My Go-To Korean Shredded Beef
If you’re craving something tender, saucy, and full of flavor this Korean shredded beef is your answer. It’s rich, savory-sweet, and perfectly melt-in-your-mouth thanks to a beautifully balanced pear-ginger gochujang sauce. You can make it in the Instant Pot, crockpot, or oven, and serve it in rice bowls, tacos, burritos, pizzas and more.
Erica’s Thoughts
I love hosting and having dinner parties. But when it is a lot of people, I can definitely get overwhelmed. Having the neighbors over for dinner is fine and dandy, but when you’re cooking for a Hugh Jass family of 40, it’s a whole different story. That’s how I became absolutely obsessed with this recipe. Whenever I have to cook for a crowd (ahem, my Hugh Jass family), I am immediately drawn to beef chuck roast + Instant Pot or pork shoulder + Instant Pot. My two go-tos are this Mexican shredded beef and/or pork carnitas for tacos OR this Korean shredded beef for rice bowls or burritos.
I make this beef every year for our huge summer camping trip (where I’m cooking for 40 people) and serve it with rice, cucumbers, edamame, green onions, kimchi, sriracha mayo, peanuts and sesame seeds for a DIY bowl buffet. If I have fewer people, I’ll assemble burritos with all of the same ingredients, toast them on the griddle and pretend we’re eating from a fusion-style taco truck. So good.
The flavors are based on traditional Korean marinades that use pears, garlic, ginger, soy sauce and a sweetener like brown sugar or palm sugar. I like to bump up the flavor even more with Gochujang and toasted sesame oil.
The versatility of this beef knows no bounds- it’s great for a weeknight dinner, meal prep, camping or cooking for a crowd. Y’all are gonna love it!
What You’ll Need to Make Korean Shredded Beef
- Beef chuck roast: Beef chuck roast (what you generally use for pot roast) is easy to find and nearly any grocery store. Other cuts you could use are boneless short ribs or bottom round roast.
- Pears: It’s pear season for me right now, so I use a few fresh Bartlett pears. If you don’t have fresh, canned works.
- Low-sodium soy sauce: If you are gluten-free, you can use tamari or coconut aminos.
- Brown sugar: Adds a caramelized sweetness that balances the spice. Can substitute honey or maple syrup.
- Gochujang: Gochujang sauce is a Korean condiment that adds subtle spice, depth and just a little sweetness. It’s quite common nowadays and you can find it in the international foods aisle of most regular grocery stores. If not, you can find it at your local Asian market. I like the Bibigo brand.
- Ginger: Freshly grated ginger or as a shortcut, I like the ginger paste in the tube (next to the fresh herbs in the produce section).
- Garlic: Fresh garlic cloves or garlic paste please, for the best flavor.
- Toasted sesame oil: Toasted sesame oil adds nutty richness that rounds out the sauce. Find in the the Asian foods aisle.
How to Make this Korean Beef Recipe:
Cut the roast into large chunks, trimming away the thick pieces of fat.
Pat dry and season with salt and pepper, then place in the Instant Pot.
Blend pears, soy sauce, brown sugar, gochujang, ginger, garlic, and sesame oil until smooth. Pour over the beef and toss to coat.
Pressure cook on high for 70 minutes, then quick or natural release. Remove the beef, shred with tongs or two forks, and simmer the sauce on sauté mode until reduced by half.
Return the beef to the pot and toss until glossy and coated.
Serve over rice, noodles, or in burritos, tacos, pizza, or eggs. It’s incredibly versatile and makes amazing leftovers.
How to serve Korean Shredded Beef
- as a rice bowl
- wrapped in flour tortillas as a fusion-style burrito
- as a filling for tacos paired with cucumber cabbage slaw
- piled in lettuce wraps with kimchi, peanuts and avocado
- on top of pizza with mozzarella cheese, kimchi and green onions
- paired with cauliflower rice and your favorite toppings to make low-carb Korean beef bowls
FAQs
Use a squeeze of sriracha or chili garlic paste, or omit entirely if you don’t care for spice. The recipe will still be yum!
Use coconut aminos or tamari instead of soy sauce.
Refer to the recipe notes for instructions on making this in the crockpot or the oven.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Yep, this is one of my very favorite meal prep freezer recipes.
