Sticky Korean Shredded Beef with 50/50 Rice (Dutch Oven or Instant Pot)

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Sticky Korean Shredded Beef with 50/50 Rice (Dutch Oven or Instant Pot)

I love Korean short ribs. Something about the garlic, the ginger and that sticky, slightly sweet glaze that catches on the edges. But short ribs are expensive, the marinades lean on brown sugar and regular soy sauce, and I wanted something I could make for a table full of boys without a special trip to the butcher. 

I had a whole chuck roast in the fridge and Korean beef on my mind, so I went for it. I seared the chuck roast in tallow, built the sauce right in the Dutch oven with coconut aminos, white miso, a little fish sauce, and the juice of two cuties, and let it go low and slow all afternoon while the house smelled incredible. Then I shredded it, cooked the liquid down to a glaze, and tossed every piece in it.

I pile it over my 50/50 rice with a crunchy smashed cucumber salad, wrap some of it in butter lettuce, and spoon chili crunch over mine. The kids get theirs plain over rice, and everybody's eating the same dinner.

Why this is Fab Four

Protein, fat, fiber, greens. Here's where each one comes from on this plate.

  • Protein. Shredded beef chuck, about 5 to 6 ounces cooked on an adult plate, which lands right around 40 grams of protein. That's the anchor of the meal and the reason it holds you until bedtime.
  • Fat. Chuck is a marbled cut, so it brings its own fat into the glaze, and then there’s the tallow from the sear, toasted sesame oil in the sauce and cucumbers, and sliced avocado on the plate. Fat is what makes this taste like a restaurant dinner, and it's also what slows the whole meal down.
  • Fiber. Cauliflower rice in the 50/50 base, the cucumbers, and the avocado (half an avocado is about 5 grams on its own). Add a spoonful of kimchi if you have it.
  • Greens. Butter lettuce cups for wrapping and a quick sesame spinach on the side. The lettuce makes it feel like a Korean barbecue night, and it means every bite of beef has something green with it.

The Protein Math

These are estimates from USDA figures for braised beef chuck, and they change with how much fat you trim and how big the roast is. 

  • 1/6 of the pot (adult serving, about 5 to 6 oz cooked): about 38 to 42 g protein
  • 4 oz cooked (lighter adult serving): about 30 g protein
  • 3 oz cooked (kid serving): about 22 g protein

Three pounds of raw chuck cooks down to roughly two pounds of shredded beef. Split six ways, that's around 40 grams per adult plate before you count anything else.

The Rice Question

I served this dish over my 50/50 rice, which is half cooked white rice and half cauliflower rice stirred together. It's the move I recommend constantly, in lunchboxes, in rice-a-roni, and in my green curry beef bowl, because it works and nobody at my table notices. 

A cup of cooked white rice runs around 45 grams of carbohydrate and a cup of cauliflower rice is closer to 5, so when you go 50/50 you're cutting the carbohydrate load of your base roughly in half while adding fiber. With short grain rice it works even better, because the sticky starch from the white rice coats the cauliflower and the whole thing holds together like real sticky rice.

Want an even lower-glycemic option? Go all cauliflower rice, and add a little more beef and avocado.

Here's how to plate it:

  • Start with a bed of lettuce or spinach.
  • Add about a cup of 50/50 rice.
  • Pile the sticky beef on top.
  • Add the cucumbers and avocado on the side.
  • Chili crunch drizzled over the top

Eat it as a bowl, or use the lettuce leaves as wraps. For kids, serve the beef over rice with cucumbers, and skip the chili crunch.

Tips for Making it Really Good

Start with the right beef:

  1. Buy a well-marbled chuck roast. The white streaks of fat melt into the meat as it braises. A lean roast will shred dry.
  2. Build flavor with a good sear: Sear in tallow. Beef fat builds a deeper, beefier crust than neutral oil and handles high heat. Avocado oil works too.
  3. Brown every side. That crusty sear is where most of the flavor comes from, so give each side its full time.
  4. Toast the aromatics. Cook the garlic and ginger in the fat for a few seconds before adding liquid. Raw garlic tastes flat in a braise, but toasted garlic tastes like Korean barbecue.

Get the sauce right:

  1. Grate the onion. It melts into the sauce, so the glaze stays smooth and the kids won’t find onion pieces.
  2. Don’t skip the citrus. Cutie juice adds the brightness and gentle sweetness that pear usually brings to a Korean marinade, and it cuts through the richness of the beef.
  3. Loosen the miso first. Whisk it with a little broth so it dissolves instead of clumping.
  4. Taste before you salt. Between the miso, fish sauce, and coconut aminos, the glaze is usually seasoned enough.

