Easy Korean Beef Sloppy Joes

This particular recipe started out as an experiment and ended up as a hit with the family. It took a few times to get the flavor I was looking for, but once I got it just perfect I had to share with you all. Talk about tasty!
Korean cuisine is comprised of spicy, savory, sour, simple, and satisfying dishes with flavors that make creating recipes a lot of fun — and my Korean Beef Sloppy Joe is one of those recipes. Growing up my mother would make Sloppy Joes all the time and that was one of the meals she knew she wouldn’t have a problem getting me to eat. Although it’s a very easy recipe to put together, the key to this manwich is in the sauce!

Some of the basic ingredients used in Korean cooking include green onions (scallions), garlic, ginger, sesame oil (for its distinctive and  nutty flavor), soy sauce, chili pepper paste (kochujang), chili pepper flakes (kochukaru), and Soybean paste (daenjang).

My delicious sauce consist of soy sauce, sesame oil, hoisin sauce (sweet and salty in taste) and a few more additions that had my wife asking why I didn’t make more! I used hoisin sauce, but the more traditional kochujang will also deliver on that needed sweet, tart, umami tang.

I wanted to relive a childhood favorite with a creative spin and that’s where this dish was inspired from. If you want to give your typical burger night a rest, take this Korean Beef Sloppy Joe out for a night and you will make a great impression on whoever you’re feeding. Enjoy!
 

Easy Korean Beef Sloppy Joes

Prep Time: 1 hour   
Cook Time: 4 hours 30 mins   
Total Time: 5 hours 30 minutes   

Ingredients

For the Sloppy Joe Filling:

•     2 1/2 pounds ground pork, chicken, or beef
•     1 carrot, chopped
•     1 white onion, chopped
•     Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
•     1 red bell pepper, chopped
•     5 tablespoons gochujang
•     1 teaspoon ginger, minced
•     5 cloves garlic, minced
•     3 tablespoons honey
•     1/4 cup unsweetened pear juice or apple juice
•     1/4 cup soy sauce
•     2 tablespoons cornstarch
•     1 teaspoon rice vinegar
•     Toasted sesame seeds, to top (optional)

For the Pickled Toppings:

•     1 small red onion, sliced
•     2 kirby cucumbers, sliced
•     3 small radishes, sliced
•     3/4 cup rice vinegar
•     1/2 cup sugar
•     3/4 cup water
•     2 teaspoons Kosher salt
•     Buns or bibb lettuce, to serve
•     1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Instructions

1. In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, quickly brown the meat, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon, but don’t cook it all the way through. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Drain off any rendered grease and transfer the ground meat to the slow cooker. Mix in the onion, carrot, and bell pepper.
2. In a shallow bowl, whisk together the garlic, ginger, juice, soy sauce, gochujang, honey, and rice vinegar. Pour over the meat in the slow cooker and stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours.
3. While you wait for the sloppy joe filling to cook, prepare the quick pickled toppings. Combine the red onion, radish, and cucumber in a wide, non-reactive bowl.
4. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the rice vinegar, water, sugar and salt. Stir and heat until the mixture is hot and the sugar is fully dissolved. Pour the hot mixture over the sliced onion, radish, and cucumber, and stir in the red pepper flakes. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
5. After 4 hours, combine 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of water in a shallow bowl. Mix until well combined and pasty. Pour into the slow cooker and mix, then increase heat to high. Cook, covered, until the sauce has thickened, about 30 more minutes.
6. Serve the Korean Sloppy Joes in buns or bibb lettuce leaves with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds and the pickled vegetables, to top.

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