Korean Beef and Quinoa Bowl with Cabbage and Spinach

Are you on board with the whole "bowl food" trend?

It's all about serving your food in a bowl instead of a traditional plate. I love it. It just makes food that much cooler. Seriously. It totally does. 

Probably makes it taste better too. 

Arranging the ingredients so they look pretty just makes them sooo much more delicious. 

*jazz hands*  Science.

This lovely meal only takes about 30 minutes to cook up. Yes, it does dirty 3 pans but it is totally worth it. It makes 4 rather large servings but can easily be doubled to serve a crowd.

Aaaaand.... if you are into meal prepping - this works perfect for that too!!

It will last 3 or 4 days, covered in the fridge and you can just reheat it! 

Of course, you don't have to arrange it all neat and pretty in a bowl, a plate will work just dandy! 

Korean Beef and Quinoa Bowl with Cabbage and Spinach

Ingredients

Quinoa

1 cup quinoa, uncooked

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

Cabbage and Spinach

1 tsp sesame oil

4 cups cabbage, shredded or finely chopped

1 purple onion, sliced

3 cups baby spinach, chopped

Beef

1 tsp oil

1/4 tsp ginger, grated

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb extra lean ground beef

1/4 soy sauce

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp sesame oil

1 Tbsp Thai sweet chili sauce

1/8 tsp black pepper

Optional

green onions, thinly sliced

sesame seeds

fried egg

Directions

Before starting make sure all your ingredients have been prepped - ie: veggies chopped. 

Prepare quinoa - Prepare quinoa as per package directions - using chicken broth (or beef broth) instead of water. When done, set aside and keep warm.

Prepare cabbage/spinach - Place oil, cabbage, and onion in a large saucepan.

Cook and stir  until the cabbage is tender (about 10 mins). Add in the spinach.

Stir together well. Cover, turn off heat, and let steam until spinach is tender (about 2 - 3 minutes).

Prepare beef - In a frying pan, heat oil, ginger, and garlic over medium heat. When sizzling, add in the ground beef and cook and stir until no longer pink.

In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, Thai sweet chili sauce, and pepper. Stir into ground beef.

To serve: place 1/4 of the cabbage and spinach in a bowl, place 1/4 of the beef next to it, then place 1/4 of the quinoa next to that. 

Top with a fried egg, a sprinkle of green onions, and a pinch of sesame seeds. 

Serve hot!

FYI - I simply pushed the cooked ground beef aside in the pan and fried the egg in there so I didn't have to dirty another pan. So tasty! It is a bit high in terms of calories (according to Myfitnesspal)- 

459 calories, 16 fat, 46 carbs, 6 fiber, 11 sugar, and 34 protein WITHOUT THE EGG.

528 calories, 21 fat, 46 carbs, 6 fiber, 11 sugar, and a whopping 40 protein WITH THE EGG.

But a serving is pretty massive. If you were serving it for lunch you could easily do 5 servings instead of 4. 

I often make this if I have leftover quinoa to use up. It's a great way to get a big dose of protein in! 

Whether you serve it all fancy schmancy in a bowl (do it, it's sooo much better) or on a plate - I am sure you will love this tasty dish. 

Looking for more tasty food links? Pop over to Carol's Chatter!