Ground beef glazed with soy, sesame, honey, and ginger — all the sweet-savory-nutty notes of Korean BBQ in a 15-minute skillet situation. Cook over high heat and don't stir constantly. You want some pieces to caramelize and char at the edges, not steam through uniformly gray.←Back to Taco Base Recipes
1 lb ground beef
1 tbsp teriyaki sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp chopped fresh ginger
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp sesame oil
0.25 tsp chili flakes
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tbsp honey
Whisk together honey, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, sesame oil, chili flakes, and ginger. Set aside.
Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add minced garlic and cook 60 seconds until golden and fragrant.
Add ground beef, breaking it into pieces. Cook 6–7 minutes until browned — let pieces sit long enough to char at the edges, not just cook through.
Drain excess fat if using 80/20, leaving a thin film in the pan.
Pour in the sauce and stir to coat. Simmer 3 minutes until the liquid reduces and the beef looks glazed.
Remove from heat and serve.
Chef's Notes
The sauce is simple but specific: soy sauce for salt and umami, toasted sesame oil for nuttiness, brown sugar or honey for caramelized sweetness, and garlic and ginger for aromatic punch. A splash of rice vinegar brightens everything. For heat, add gochujang (Korean chili paste) or gochugaru (Korean chili flakes); both are available at Asian markets and add that characteristic Korean sweet-spicy warmth. Use 85/15 or 80/20 ground beef for best results; leaner beef is too dry and doesn't caramelize as well. Cook over high heat and resist the urge to stir constantly — you want some pieces to get crispy and caramelized, not uniformly steamed. Toast your sesame seeds in a dry pan for 60 seconds until golden and fragrant; raw sesame seeds taste like nothing, toasted ones taste like intention. Finish with sliced scallions, both white and green parts. This makes excellent tacos, rice bowls, lettuce wraps, or eaten directly from the pan while standing at the stove. We've all done it. No judgment.
Into This Base? Remix It!
Korean Ground Beef is a taco base recipe — the foundation of your taco, also known as the filling. It sets the flavor direction for everything that follows. Hit remix to pair it with toppings and finishes that complement it or take it somewhere you'd never expect. You might land on something traditional or stumble into full-on taco fusion.Take Korean Ground Beef into the Summoning Circle and shuffle it with hundreds of other taco components to create your perfect taco.
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