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!!!
I made this tonight and the only things I changed – I used 350g mince instead of 500g and I added a small squirt of Sriracha sauce plus I didn’t have any shallots. I like my dishes saucy. This was beautiful, so easy!!! You could add some green veggies – beans, broccoli or broccolini it would only add to the dish. I served over brown rice, I love how simple and easy this is!
I’m so glad you loved it Karen!!
This was a bowl of warming, delicious yum! This was my Thursday night answer to takeaway and, let me tell you, it certainly disappoint!
Wahoo! That’s great to hear Sarah!
I LOVE this recipe. I’ve made it many times. It’s my favorite goto recipe for when I’ve had a long day at work and looking for something fast, easy and delicious!
Perfect Sarah!
Which Chinese cooking wine do you mostly use for Chinese cooking?
I use Premium Shaoxing cooking wine. Got it on Amazon. Big bottle and will last a long time.
I’ve made this recipe lots of times. Delicious! It is worth seeking out the Dark soy sauce. It does make a difference.
Super quick, easy and delicious – recipe is a winner with my family.
I’m so glad you loved it Claire – N x
Love this recipe! Very easy and tasty— clean up was also a breeze! We added some jicama, carrots, and a bit of leftover cabbage. Very flexible dish and can’t wait to make it again.
Yes perfect Jess!
Will using Tamari work in your recipes? Gluten free over here
Hi Telicia, sure will!
A nice, fast recipe with good flavour. My kids loved it but I added some sriracha for a little kick. I used green peppers instead of the onions since I’ve got lots from the garden. I also put it on bean vermicelli. Perhaps it detracted a little bit from what it should taste like?
Hi Gordon, I’m glad you enjoyed it even with the changes!
I made this recipe exactly as written a while ago. It was excellent. The sauce is absolutely delicious. I made it again yesterday using finely diced chicken instead of ground beef. And because the sauce is so good, I doubled the sauce. Just like the ground beef version, it was excellent!!
YESSSS! Sounds great Brian – N x
Hi, Nagi. Just tried this recipe for lunch today. Absolutely delicious. When I mixed the sauce, I though it tasted too strong but when I cooked it together with the beef, it turned out fine. Lovely with sesame seeds on top and a nice sunny side up egg. I will definitely add to my recipe arsenal.
Perfect Anne!
Made the Asian beef bowl and the Asian slaw.My family loved it.It was scrumptious.Thank you for all your wonderful recipes.Love the pics of Dozer too.
Thanks so much for letting me know you enjoyed it Susan!
Great flavours in this, we’ve made it many times and it always disappears. I stir through some lightly steamed vegies like broccoli and carrot at the end as well
Sounds amazing Jo!
This is a staple in our family of 5. I’ve made it many times now. I usually make bulk and freeze. Green vegetables on the side. Love it.
Helps to have this made in the fridge. Come home from work late but can still put together a tasty meal and not rely on take outs. 😉
Thank you for the recipe!
Nagi….this looks sooo good. Could you give me an idea of how much rice should be made for example 50 guests? Contemplating making this to serve in the community to those in need.
Thanks Nagi….and give a treat to Dozer for us too o.k….always look for his pic first when we access RecipeTinEats.
Hi Gail, what a lovely gesture!!! The norm is about 1/2 cup of uncooked rice per person. So I’d say 25 cups of uncooked rice will serve 50 guests. Rice doubles in size – so that’s 1 cup of cooked rice per person (which is PLENTY). – N x
So easy, quick and delicious! Perfect!
Yessss! The perfect midweek meal Danielle – N x
This was so much more flavorful than other Asian beef bowls I have made. I sautéed some mushrooms with the onions since I had them on hand. My picky husband loved it.
Perfect Emily!
Been going a bit nuts with your recipes of late Nagi and made this tonight. This is without one of the “best bang for your buck” recipes on here. A piece of cake to make, super quick and the end result is spectacular. The balance that you got with the sauce ingredients is absolutely perfect, spot on!
This a hit with the family, grown ups loved and the littlies went back for seconds. I doubled the sauce as I was using 800g of mince and it still worked excellently, although it needed about 3 or 4 minutes for the sauce to evaporate.
A really terrific recipe and I’m thinking that it could work in other uses, for example as a filling for steamed buns or even as a warm wrap filling with some pickled veges.
Absolutely loved this. We’ve had it with noodles too, which I think we prefer. Super fast and tasty.
Made this last night for dinner. I added red capsicum and green beans to start and finished with basil, coriander and vietnamese mint. It was an excellent speedy and tasty meal. Thank you Nagi.
So quick and delicious!!! Will become a staple in my house!
Perfect Eileen!