These Korean Beef Stuffed Peppers feature a flavorful Asian-inspired dish where we bake bell peppers filled with a zesty, spicy ground beef mixture, making it a delicious and easy meal.
Korean Beef Stuffed Peppers
These Korean Stuffed Peppers offer a delightful and hearty dish that’s especially enjoyable during the fall and winter seasons. They bring a twist to the traditional Stuffed Peppers recipe by infusing it with new and exciting flavors, inspired by Korean beef bulgogi.
The key to transforming this classic dish lies in the sauce used for cooking the ground beef filling. This sauce is a harmonious blend of Korean seasonings, including hoisin sauce, rice wine vinegar, and soy sauce, complemented by familiar Stuffed Peppers ingredients like ketchup and sriracha. It’s a fusion of East and West flavors that creates a unique and delicious experience.
While the filling of these Korean Stuffed Peppers doesn’t include rice, you have the option to serve them with a side of rice. Whether it’s white rice, brown rice, or egg fried rice, they all pair wonderfully with these peppers. Additionally, a classic Korean side dish like kimchi, a delectable fermented cabbage, would make a perfect accompaniment, enhancing the spicy and tangy notes of these Korean Beef Stuffed Peppers.
What is Korean Beef Bulgogi?
Korean beef, commonly known as “bulgogi,” stands as a quintessential Korean culinary delight renowned for its distinctive, sweet, and savory marinade. Typically featuring thinly sliced, top-quality cuts of beef like ribeye or sirloin, this dish involves marinating the beef in a blend of soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, and various other seasonings before grilling or pan-frying to perfection.
How to Make Korean Beef Stuffed Peppers
- Preparation time: To begin, preheat your oven. Halve each green bell pepper, removing the stem and any seeds.
- Beef mixture: In a large skillet over medium heat, combine the ground beef, salt, pepper, and onions. Stir and break apart the meat to ensure it browns evenly. Once the meat has cooked, drain any excess grease from the top. Then, add the garlic, sesame oil, ketchup, hoisin sauce, water, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and sriracha. Stir until the mixture is thoroughly combined.
- Baking time: Arrange the prepared bell peppers in a baking dish. Fill each pepper half with the beef mixture. Pour beef broth around the peppers, then cover the dish. Bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds before serving.
Essential Elements
- Ground beef: Opt for ground meat when preparing the stuffed pepper filling. It has a higher fat content that allows it to absorb flavors effectively and prevents it from drying out during baking. Ground beef closely resembles beef bulgogi but is well-suited for the extended baking time.
- Sauce ingredients: The ground beef mixture is enriched with delectable Korean BBQ flavors, thanks to essential Asian sauce ingredients. Sesame oil, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and rice wine vinegar are staples in Korean cuisine.
- Sriracha: Sriracha imparts a delightful spicy kick, akin to the heat you’d encounter in traditional Korean spicy pastes like Korean chili paste or gochujang paste. It offers a readily available option for cooks worldwide.
- Sesame Oil: When using sesame oil, exercise caution as it possesses a potent and pronounced flavor. Precise measurement is crucial since an excessive amount can overpower the dish.
- Green pepper: Green peppers are the ideal choice for the Korean beef filling as they contribute a vibrant garden-like flavor with a slight bitterness that complements the spicy and rich umami flavors.
- Beef Broth: Pouring beef broth around the stuffed peppers before baking helps maintain their moisture throughout cooking. It also infuses the dish with additional savory beefy notes.
- Garnish: These delectable Korean Beef Peppers receive a traditional Asian finish with sesame seeds and green onions. Sesame seeds introduce a subtle nutty essence and a pleasing crunch, while thinly sliced green onions provide fresh, vibrant flavor and a visual contrast.
Is it possible to prepare Korean Beef Stuffed Peppers in advance?
Certainly, you can prepare Korean Beef Stuffed Peppers in advance. Prepare the beef mixture and stuff the peppers one day ahead, then refrigerate them until you’re ready to cook. On the serving day, pour the beef broth into the baking dish and bake following the instructions. Additionally, you can stuff the peppers and freeze them for up to 3 months. Individually wrap them tightly with plastic wrap and store them in a container or freezer bag. It’s recommended to cook them from frozen, and you may need to add approximately 10-15 minutes to the cooking time.
Variations
To enhance the authenticity of these peppers, consider incorporating various seasonings such as fresh ginger or ground ginger, soybean paste, chili powder, or chili pepper flakes for added flavor.
For the meat component, feel free to experiment with different types of ground meat, such as ground pork, ground chicken, or ground turkey. If you desire a beefy taste while reducing calories, opt for lean ground beef as an alternative.
To infuse a sweet and tangy quality into the filling, blend brown sugar with the sauce ingredients. A recommended amount would be 2-3 tablespoons of brown sugar to achieve a rich, sticky, sweet sauce.
For a vegetarian option, replace the ground beef with a plant-based ground meat substitute or a medley of finely chopped vegetables like mushrooms, zucchini, and eggplant. You can also incorporate cooked quinoa or rice for added protein.
For those who crave an extra kick of spiciness, increase the sriracha or introduce sliced fresh chili peppers to the beef mixture. You can also serve the finished peppers with spicy Korean gochujang sauce or top them with spicy kimchi for a refreshing and tangy spiciness.
Ingredients
- 3 bell peppers , halved
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef , 85/15 fat content
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup hoisin
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon sriracha
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
- 2 green onions , sliced thinly
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius).
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the ground beef, salt, pepper, and diced onions. Cook, breaking apart the meat, until it’s well browned.
- Drain any excess grease from the skillet.
- Add in the minced garlic, sesame oil, ketchup, hoisin sauce, water, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and sriracha sauce. Stir well to combine and bring the mixture to a simmer. Then, turn off the heat.
- Cut each green bell pepper in half and remove the stem and seeds. You should have 8 pepper halves.
- Place the prepared bell pepper halves in a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Scoop the beef mixture into each of the bell pepper halves, distributing it evenly.
- Pour the beef broth around the sides of the bell peppers in the baking dish. This helps keep the peppers moist during baking.
- Cover the baking dish with a lid or aluminum foil.
- Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 50 minutes or until the bell peppers are tender.
- Once the stuffed bell peppers are done baking, remove them from the oven.
- Garnish with chopped green onions and sesame seeds when serving.
- Serve hot and enjoy your delicious homemade stuffed bell peppers! You can adjust the sriracha sauce to your preferred level of spiciness or omit it if you prefer a milder flavor.
Nutrition
Calories: 361kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 78mg | Sodium: 1517mg | Potassium: 621mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 1969IU | Vitamin C: 78mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 3mg