Braise low and slow:

  1. Flip the roast halfway. The part above the liquid can dry out, and one flip keeps it juicy.
  2. If it’s tough, give it more time. Chuck only turns tender once it has cooked long enough.

Finish strong:

  • Reduce the sauce all the way. It should go from thin to thick enough to cling to the beef.
  • Broil it. Two or three minutes under the broiler gives you crispy, caramelized edges.
  • Toast raw sesame seeds. A minute in a dry pan makes them nutty instead of bland.
  • Dress the cucumbers close to dinner. They’re crunchiest within a few hours and still good the next day.

Make Ahead and Leftovers

  • Beef: Keeps 4 days in the fridge, or up to 3 months in the freezer stored in its glaze. Reheat in a skillet so the edges crisp again. It’s even better the next day, which makes it perfect for Sunday dinner and Monday lunch bowls.
  • Rice: Make it ahead if you like. Cooking white rice, chilling it, and reheating it forms more resistant starch, which can be a little gentler on blood sugar.
  • Cucumbers: Best the day you make them.

Swaps and Notes

  • No Dutch oven? Use the Instant Pot version, or a slow cooker on low for 8 to 10 hours, until the beef is fork-tender. Either way, sear the roast first and reduce the sauce on the stove at the end.
  • Want it spicier? Add 1 to 2 teaspoons of gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) to the braise. Skip gochujang unless the label says gluten-free, since most contain wheat or barley.
  • No cuties? The juice of one regular orange does the same job.
  • Short ribs instead? Boneless short ribs work with the same method. Start checking for tenderness around 2 ½ to 3 hours.
  • No butter lettuce? Use romaine hearts or any crisp lettuce that can hold a scoop.
  • About the chili crunch: Momofuku Chili Crunch is vegan and made without gluten, and its first ingredient is grapeseed oil, so I use it as a spoonful on top, not as a cooking oil. One heads-up if you’re strictly gluten-free: Momofuku notes there’s a possibility of trace gluten from its suppliers, so out of caution, it recommends that people with high gluten sensitivity avoid its chili crunches.

  • Prep Time

    10 minutes

  • Total Time

    4 hours 30 minutes (mostly hands off)

  • Servings

    6

  • Freezer Friendly

    No

Ingredients

For the Sticky Korean Shredded Beef:

  • 1 whole boneless beef chuck roast, about 3 pounds
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon beef tallow (or avocado oil)
  • 8 garlic cloves, grated
  • 2 inch piece fresh ginger, grated
  • 1/2 yellow onion, grated
  • 1 cup beef bone broth
  • 3/4 cup coconut aminos
  • Juice of 2 cuties (or 1 orange), about 1/3 cup
  • 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar, plus a splash to finish
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil, divided
  • 1 teaspoon fish sauce (I use Red Boat, which is gluten-free)
  • 1 heaping tablespoon white miso (look for a certified gluten-free label, like Miso Master Organic Mellow White or Hikari Organic)

For the 50/50 Sticky Rice: (Makes about 6 cups)

  • 1 cup short grain (sushi) rice
  • 1 1/4 cups water
  • Pinch of salt
  • 3 cups cauliflower rice (fresh or frozen)

For the Smashed Cucumber Salad:

  • 1 1/2 pounds Persian cucumbers (6 to 8)
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon coconut aminos
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1 garlic clove, grated
  • 1 teaspoon Momofuku Chili Crunch (optional, leave it out for kids)
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
  • 2 scallions, sliced

Greens on the side: 

  • 1 to 2 heads butter lettuce, leaves separated, for wrapping
  • Quick sesame spinach: wilt 10 ounces baby spinach in a hot pan with 1 teaspoon sesame oil and 1 grated garlic clove, then finish with a splash of coconut aminos and a pinch of sesame seeds
  • 1 to 2 avocados, sliced
  • Kimchi, if you have it *Note that some brands use fish sauce or shrimp, so those who are avoiding shellfish should keep this in mind

To Serve:

  • 4 scallions, sliced, whites and greens separated
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
  • A little orange or cutie zest
  • Momofuku Chili Crunch, for spooning over (adults)

Directions


For the Shredded Beef:

