Korean Beef Sloppy Joes made with sweet and spicy flavors with a punch of garlic that’s a fun change from the classic sloppy joes.
One of the most popular recipes on the site is super easy Korean Ground Beef and these sloppy joes are a delicious sloppy Korean take on the ever popular Ultimate Sloppy Joes.
Korean Beef Sloppy Joes
Happy Monday everyone! August is so confusing to me because as a kid we all used to have August as a non-school summer month. All the kids in our neighborhood are either starting this week or next week and some of my client’s kids have already started school!
These sloppy joe recipes we’ve been posting every Monday are our ode to the school week. A quick and easy dinner recipe you can change up with easy pantry ingredients that your kids will love.
That’s the idea anyway. We find ourselves looking forward to these Sloppy Joe’s even more than the kids are! These Korean Beef Sloppy Joes are no exception, they’re the sloppy answer to the kid friendly ground beef bowl that is ALL over Pinterest.
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Can I serve this mixture instead of the regular Korean Ground Beef? Yes, this mixture is a saucier version of that recipe but you can absolutely serve it over rice. In fact you may even prefer this version.
Sometimes when we make the regular version and we reheat leftovers they can get a bit dry. If you serve this version over rice even when you reheat it you’ll still have plenty of moisture in the mixture.
The original sloppy joes had vegetables as part of the recipe. This mixture doesn’t contain any hidden vegetables but it very easily can. My favorite of the list below? Carrots and zucchini. They don’t detract from the flavors at all.
HIDDEN SLOPPY JOES VEGETABLES:
- green bell pepper, chopped finely (red is sweeter but this mixture is already pretty sweet)
- onions (yellow or green), chopped finely
- zucchini, chopped finely
- carrots, shredded or chopped finely and steamed
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WHAT GOES GOOD WITH Korean Beef SLOPPY JOES FOR A SIDE DISH?
We love serving these sloppy joes with steamed broccoli and carrots. If you roast the broccoli and the carrots at a higher temperature and slice them thinly you may even be able to get nice crisp edges on them which could make them taste like fries.
TIPS FOR MAKING THESE Korean Beef SLOPPY JOES:
- Make sure your ingredients are ready ahead of time in a large measuring cup, don’t let the pan scorch.
- .If you want the sandwich to be saucier or have a kick of spice serve it with spicy mayo (a mixture of Sriracha and mayonnaise).
- Stop cooking when its just slightly too wet still, it will thicken as it sits for a couple minutes.
- If you want to meal prep just leave the sauce extra saucy before shutting off the heat. You may need a bit of water when reheating.
Are you going to join us and enjoy this recipe on Wednesday? Remember if you make this dish this Wednesday, we’ll be having the same dinner.
I’d love to know how it turns out for you so if you do make the recipe pretty please come back and leave a comment letting me know how you enjoyed them.
We put a ton of effort into recipe testing almost 40 Sloppy Joes for this weekly series!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef , 85/15 fat content
- 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 green onions sliced thinly
- 4 brioche rolls
Instructions
- In a large skillet add in the beef, lower the heat to medium and cook well, breaking it apart but leaving some chunks about the size of a raspberry or small grape (don't crush the heck out of it, the larger crumbles will help give the sandwich stability).
- Cook until well browned (5-6 minutes), then add in the garlic, sesame oil, ketchup, hoisin, water, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and sriracha and stir together well until the sauce starts to evaporate and the mixture becomes "sloppy" (about 5-6 minutes).
- Toast the buns then spoon over the mixture and top with green onions.
Nutrition
I made this for my husband and I and we do not eat much red meat so I substituted with ground chicken. It came out awesome. I added a quick pickled, (rice wine vinegar and sugar) carrot and cabbage to the sandwich and buttered and toasted the brioche bun. I will make this again!
Substituted ground turkey for the beef for a slightly “lighter” dish and it came out just as good if not better than when I’ll I tried it with the beef
I love the flavor. I have some questions: What is a good side dish to go with? And what to drink with this?
Hmmm, good questions and so subjective to each families tastes! Here’s a suggestion for you Lori! Go to the Recipe Index on our site and type in side dish for options to peruse and then type drinks for drink options. We have many options for you to enjoy. Would love to hear what you chose to go with!
I did not have hoisin on hand so added about 1 tbs each of worcestershire and yellow mustard. This was fantastic. I served it over udon noodles and sauteed bok choy instead of on bread and there were zero leftovers.
Brilliant! Great job Megan and thank you for the 5 star review!
These were absolutely delicious!
This is great and fast. Maybe try as a lettuce wrap next time!
Wow! What flavor. Definitely will add this to my list of recipes.
So glad you enjoyed the Sloppy Joes Bev, and thanks so much for the 5 star review.
I’m wondering if prepping the sauce ahead of time and keeping it in fridge would affect the flavor profile? Running around doing errands it would save me some time. What do you think?
You’ll be fine. Do your errands, come back and finish the recipe! Be sure to let us know how your sloppy joes turn out! We have a ton of sloppy joe options on the site!
This has been a family favorite for some time now. I love that my 9 and 10 year old chefs-in-training can make this all by themselves. We pair it with a vinegar-based cucumber salad which is acidic enough to balance out the sweet sauce from the joes.
What a good idea to pair with cucumber salad. We love our Sloppy Joes. Let us know if you try any of our other Sloppy Joe recipes on the site…there’s MANY to choose from!
A nice switch of flavors from other more basic or bland hamburger recipes. I made 3 lbs up and froze in servings for two.
SUPER YUMMY! I added the sesame oil just before serving bc the flavor cooks off. Big hit with everyone, even those who were skeptical. Ty for the recipe
Thanks Joan!
Delicious. I cooked it down a bit longer to thicken the sauce but the flavors were great!
I have made this recipe several times. The only thing I added was grated ginger and gochujang. I garnished with cilantro and green onion. Absolutely delicious!!