Pan-Asian Beef Bowls
Totally inauthentic but utterly delicious and soy free (Vegan Option, too!)
Growing up in suburban Texas, my only knowledge of anything remotely close to Asian food was the Szechuan restaurant near my home. My kid-friendly order was, of course, sweet and sour chicken. I got braver as I got into my teens and started ordering spicy Szechuan chicken or Kung Pao chicken, thinking I was much more sophisticated, still very unaware of how far from the actual cuisine these dishes actually were.
In my late teens, I vaguely remember being invited to an Indonesian restaurant with my parents. Their landlords owned a restaurant in Dallas and they wanted to share their cuisine as a gift to my parents. It was so far from my suburban grid that I didn’t enjoy it and that is one of my regrets. Had I been more open-minded to the story behind their recipes, I would have learned of an exotic place through tasting what in my mind’s eye resembled muddy water and unidentifiable ingredients…was that an eyeball? However, my wish to be anywhere else but there precluded what could have been an awesome culinary experience even if the flavors weren’t my favorite.
Later, in California, a friend asked if I would like to learn to make Indian food from a friend of hers who was visiting from Mumbai. I jumped at the chance to be her sous chef. It was an amazing day of chopping, talking and just watching how these complex flavors came together into something so delicious. I learned about spices I never knew existed and haven’t forgotten. This time, I was much older and present, unafraid to ask questions and thrilled to hear her stories of life in India.
Those two experiences are as close as I’ve gotten to authentic Asian cuisine, although, really, that term is severely broad since the continent is almost 1/3 of the earth and has 48 different countries. I have not visited any part of the continent so I cannot claim to create anything close to authentic whether I’m creating a recipe that nods to the cuisines of Thailand, Vietnam, India, China or otherwise.
While there may be exceptions found in immigrant neighborhoods prevalent in larger cities, most of what is considered Asian cuisine in the US is not authentic or has been modified to fit our American palates.
The hallmark of authentic Asian cuisines, however, is the balance of sweet, salty, sour and spicy. It’s why it lures us in and we can’t seem to get enough. As I was creating this recipe, I brought together all my favorite flavors from these widely varying countries and cuisines, keeping this balance in mind, and the result was truly fabulous.
Therefore, I’m calling it, loosely mind you, a Pan Asian Beef Bowl and not claiming any authenticity. It’s a sweet and spicy ground beef stir fry that hints of the Sichuan region of China with chiles, sesame and peanuts, and finished with all the fresh herbs and pickled veggies familiar to Southeast Asian cuisines.
It Starts with Rice
Like many Asian dishes, this bowl starts with a bed of rice. In the Asian culture there is a whole system to making rice and many homes have a rice cooker. However, if you don’t have a rice cooker, making rice can be problematic. Follow the directions on a bag of rice and you, like me may have many batches of rice go into the trash because they were a mass of white goo or the grains were only half cooked. I have perfected the rice cooker free method and wanted to share it with you!
Combine 1 part rice to 1.5 parts water in a medium saucepan with a drizzle of avocado oil and pinch of salt. Most package recipes say 1 to 2 ratio and this is too much water.
Bring to a boil then immediately reduce heat to low and cover.
Cook for 10-15 minutes or until you can tilt the pan and no water is visible.
Remove from heat and place a clean kitchen towel between the lid and pan. Let sit for 5-10 minutes
Run a fork through it to fluff and break up the grains of rice completely.
Pan Asian Beef Bowl & Rice Ingredients
The ingredients are fairly simple and although there are a few steps, ingredients overlap.
Ground beef & Jasmine Rice (Natch…hence the name)
Stir Fry Veggies - Onions, garlic, ginger and coleslaw mix or shredded cabbage
Fresh Veggies - Cucumbers, shredded carrots and optional radishes and jalapenos
Bottled or DIY Teriyaki Sauce (my fave soy-free brand and DIY recipe are in PDF)
Fresh Herbs - cilantro, green onions
Crunchy things - Peanuts or cashews and sesame seeds
Limes
Ground Beef Stir Fry - Weeknight Dinner’s BFF
Stir fry is quick any way you look at it. The most time-consuming part is the knife work to slice meat and chop veggies but with ground beef (see notes for other options) there’s no slicing of meat.
I’ve doubled down on simplicity by using pre-cut veggie hacks and Primal Kitchen No Soy Teriyaki Sauce (the cleanest storebought condiment brand I’ve found!). Click the and use RFSVIP for 10% off your first order. If you prefer to DIY, I’ve included an easy Sweet & Spicy Teriyaki Sauce recipe on the PDF.
The remaining ingredients for the bowl are quick pickled cucumbers (literally 2 minutes of prep) and chopped herbs plus sesame seeds and peanuts for added crunch.
Pro-tip: Use your cutting board as your very efficient holding place. Chop your onions and garlic then after adding to the ground beef, cut all the veggies for the bowl and scoot them over to the side of the cutting board in small sections. No need for small bowls to hold everything. (See photo.)
Notes:
Budget Friendly - Ground beef, veggies and rice are naturally budget friendly but save a little extra buying carrots and cabbage to shred instead of coleslaw mix and pre-shredded carrots. Use the DIY version of the teriyaki sauce instead of buying Primal Kitchen.
Meal Prep - Cook the beef with all the veggies up to the point of adding sauce. Don’t cook to reduce sauce at all. Cool and store up to 5 days. Make the rice and cool quickly on a baking sheet then store up to 3 days. (You can freeze it for up to 3 months.) The quick pickled cucumbers, herbs and other veggies can be prepped and stored individually in bowls. Heat the beef mixture briefly until the sauce has thickened to coat the beef and veggies.
Make Ahead Lunch - Portion out the beef and rice in individual storage bowls. Portion the toppings in divided containers.
Vegan - Use Abbot’s Butcher beef or chicken. (This is the cleanest brand of plant-based meat subs.)
Low Carb/Keto/Paleo/Whole30 - Use cauliflower rice.
Kid Friendly - Skip the chile garlic sauce to make it less spicy. Serve everything separately for them to choose what they want on top. The veggies really cook into the beef so they may not even notice them.
Subs for Beef - Any ground meat or the Abbot’s Butcher vegan sub mentioned above. You can also use very thinly sliced chicken or steak if you don’t like the texture of ground meat.
Pan Asian Beef Bowl Full Recipe
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