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My new favorite recipes to cook are Korean food recipes. It seems as if Korean food has become insanely popular in the last few years. Korean BBQ, bulgogi, bibimbap, and kimchi are a few items that are among the most trendy right now. Korean beef is one of my absolute favorites. It’s sweet and also a little spicy. It has amazing flavor! So that’s exactly where I wanted to go when I created this Slow Cooker Korean Beef.

For the record, this is not the traditional way to cook Korean beef. Traditionally, the beef is very thinly sliced and cooked quickly. However, in this recipe, the beef is cut into bite-sized pieces and then cooks in a tasty sauce until the beef is incredibly tender. I wanted the flavor profile of Korean BBQ beef, but as a saucy, crazy-delicious, slow-cooker version.

This recipe was a first attempt success. I always expect to have to tweak a new recipe a few times before feeling like I can share it. But, sometimes, it just comes out perfect the first time. And this was one of those times! I had to tell my husband to stop eating it so that I could photograph it. In my defense, I believe he’d had 3 bowls when I cut him off. 😂

So let me show you how to make this super simple and delicious Slow Cooker Korean Beef 👇🏻

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You’ll need about a 2.5 lb chuck roast. After I had trimmed and cut my beef into bite-sized pieces, I had about 2 lbs worth of meat. Chuck roasts usually have a fair amount of fat to them. And while you don’t want to get rid of all of it, you want to get rid of most of it. Also, don’t cut you beef into pieces that are too small; you don’t want it to completely fall apart in the slow cooker. When you’re done trimming and cutting the beef, season it generously with salt and pepper. This is what it should look like 👇🏻

Now grab a large, high-walled skillet. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil to the skillet over high heat. Let the oil get really hot and then add HALF of the beef. You’re goal is to brown it and give it some nice color, NOT to cook it through. Make sure that your oil is very hot and that you do not overcrowd your skillet.

It will take about 2-4 minutes to brown the beef. Once browned, remove the beef to your slow cooker. Repeat the steps above with the second half of the beef, adding another tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet.

Place the second half of the browned beef into the slow cooker as well and now prepare the sauce.

In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup low-sodium beef broth, 1/2 cup low-sodI’m soy sauce, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp mirin, 1 tbsp Gochujang, 2 tbsp packed brown sugar, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 5 minced garlic cloves, and 1/4 cup of sliced green onions.

**Gochujang Note**

Gochujang is a Korean red pepper paste. It will be in the Asian foods aisle of the grocery. This will add some heat to your sauce. You can omit (or reduce the amount) if you want to avoid the spice. In contrast, you can also add another tablespoon of the Gochujang if you enjoy spicy food. If you absolutely cannot find the Gochujang, you can substitute with 1 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes. But I really recommend using the Gochujang.

Pour the prepared sauce over the beef in the slow cooker.

Cook on high for 3-4 hours until the beef is very tender and the sauce has thickened slightly. Next, combine 2 tsp of cornstarch with 2 tsp of water and add the cornstarch slurry to the slow cooker to thicken the sauce a little more. Cook for another 20-30 minutes or until the sauce has thickened to your liking.

You can serve the beef as is, alongside some veggies. Or take advantage of that incredible sauce and serve it over rice or noodles. I usually serve over rice, but on this occasion, I used a type of udon noodles and really enjoyed it.

Top the beef with more sliced green onions and (optional) some toasted sesame seeds.

See what I mean about that lovely sauce 👆🏻? Have mercy!

Enjoy!

These are the recommended products that I used to make this delicious recipe! These are not only products that I use, but products that I love.

Have you tried this recipe? Thinking about it? I’d love to hear from you! Please leave me your thoughts below in the comment section.