Korean Style Beef Bowl

Early in the pandemic, when it looked like there might be shortages of some things, my household went wildly different directions. I stocked up on dried legumes--there was no way I was going to do without lentils and chickpeas and pinto beans for months on end. My husband, in contrast, got a cow. And when he found out that we did not have the open freezer space to manage that sort of a purchase, he got cracking on finding us a used one. The new ones at that point were on a six month wish list, and so that is how we went on a very rewarding quest for different and interesting recipes for ground beef, amongst which this is one. Easy weeknight nothing fancy but delicious and kid friendly. 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed 1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce 2 teaspoons sesame oil 1/2 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes, or more to taste 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 pound ground beef 2 green onions, thinly sliced 1/4 teaspoon sesame seeds In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flakes and ginger. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add ground beef and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks; drain excess fat. Stir in soy sauce mixture and green onions until well combined, allowing to simmer until heated through, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately, garnished with green onion and sesame seeds, if desired.