Say so long take-out! We’re cooking a Spicy Beef Sushi Bowl! Spicy beef with sushi rice and fresh cucumber, sliced peppers and herbs, drizzle with a rice vinegar and fish sauce dressing. So MUCH flavor!
A Spicy Beef Chirashi Bowl has me wrapped around it’s sticky rice!
What is Charashi?
Chirashi means “scattered.” Typically made with raw fish and vegetables, this spicy beef bowl is scattered with spicy beef and cool cucumbers, sushi rice and crunchy vegetables, tangy dressing and flavorful herbs, this is not your run–of-the-mill at-home dinner.
The recipe looks like a lot of steps but when one thing is cooking you can knock out 3 other things. Lickedity.scattered.split.
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What is sushi?
While you may think raw fish where you hear sushi. Sushi refers to the vinegar rice.
How to make sushi rice
The first step is the rice.
When you’re making sushi, rice matters. Sushi rice is short-grain rice. The small, round grains are what you need. Minute Rice, long-grain, or Jasmine rice are not suitable replacements. Sushi rice cooks up sticky and that’s what’s make sushi stick. Look for sushi rice, Japanese rice, or CalRose in the Asian section at the store. While you’re in that aisle, pick up the rice vinegar, fish sauce, chile garlic sauce, soy sauce, and toasted sesame oil.
Cook rice according to package directions to end up with 2 cups cooked rice. Typically, 1 cup uncooked rice + 1 cup water = 2 cups cooked rice.
Vinegar rice
While the rice is cooking make sushi dressing. Combine vinegar, sugar, and salt in a glass bowl or Pyrex measuring cup. Microwave at 50% Power for 30 seconds, stir after 15 seconds. Set aside. Or heat it on the stove over medium-low heat. The goal is to melt the sugar.
Gently stir vinegar into warm rice.
Using a wooden spoon, spread cooked rice on a large baking sheet. Drizzle sushi dressing over warm rice (warm rice absorbs the dressing better), stirring gently with wooden spoon to distribute but not smash or compact the rice. Scoop rice into a large bowl. Cover rice with a damp cloth or paper towel until ready to use. This rice is sticky, dipping your hands in cool water helps prevent those little grains from sticking.
Cook’s Note: Rice can be made a day or two ahead of time.
Now, let’s get to the other ingredients.
Stir together the Spicy Beef Seasoning: fish sauce, chile garlic sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, water, and ginger.
Then cook the meat.
Brown seasoned beef without breaking it up
Spicy Beef: In a large skillet, over medium heat, add oil and ground beef. Use a spoon or spatula to break up meat and spread out in a single layer. Cook, undisturbed, 4-5 minutes, until bottom is crusty and browned. Turn meat over. Cook 4-5 minutes. You want chunks of crispy meat. Drain fat. Add Spicy Beef Seasoning (chile garlic mixture), lower heat, cook 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Make Spicy Beef Sushi Bowl Dressing: While beef is cooking, combine rice vinegar, fish sauce, water, and sugar in small glass bowl or measuring cup, heat in microwave for 30 seconds, stir. The goal is to melt the sugar, so you may need 10 seconds more. Set aside.
Pour on the sweet and sour spicy beef sushi dressing
Sushi Bowl
Layer rice in a bowl and then scatter the spicy beef, cucumber, red pepper, jalapeno, and fresh herbs. Drizzle with Spicy Beef Sushi Bowl Dressing. Sprinkle on sesame seeds.
Grab your chop sticks!
To toast sesame seeds, heat in skillet over medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes, until some the seeds pop and they smell toasty.
Sushi rice recipes
Rather than ground beef, top the bowl with grilled fish or roll the sushi rice leftovers into Beef Tartare Sushi.
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PrintSpicy Beef Sushi Bowl
Spicy, tangy, crunchy and chewy, you’ll want to get every last bite!
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: stove
- Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients
Sushi Rice
- 2 cups cooked short-grain rice, find in the Asian section
- 1/4 cups rice vinegar, find in the Asian section
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Spicy Beef Seasoning
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce, find in the Asian section
- 2–3 tablespoons chile garlic sauce or Sriracha
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
 Spicy Beef
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
Spicy Beef Sushi Bowl Dressing
- 2 ½ tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Toppings
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
- 1 cup cucumber, diced
- ½ red pepper, diced
- ½ to 1 jalapeno, minced
- ½ cup fresh herbs (basil, cilantro, parsley), torn into pieces
Instructions
Sushi Rice: Cook rice according to package directions to end up with 2 cups cooked rice. Typically, this is 1 cup uncooked rice 1 cup water equals 2 cups cooked rice.
While the rice is cooking make sushi dressing. Combine vinegar, sugar, and salt in a glass bowl or Pyrex measuring cup. Microwave at 50% Power for 30 seconds, stir after 15 seconds. Set aside. Or heat it on the stove over medium-low heat. The goal is to melt the sugar.
Using a wooden spoon, spread cooked rice on a large baking sheet. Drizzle sushi dressing over warm rice (warm rice absorbs the dressing better), stirring gently with wooden spoon to distribute but not smash or compact the rice. Scoop rice into a large bowl. Cover rice with a damp cloth or paper towel until ready to use. This rice is sticky, dipping your hands in cool water helps prevent those little grains from sticking.
Cook’s Note: This could be done a day or two ahead of time.
Spicy Beef Seasoning Mix together fish sauce, chile garlic sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, water, and ginger, set aside.
Spicy Beef In a large skillet, over medium heat, add oil and ground beef. Use a spoon or spatula to break up meat and spread out in a single layer. Cook, undisturbed, 4-5 minutes, until bottom is crusty and browned. Turn meat over. Cook 4-5 minutes. You want chunks of crispy meat. Drain fat. Add Spicy Beef Seasoning (chile garlic mixture), lower heat, cook 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Make Spicy Beef Sushi Bowl Dressing. While beef is cooking, combine rice vinegar, fish sauce, water, and sugar in small glass bowl or measuring cup, heat in microwave for 30 seconds, stir. The goal is to melt the sugar, so you may need 10 seconds more. Set aside.
To toast sesame seeds, heat in skillet over medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes, until some the seeds pop and they smell toasty.
Assemble bowl:Â Layer in a bowl, sushi rice, spicy beef, cucumber, red pepper, jalapeno, fresh herbs. Drizzle with Spicy Beef Sushi Bowl Dressing. Sprinkle on sesame seeds.
