Korean Beef Lettuce Cups with Rice

Korean-inspired lettuce cups filled with savory gochujang beef and rice, finished with sesame oil and scallions for an easy stovetop dinner.

Prep: 10 min · Cook: 25 min · Yield: 4 · Method: Stovetop

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 2 cups white rice
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp gochujang
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 head green leaf lettuce
• 4 scallions
• 3 cups water

Cooking instructions

1. Rinse the rice under cool water until the water runs mostly clear. Combine the rice and water in a saucepan, bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until tender, about 18 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand covered for 5 minutes. (about 23 min) — Simmer
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it into small pieces, until browned and the center reaches 160°F, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain excess grease if needed. (about 10 min) — Medium-high heat; 160°F
3. Reduce the heat to low. Stir the soy sauce, gochujang, and sesame oil into the hot beef until evenly coated, about 1 minute. (about 1 min) — Low heat
4. Separate and rinse the lettuce leaves, then pat them dry. Slice the scallions. (about 3 min)
5. Spoon rice and beef into the lettuce leaves and top with scallions. (about 3 min)