  1. Heat the oven to 325°F. Pat the roast completely dry and season it all over with the salt and pepper. Dry meat browns, wet meat steams, so don't skip the paper towels.
  2. Sear it whole. Melt the tallow in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Brown the roast hard on every side, edges included, 3 to 4 minutes per side and 12 to 15 minutes total. Don't move it until it releases from the pot on its own. Move it to a plate.
  3. Add the garlic, ginger, onion, and scallion whites to the fat and stir for 30 to 60 seconds, just until fragrant.
  4. Deglaze. Pour in a splash of the broth and scrape up every brown bit from the bottom of the pot. That fond is where the flavor lives.
  5. Keep the heat on and add the rest of the broth, the coconut aminos, cutie juice, rice vinegar, fish sauce, and 2 teaspoons of the sesame oil. Whisk the miso with a little of the broth in a small bowl until smooth, then pour it into the braising liquid.
  6. Bring it to a simmer and nestle the roast back in with any juices from the plate. The liquid should come about a third of the way up the side of the meat. Add a splash more broth if it's low. 
  7. Cover and move it to the oven. Braise for 3 1/2 to 4 hours, flipping the roast once halfway through so the top doesn't dry out.
  8. Check it. A fork should slide in and twist easily. If it fights you, it needs more time, not less, so give it another 30 minutes.
  9. Let it rest in the liquid, off the heat, for 10 minutes. Lift it onto a sheet pan or cutting board and shred it with two forks, pulling out the seams of fat and gristle as you go. A whole roast has more of these than precut pieces.
  10. Skim the fat off the cooking liquid with a ladle (or pour it through a fat separator). Leave a little, because it carries flavor.
  11. Make it sticky. Simmer the liquid on the stove over medium high heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until it has reduced by about half and coats the back of a spoon. Stir more as it thickens, because the coconut aminos and citrus have natural sugars and can scorch at the end.
  12. Turn off the heat and stir in the last teaspoon of sesame oil and a splash of rice vinegar. Taste before adding any salt, because the miso and fish sauce bring plenty. Toss the shredded beef in the glaze and let it sit for 5 minutes so it soaks in.
  13. Optional, but this is the best part: spread the glazed beef on a sheet pan and broil 3 to 4 minutes, until the edges are caramelized and crispy. Spoon any glaze left in the pot over the top.
  14. Finish with scallion greens, sesame seeds, a little citrus zest, and chili crunch on the adult plates.

For the Shredded Beef Instant Pot Version:

  1. Cut the roast into 3 to 4 inch chunks so it cooks evenly. 
  2. Sear in batches on the sauté setting, then follow steps 3 through 6 in the pot, scraping the bottom completely clean when you deglaze so you don't get the burn warning. 
  3. Cook on high pressure for 60 minutes and let the pressure release naturally for 15 minutes. Shred, then reduce the sauce on the sauté setting and finish from step 10.

For the Sticky 50/50 Rice:

  1. Rinse the white rice in a strainer until the water runs mostly clear. Bring it to a boil with the water and salt, cover, turn the heat to low, and cook for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it sit covered for 10 minutes. (A rice cooker works too.)
  2. While the rice rests, put the cauliflower rice in a dry, hot skillet and cook it for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring, until the moisture cooks off and it's just tender. Skipping this step is what makes cauliflower rice soggy.
  3. Fold the cauliflower into the hot white rice so the sticky starch coats it.

For the Smashed Cucumber Salad:

  1. Smash the cucumbers with the flat side of a big knife until they crack open, then break them into bite size pieces.
  2. Toss them with the salt in a colander and let them drain for 10 to 15 minutes. Pour off the water, which is what keeps them crunchy instead of watery.
  3. Toss with everything else and chill until dinner.

To Serve: 

  1. Start with a bed of butter lettuce leaves or sesame spinach in each bowl.
  2. Add about 1 cup of the 50/50 sticky rice.
  3. Pile a generous scoop of the sticky shredded beef on top, and spoon over any extra glaze.
  4. Add the smashed cucumber salad, sliced avocado, and kimchi (if using) on the side.
  5. Finish with scallion greens, toasted sesame seeds, and a little citrus zest. Add a spoonful of chili crunch to the adult plates.
  6. Eat it as a bowl, or use the butter lettuce leaves to make wraps.
  7. For kids: Serve the beef over white rice with cucumbers on the side, and skip the chili crunch and kimchi.

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