1) You can cut the meat, blend the sauce, and pour the sauce over the meat chunks in a gallon Ziploc bag and freeze up to 6 months. When you’re ready to cook, dump the whole shebang in the Instant Pot. This is the option I would take if I were prepping this for my family or for a friend who could benefit from some prepped meals in the freezer.
2) Fully prep, cook and shred the meat. Place cooked, shredded beef in a Ziploc bag or vacuum-sealed container, reserving a bit of the liquid separately to add when you reheat and ‘re-hydrate’ the meat. This is what I do when I prep this recipe for a trip or camping.
Asian slaw, edamame salad, gochujang fried rice, chili garlic noodles, Asian rainbow noodle salad.
No more guessing what to make for guests—send out the invite, your menu is set!
If you try and like this recipe, please don’t forget to leave a comment and star rating down below! For more lifestyle, behind-the-scenes and ‘eating in real life’ type of content, come find me over on Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, Facebook, or Youtube – I love connecting with you all there!
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My Go-To Korean Shredded Beef
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 70 minutes
- Total Time: 85 minutes
- Yield: 10 servings 1x
- Category: Beef
- Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: Korean-Inspired
Description
Fall-apart tender Korean shredded beef that tastes like comfort food with minimal effort. Easy to make, wildly flavorful, and perfect for both busy nights or impressive dinner parties.
Ingredients
- 4lb beef chuck roast
- salt and pepper
- 2 small ripe pears, cut into chunks or 1 14oz can pears, drained
- 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons gochujang sauce
- 2-inch knob fresh ginger, roughly chopped or 1 tablespoon ginger paste
- 5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
Instructions
- Using a sharp chef’s knife, cut the roast into about 8 pieces, trimming away the very large sinewy pieces of fat. No need to be perfect, just trim away the biggest pieces and discard. Pat the meat dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Place meat in the Instant Pot.
- In a blender or food processor, blend together 2 chopped ripe pears, ½ cup low-sodium soy sauce, ⅓ cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons gochujang sauce, 2-inch knob fresh ginger, 5 cloves roughly chopped garlic and 2 teaspoons of toasted sesame oil until smooth and creamy. Pour the sauce over the meat, tossing so it is well coated.
- Set the Instant Pot to pressure cook for 70 minutes, followed by natural or quick release. Remove the pieces of meat to a cutting board and set the Instant Pot to sauté mode for 20 minutes, until the liquids are reduced by half.
- While the liquid is reducing, use tongs or two forks to shred the beef. It should be very tender and fall apart. Turn off the Instant Pot and return the meat to the reduced juices, tossing until evenly coated.
- Serve on rice bowls, in burritos, tacos, pizzas, potatoes or eggs. The sky is truly the limit.
Notes
Refer to above blog post for step-by-step photos and answers to frequently asked questions and substitutions.
Crockpot instructions: Add the trimmed, seasoned beef to the slow cooker. Pour the blended pear-ginger sauce over top and toss to coat. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4-5 hours, until the meat is tender and shreds easily. While you shred the meat, simmer the juices in a saucepan over medium heat until reduced by half. Return meat and liquid to the crockpot and toss to combine.
Oven instructions: Place the beef in a Dutch oven, pour the sauce over top, and toss to coat. Add 1/2 cup of water to prevent scorching. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and bake at 300°F for 3½ hours, until fork-tender. Check it a couple of times during the cooking process to make sure the sauce isn’t over-reducing; you may need to add another splash of water. Once the meat is fork-tender, remove the beef to shred. You may not need to reduce the liquids, as they may already be thickened by the time in the oven. But if you have quite a bit of juices, simmer them on the stovetop until reduced by half. Return meat to juices, tossing to coat. If you don’t have a Dutch oven, you can try this in a baking dish covered tightly with foil, but make sure to check it often and add water as needed so the sauces don’t scorch. Making this in the oven is not as forgiving as in the Instant Pot or Crockpot, so make sure to keep your eye on it.
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Nutrition
- Serving Size: about 2/3 cup cooked, shredded beef with juices
- Calories: 293
- Sugar: 10.4 g
- Sodium: 511.3 mg
- Fat: 9.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 13.9 g
- Fiber: 1.1 g
- Protein: 36.9 g
- Cholesterol: 107.2 mg
10000/10!
