Korean Takeout at Home...in a Flash!

As I have griped about many, many times before, I live in tiny little 'Burgh with a dearth of great food, especially ethnic cuisine. Although, to be fair, in recent years, we've have added Thai, Indian, and even Himalayan/Nepalese/Bhutanese. But one thing our fair city is in desperate need of is Korean food!

So when my friend, Jaymie, shared this recipe on Facebook, I was all over it like white on...well, you know. Of course, you could get fancy and make this with sliced flank steak and throw in some broccoli for color and added nutrition. But when you make it with ground beef, it's SUPER easy, and you can have it served up in less time that it takes to find an old take-out menu. The one main change I made to the recipe was to add some of my homemade kimchi, but you can skip it if you don't have any.  Anyway you make it, this is a fast, easy, flexible dish that is DEFINITELY going into the regular rotation around here!

Korean Beef with Kimchi

(Source: adapted from Six Sisters' Stuff)

1 lb. lean ground beef

3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce (low-sodium, or 2T regular soy sauce)
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled and grated (I often use the stuff in a tube for convenience)
1/2 - 1 teaspoon crushed red peppers, to taste (I used 1T Korean red pepper paste)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup kimchi, chopped, optional

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 bunch green onions, diced

steamed rice

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and brown the ground beef with the garlic. Drain off the fat and add the brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, red pepper flakes or paste, black pepper, and kimchi (if using). Simmer for a few minutes to blend the flavors. Remove from heat and stir in the sesame oil. Serve over steamed rice and garnish with green onions.