Slow Cooker Korean Spicy Beef | Culture & Cuisine
The past few weeks I’ve hinted, well if you count flat out stating what it is, at what my next language is going to be. Yes, I know, I still haven’t completed my HSK Exam and am not yet even conversational in Russian.
But when a language calls to you, a language calls to you.
So, not-so-surprise! I’m going to learn Korean!
Why? Well, mostly because food, but also because I already have a ton of resources for it (by chance) and it just stood out to me amongst the other languages I’ve considered. I also found that I’ve slowly started shifting away from European languages and towards Asian languages. I guess Chinese was just that much fun.
Anyway, this isn’t supposed to be a language post – it’s a culture and cuisine post! So let’s talk about food.
The Wonder That is Slow Cooking
As my schedule has filled up with performances, book reviews, HSK test preparation, and so on, I’ve had less time to spend in the kitchen experimenting with new recipes.
This is where my Crockpot comes in.
We had been given one as a wedding present, but it sat in the box for the last three years because I had not ever used one before and wasn’t totally sure what to do with it. My mom is a pro with her slow cooker and I remember coming home from school to the smells of delicious foods that had been marinating and cooking in her slow cooker all day. It was always so delicious smelling that I often snuck a piece or two of whatever was being kept warm long before dinner was served.
Part of the reason my mom loved to use her slow cooker is because she was always busy and worked until late at night. Using the Crockpot allowed her to prepare dinner for us so that my dad wouldn’t have to (although he is also an excellent cook). But after a long day at work and a two hour commute home, the last thing my dad wanted to do was prepare anything beyond microwaving a tv dinner (which I’m starting to totally understand despite it not yet getting to that point).
A Recipe for Slow Cooker Korean Spicy Beef
- 1 cup of beef broth
- 1/2 cup of soy sauce
- 1/2 cup of brown sugar
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon of grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon of Sriracha (you can add more in if you prefer it spicy)
- 1/2 an onion cut into thin slices
- 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper
- 1-2 lbs of boneless beef
- 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
- Sesame seeds to taste
- Sliced green onions to taste
Slow Cooker Korean Beef
Notes
- 1 cup of beef broth
- 1/2 cup of soy sauce
- 1/2 cup of brown sugar
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon of grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon of Sriracha (you can add more in if you prefer it spicy)
- 1/2 an onion cut into thin slices
- 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper
- 1-2 lbs of boneless beef
- 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
- Sesame seeds to taste
- Sliced green onions to taste
Directions
In a large bowl, whisk the beef broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, ginger, Sriracha, and white pepper together. Place beef into your slow cooker and pour in beef broth mix. Add in onion and garlic. Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high heat for 3-4 hours. Remove meat. In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and 1/4 cup water. Stir in mixture into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high heat for an additional 30 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened. Once the meat is done cooking, remove it from the crockpot and use your preferred method to shred the meat. Grease a pan with oil and cook on high heat until the meat is seared. Serve immediately, garnished with green onions and sesame seeds, if desired. This recipe was inspired by this recipe on DamnDelicious.
Directions
In a large bowl, whisk the beef broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, ginger, Sriracha, and white pepper together.
Place beef into your slow cooker and pour in beef broth mix. Add in onion and garlic.
Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high heat for 3-4 hours. Remove meat.
In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and 1/4 cup water. Stir in mixture into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high heat for an additional 30 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened.
Once the meat is done cooking, remove it from the crockpot and use your preferred method to shred the meat.
Grease a pan with oil and cook on high heat until the meat is seared.
Serve immediately, garnished with green onions and sesame seeds, if desired.
This recipe was inspired by this recipe on DamnDelicious.
Do you have a Crockpot? Have you made Korean food? What are some of your favorite recipes? I’d love to hear about them in the comments.
