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
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Delicious! As a lazy dinner option on a warm evening I added the mixture into lettuce cups. 7yr and 4yr old demolished.
Yum! Easy and tasty
I followed the recipe to the letter and thought the dish was a bit bland. It needs pepping up – maybe a touch of ginger and some chilli. Next time I’ll know.
Cooked this one time and time again. Super easy and delicious – thank you!
This is fabulous (I’m eating it now and had to stop and say how good it is!). Because I’m supremely lazy I tossed in shredded carrots, chopped broccoli, and water chestnuts and made it a complete meal in a bowl over rice.
Delicious. What a great budget friendly meal that all the family loved. I catered for each with side veg. Saved as a favourite
Thanks Nagi for a massive family favourite, everyone loves it! I add finely diced zucchini to increase the veg and chopped water chestnuts for crunch. YUM!!
This was amazing, my kids 11,13 and 14 loved it and asked if they can take it to school for lunch. I was generous with the sauces didn’t quite stick to recipe lol, i also added shredded cabbage and grated carrot and it was so so good. Thank you for giving me something yummo to make with boring old mince!
Easy to make with ingredients around the house. Delicious too! Thanks! I’ve always loved your recipes.
Another amazing quick fix from Nagi for a working mama’s dinner!
Made it again before coming out for a mamas’ evening drink. The kids forgot to complain that I was leavning ;P
Thanks Nagi!
Are “finely chopped” onions the same as diced? Or is it a slightly larger cut?
Hi Allister – finely chopped are smaller than a regular dice. You can see the size in the recipe video & in the ingredients shot – I usually cut around 5mm for a fine chop 🙂 N x
I don’t know why it took me forever to cook this but damn! This is f*$&ing delish! Pardon my french, you prude people. I thought this would be similar to Soboro I’ve made in the past but this is just tastier. Served it with blanched bean sprouts and pickled ginger. I died and went to “mince heaven”. Arigato Nagi!
WOOT! I love hearing this, I’m so glad you tried it!! N x
Looks like this could be made with “Charlie” and add some Hoisin to it. This might be part of tonight’s dinner!
Hi Nagi,
This was sooo quick and tasty.
Thanks!
Holly x
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! N x
Delicious, so much flavour for such an easy recipe. Another one added to my favourites!
This is a great recipe. Quick and easy with very tasty results! I used vegan pea-protein mince and teriyaki instead of oyster / hoisin sauce and it came out really well.
I added slivered water chestnuts for some crunch. I also added mushrooms because I really like mushrooms. I hope you don’t mind.
Wow! Another great recipe and so versatile, I made exactly as stated and it was delicious, a perfect mid week easy cook, incredibly tasty meal. We enjoyed with cucumber sticks and Chinese pancakes tonight…. however, I can already think of slight tweaks to enjoy differently, such as adding chilli etc, scooping into lettuce leaves, noodles, rice… the list is endless.
Thanks again for another great recipe!
This is the best mince recipe!! We are mostly plant based and treat ourselves to beef once a month. This is the go-to dish! I add ginger and tonight edamame beans + broccoli over black rice. Delicious! Thank you for all your wonderful recipes 🙂
This is genuinely tasty!! I did half the meat and adjusted the sauce quantity, but should just have done it all, so good!!!