This is becoming a great stable for us. We double the recipe and freeze one, since roasts are often really large packs at Costco. This is amazing since one can be a great quick dinner later on. My husband, sister, and toddler are both obsessed.
So, so happy to hear this Emily. Such a staple for my family as well!
So I made this yesterday for the first time. And it was for other people besides my immediate family. I never do that so I was very scared that it may not turn out. I didn’t need to be! This is an incredible dish that everyone loved. I usually slow cook roasts in my oven because I just feel like it tastes better but I started too late and ended up using my instant pot and it was perfect. I can’t get over how good it was! Thank you!!
Yay, super happy to hear it Heather! Good call on the instant pot, it makes it SO tender!
This turned out really yummy. I made a half recipe which was perfect. The only thing I added was a bit more spice (sriracha) but can understand for a crowd that wouldn’t be good. Would make this again-next time I’ll do tacos instead of a bowl.
Fabulous, so glad you liked it Alica, it’s SOOOO good in tacos, enjoy!
This was so delicious. I cooked in crockpot. The juice from the meat made the sauce a little “watered” down, not as flavorful. Did anyone else have this issue. I did boil on stove to half after cooking . It was still really good!
I made the Korean beef rice bowls and they were out of this world! The beef was so good. I made a double batch to take for one of the meals on our family vacation. We’re going to make Mexican bowls out of it though!
Yum, great idea! Have fun on your trip!
I am so sad that this was a miss for me. Literally everything I have ever made from this blog has been nothing short of amazing but this was just off for whatever reason. Texture was fine but the flavor was not great. Still love all your other recipes!
Hi Lisette! I’d love to help you troubleshoot this! I’m a big fan of this recipe and I’d love to know what didn’t quite work for you. Did you leave out any ingredients from the marinade or make any substitutions? What about the flavor was off for you?
If I freeze this before cooking, does I need to thaw completely or can I cook from frozen? If so, does the cook time in Instant Pot change?
You don’t need to thaw, and cooking time shouldn’t change much. If you wanted, you could add 10 minutes, just to be safe.
I never rate recipes, but I felt I had to say thank you for this one – my entire family absolutely loves it! Fabulous both in the bowls and as burritos/tacos with some black beans. For us it was enough for 3 meals (4 people, including 1 hungry teen), and the meat freezes great.
YAAAAYYY SO happy to hear this Sarah! Thanks for taking the time to review!
The absolute best. This dish become a regular in our family. Everybody loves it
Woot woot! Happy to hear it Elena, thanks for making and for your review, I super appreciate it 🙂
I am obsessed with this recipe! It’s sooo delicious! I did make a couple swaps just based on what I already had in my kitchen, and it still turned out delicious. Here’s the swaps I did if anyone wants to know lol- I used a 4lb brisket instead of chuck roast, used 8oz of unsweetened applesauce instead of pears, used coco aminos instead of soy sauce, and used already minced garlic and grated ginger so I wouldn’t have to blend anything. I put it on a baked potato with some shredded cheese! Seriously so good!
LOVE Evelyn! thanks for the helpful swap ideas!
Delicious! My husband gave this a 9.5/10 and he’s stingy with his 9s and 10s! Very flavorful- made bowls tonight with it and can’t wait to make the burritos in a couple days with the leftovers!
Haha yaaaay! love that 😂
Loved this and will be making it again! Reducing the sauce is a great idea.
Yay, glad you liked it Maggie! Thanks for your review!
Made this last night and it was a hit with my whole family! Super easy to make (I used the Instant Pot method) and the prep time was quick. We did burrito bowls this time but I can see how versatile this recipe could be.
This recipe is as good as everyone says. And easy! I made it as written and it was delicious that night for dinner. It made so much that I froze half and I reheated it for dinner a week later and it got rave reviews again! Anyone who tries it asks me for the recipe and I’m more than happy to share it.
So happy to hear this Denise, thank you for making it!
It was delicious, next time I’ll try with ground beef, have a feeling it will be another hit! thanks for sharing the recipe ❤️