If you are running out of ideas on what you can use your store-bought ground beef for. Maybe whipping up some Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps should be one of the recipes you might want to consider.
Korean beef lettuce wraps have ingredients that are inexpensive, easily accessible and simple to make. Not to mention that the vegetables added onto the ground beef. Will provide a nutritious addition to what is already a scrumptious food on its own.
If you are scouring the internet and have landed here in search for recipes on what you can do with your ground beef. Look no further for we are going to discuss in great detail as to how you can cook and prepare some Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps!
Gochujang Sauce with Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps – A Good Combo!?
Gochujang sauce, for those of you who are not aware, is a sticky and spicy paste that is a staple in almost all Korean dishes. They are made of spices, peppers and salts that give it that spice that just makes it a bit unappealing for those who are not tolerant to spices, but serves as a great flavour enhancer for those who are accustomed to spicy food.
In turn, gochujang goes well with anything that is a Korean recipe, which for this one is going to be Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps!
To start, prepare the following ingredients so we can start cooking up you Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps!
- Ground beef – one pound of lean meat
- White rice – one cup, long grained
- Soy sauce – one fourth of a cup. If you wish for a sauce that is free of gluten, you can substitute it for Tamari or gluten-free soy sauce.
- Coconut sugar – two tablespoons. If unavailable, you can substitute it with white sugar or honey as sweeteners.
- Chili garlic sauce – one half of a teaspoon. Feel free to add or reduce this amount as the variation may depend upon preference
- Ground ginger – a quarter of a teaspoon
- Sesame seeds – one teaspoon, toasted. Add more for garnish
- Green onions – two bulbs. Chop and divide the white, dark and light green parts
- Sesame oil – two teaspoons
- Garlic – two cloves, either minced or pressed
- White pepper – a pinch, to taste
- Lettuce – either head butter or Boston Bibb should do. Separate the leaves.
- Gochujang Sauce or Paste – one pack, to dab onto each lettuce piece
Instructions on how to cook Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps with Gochujang Sauce
Step 1:
The first thing that you are going to do is to cook some rice. Cook the onto the rice cooker and let it keep warm when it is done cooking.
But if you do not have a rice cooker nor you do not know how to cook rice, do the following:
- Get a small cooking pot with a lid and pour the rice in the pot. Pour some water from the faucet and whisk the rice with your hand, getting rid of the powder that is still in the rice. Drain the water but dam the rice with your hand. Repeat this step if there are still powders stuck in the rice.
- Next, pour one and a half cups of rice onto the pot and with your hand, level the rice and making sure that the rice is settled flat onto the pot. Put the pot on the stove and place the lid on top.
- Fire up the stove and set it to medium to high heat. When the water starts to boil, lower the fire to about medium. Once the water has simmered down onto the rice, turn off the stove immediately and let the rice cook from its own heat. Get a fork and fluff the rice after five minutes.
Step 2:
While the rice is still cooking, pour the coconut sugar, ground ginger, chili garlic sauce, Tamari or soy sauce and sesame seeds into a small bowl and whisk them altogether. Put them aside afterwards.
Step 3:
In a twelve-inch skillet, heat sesame oil over medium to high heat. Throw in the ground beef as well as the light green and white parts of the onions onto the skillet and fry them thoroughly. For about thirty or so seconds, throw in some garlic and continue to sauté. After which, get the sauce and pour it in the skillet and sauté for another minute or so.
Step 4:
As for the lettuce leaves, make sure that the leaves are separated from one another and each leaf is individually washed and rinsed from the tap.
Shape them into bowl-like structures that should hold up the rice in a cup. However, if the lettuces are too flimsy or struggle to maintain the bowl-like structure, you can use a bowl instead to cup the lettuce leaves together.
Step 5:
With a large wooden spoon or ladle, scoop up and place some rice over the lettuce leaves and place the mixture of Korean beef on top of the rice, then drizzle it with the dark green parts of the onions and if you have some, the extra sesame seeds.
Step 6:
For the pièce de résistance, get your Gochujang Sauce or Paste and with a teaspoon, add a dot or dab on top of the Korean beef mixture and enjoy.
Conclusion
Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps are not only a healthy meal or snack for you, but if done right and properly, can be a delicious meal, to boot!
The ingredients of Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps are not only cheap, but they are also easy to find and convenient to make in your very own kitchen!
You are not only limited to the ingredients that have been provided above in whipping up some Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps for yourself. In fact, you can add in some bell peppers, tomatoes, garnish, coleslaw and even horse radish if you are into that kind of flavour and taste!
Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps therefore is not only healthy, but it is also delicious, affordable, convenient and versatile!
Check my other post on cooking beef roast and beef noodle soup.
