).
Vegetable options
You can add some of your favorite vegetables while cooking bulgogi and make it a perfectly balanced meal. I added mushrooms and carrots in the recipe. Bok choy is another favorite of mine. Green cabbage, chili peppers, broccoli, bell peppers are all good options as well.
For more Korean cooking inspirations, follow along on YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Ingredients
- 1 pound thinly sliced beef (rib eye, top sirloin, chuck tender, etc.) Note 1
- 2 scallions cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1/2 small onion thinly sliced
- 4 servings of cooked rice
Marinade
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons sugar (or replace 1 TB with honey)
- 1 tablespoon rice wine (mirin or mirim) or mirin
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoons grated Asian pear (you can use more) optional
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
Sauce
- 1/2 cup
water (or anchovy, dasima, or vegetable broth) Note 2 - 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar (omit for less sweet dish)
Vegetables (Note 3)
- 4 ounces mushrooms (white, crimini, or shiitaki, oyster, etc.), thinly sliced
- 1 small carrot, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Mix all the marinade ingredients in a large bowl.
- If using packaged pre-sliced meat, separate the slices. Add the meat, onion, and scallions to the marinade. Toss gently, with hands, to mix everything well. Marinate for 30 minutes to an hour in the fridge.
- Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add the meat along with any remaining marinade. Cook the meat for about a minute. Try not to cook off the sauce by lowering the heat if needed. Then, add the vegetables and the sauce. Stir-fry for an additional 2 - 3 minutes until the meat and vegetables are cooked. Serve over rice.
Notes
- Pre-sliced bulgogi meat is sold at Korean markets. Pay a little more to get good quality meat. If cutting the beef at home, partially freeze for about an hour to firm it up for easier slicing. Cut across the grain into about ⅛ - inch thick slices.
- Recipes: anchovy broth or dasima or vegetable broth.
- Bok choy, green cabbage, chili peppers, broccoli, and bell peppers are all good options as well.
Denise says
Love how easy all of your recipes can be made gluten-free
Lidia Sudol says
What type of rice works best in a bulgogi bowl?
Hyosun says
We generally use short grain rice, but really any rice will work.
Suzainee Ibrahim says
Hi, can I skip the mirin or can I substitute with something else…
Hyosun says
You can omit it. It’ll still taste good!
Meghna says
Have tried this with Chicken, and my goodness it was perhaps the best chicken I have had. Much better than the restaurant fare I am used to, anyway.
Thank you so much!
Bigpup says
Can someone send me the recipe for Bulgari and rice when I was in Korea that was my favorite dish
duffy blackie says
Sorry, as far I can see, this site makes it illegal to share!
Steph says
I made this last night.. it was delicious! Thank you for the wonderful recipe 🙂
Hyosun says
That’s great to hear! Hope you find many more recipes you like on my blog.
Leonard Bullard says
Haven’t had any since I left Korea in 1986 will try to make some tomorrow…
Hyosun says
Enjoy!
Hyosun Ro says
Biren – Thank you!
kyototeng – Thank you for trying out my recipes and letting me know how they turned out for you. So happy to hear you and your husband loved them.Look forward to hearing more about your Korean cooking.
Loveforfood – You can make this with chicken if it’s cheaper in your country. Thanks for stopping by!
Loveforfood says
i love bulgogi.. is hard to find in my country because is very expensive.
kyototeng says
Hi Hyosun, this is the 2nd recipe that I tried from your website. The first one I tried was Gamja Jorim, which me and my husband love. This one is as equally awesome. This is one of my favourite blog. Keep blogging. 🙂
Biren @ Roti n Rice says
Your bulgogi rice bowl looks so tasty! Love the marinade. Will have to give it a try. Have a lovely weekend 🙂
Hyosun Ro says
Thanks everyone!
sportsglutton says
Oh man…I love deopbap so much that I have to order it every time I eat out (even if it means a second meal). Great list of ingredients for the marinade.
If you care to check it out, I recently posted a Korean recipe that you might be interested in: http://sports-glutton.com/2011/11/30/spicy-korean-pork-kimchi-burrito-recipe/
cheers!
FoodEpix says
Looks delicious. Would love for you to share this with us over at foodepix.com.
Fern says
I learnt something new again…deopbap! I will definitely try this one! The bulgogi looks really yummy!
Yeah, rice bowls seem to be the perfect way to start the week, huh? :p
Amy says
mouth-watering! Just watched the Kimchee Chronicles on PBS this wknd & this will hit the spot!
Cooking Gallery says
I just had bulgogi some time ago but your beautiful pictures make me want to have bulgogi again…! I love both the original and the spicy versions, very very yummy :)!
Charles says
I love bulgogi so much… I always wondered what was in the marinade but never looked it up… thanks for sharing this delicious looking dish… I’m definitely going to try my own bulgogi sometime soon! 😀
Nami | Just One Cookbook says
Hyosun, this looks so delicious…. I can eat this lunch and dinner and lunch next day…3 consecutive meals! I love the meat and veggies in one and it’s on top of rice. I have tried to “imitate” the marinade but mine is missing something. I need to cook with your recipe! Bookmark and I will try it after my vacation!
Nami | Just One Cookbook says
After seeing Sissi’s post today, I came back and also tried this myself for dinner today. Thank you – it was delicious! It was busy day with kids activities but our dinner was prepared in such a short time. Everyone liked it!!
Hyosun Ro says
Oh that’s very nice of you! So happy to hear your family liked it.
Sissi says
It sounds fantastic! Is the marinade the same you use in the Korean barbecue? I love it so much! I think I will make this dish very soon…