This Instant Pot Korean Beef can be used for tacos or turned into delicious bowls – just add rice, kimchi and sriracha mayo!
Ingredients and substitutions
Korean beef
- Sirloin steak – any boneless cut of beef will work. You can even try making this recipe with ground beef.
- Cornstarch – arrowroot or tapioca starch will also work.
- Baking soda – you can leave this out, but the steak won’t be as tender.
- Sesame oil – a neutral cooking oil like olive oil will work, but it won’t have as much flavour.
- Soy sauce – coconut aminos or tamari are the best substitutes for soy sauce.
- Hoisin sauce – oyster sauce will provide a similar flavour.
- Beef broth – swap out the beef broth for some vegetable broth instead.
- Garlic – freshly minced or jarred garlic can both be used.
- Gingerroot – use ground ginger powder if you don’t have any fresh ginger on hand.
- Sriracha – feel free to leave this out if you don’t like spice or use another hot sauce of your choice.
Sriracha mayo
- Light mayo – you can use a store-bought sauce instead.
- Sriracha – swap out for another variety of soy sauce.
Rice
- White rice – serve your Korean beef with brown rice or another rice variety of your choice.
- Butter – use a butter substitute or olive oil to help make the rice nice and moist.
- Salt – to taste.
Toppings
- Red cabbage – use a coleslaw mix instead.
- Kimchi – swap out for another topping like shredded carrots, sliced cucumbers or radishes.
- Cilantro – leave this out altogether if you’re not a fan of cilantro.
- Scallions – green onions would also be good.
- Sesame seeds – black or white sesame seeds would both work here.
How to make Korean beef in the Instant Pot
- Tenderize the steak.
- Add the beef ingredients to the Instant Pot.
- Cook on high pressure for 2 minutes.
- Assemble your toppings, serve and enjoy!
What to serve with Korean beef
You can serve this dish over some rice with lots of toppings, so they’re basically homemade Korean beef bowls. You can add on any toppings you like – it’s a great way to clear out your vegetable crisper!
The spicy sweet flavour of the meat also tastes fantastic in tacos. Serve the Korean beef in corn or flour tortillas with traditional taco toppings, or keep the Asian theme and top them with shredded cabbage, kimchi and sriracha sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions
Korean beef is an Americanized dish that incorporates Korean-inspired flavours. This recipe is made with sirloin steak, sesame oil, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, beef broth, garlic, gingerroot and sriracha.
I used thinly sliced sirloin steak for this recipe, but any boneless cut of beef should work. Just make sure that it’s thinly sliced so it cooks evenly.
This delicious dish tastes very similar to a traditional Korean dish known as bulgogi. It’s a little bit sweet and slightly spicy, but it’s not overly spicy at all. Because of this, it is enjoyable for everyone, even people who don’t typically tolerate spicy food well.
Storing and reheating
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They should keep well for up to 5 days. You can reheat this dish in a pan on the stovetop, in a wok, in the microwave or using the sauté function of the Instant Pot. Be sure to sprinkle some water over top before reheating to keep the beef and rice from drying out and stir partway through reheating.
Freezing this recipe
After cooling, transfer this dish to freezer-safe containers and freeze for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to enjoy, defrost this recipe in the fridge overnight and then reheat as normal. You can also reheat from frozen in the microwave for 7-8 minutes, stirring a couple of times throughout.
More Asian-inspired Instant Pot recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning this dish into your weekly lunches.
- I get all my grass-fed ground beef from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen.
- Order some sriracha mayo online.
- Freeze this recipe in glass microwave-safe bowls for up to 3 months.
Instant Pot Korean Beef
Ingredients
Korean beef
- 16 oz sirloin steak, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
- 1/4 cup beef broth
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp gingerroot, minced
- 1 tbsp sriracha
Sriracha mayo – you can use store bought instead
- 1/4 cup light mayo
- 1 tbsp sriracha
Rice
- 1 cup white rice
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 tsp butter
- 1 pinch salt
Toppings
- 1 cup thinly sliced red cabbage
- 1/2 cup kimchi
- Fresh chopped cilantro, for garnish
- Scallions, for garnish
- Sesame seeds, for garnish
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot to saute mode. Thinly slice steak across the grain then toss with cornstarch and baking soda.
- Add sesame oil to Instant Pot, then add steak and saute for 2-3 minutes until steak is lightly browned. Add remaining ingredients under the Korean beef heading, then place lid on Instant Pot and make sure valve is set to seal. Press the pressure cook button and set to high, then cook for 2 minutes. Instant Pot will take about 5-10 minutes to come to pressure then pressure cook for 2 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook rice in a rice cooker, prepare toppings and mix together sriracha mayo (if needed) while beef is cooking.
- Do a quick release of the pressure on the Instant Pot by flicking the switch at the top with a spoon. Open the lid when pressure gauge has dropped and the lid opens easily.
- Add rice to bowls, followed by Korean beef, sriracha mayo and toppings, then serve and enjoy!
