Korean ground beef bowls: fifteen minutes, real ingredients, no soy in sight

Some nights the only real requirement is fast and good. This one gets there in fifteen minutes, and it does not ask you to fake anything. Ground beef browns while a small glaze comes together in the same pan, and what lands in the bowl tastes like something you would order, not something you settled for.

Ground beef is doing real work here. It carries iron and zinc, both of which your body leans on more than usual when it is managing inflammation, and both of which are easy to under-eat on a restricted diet. Ginger and garlic go in for flavor, but they are not empty additions. This is a fifteen-minute dinner that still counts as nourishment.

Use an 80/20 or 85/15 blend if you can. The extra fat keeps the beef from drying out under high heat, and it carries flavor better than a lean cut will.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef, 80/20 or 85/15
• 3 tablespoons coconut aminos
• 1 tablespoon coconut sugar
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Sea salt to taste
• Cauliflower rice, for serving
• Sliced cucumber, julienned carrot, and sliced green onion, for serving

The traditional version of this dish leans on soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and a hit of chili. Coconut aminos stands in for the soy sauce, apple cider vinegar for the rice vinegar, and the sesame oil and chili are left out rather than swapped. You do not lose much. The ginger and garlic carry plenty of flavor on their own.

Method

• Whisk the coconut aminos, coconut sugar, apple cider vinegar, ginger, and garlic together in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and a pinch of salt, breaking it apart as it browns, about 5 to 6 minutes, until no pink remains.
• Pour in the sauce and stir to coat the beef. Let it bubble and reduce for 1 to 2 minutes, until it clings to the meat rather than pooling in the pan.
• Serve over cauliflower rice with cucumber, carrot, and green onion on top.

*Adapted from unboundwellness.com by Michelle Hoover*