Here's a recipe with maximum flavor for minimum time in the kitchen. A quick stir fry of ground beef is the centerpiece of this flavor-packed Thai beef rice bowl, ready in 20 minutes.
I love the whole rice bowl concept: a well-composed assortment of wonderful ingredients - a mini personal smorgasbord - all tucked into one little bowl.
Some of my favorite rice bowl recipes, like my salmon teriyaki bowl and my bibimbap bowls, take some time and effort to prepare. They're totally worth it! But it's also great to have this quick and easy beef bowl in the repertoire, with a fried egg as the final crowning touch. Everyday ingredients, easily transformed into an exciting Thai meal.
If you can't find bok choy or it's not your thing, this recipe also works well with Napa cabbage, spinach or kale.
How to make this Thai Beef Rice Bowl
If you have leftover rice on hand, this meal comes together in 20 minutes, all in one pan.
- Make the Sauce: Whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl: Sugar, Thai Chile Paste, fish sauce, soy sauce, garlic and crushed red pepper flakes.
- Stir-fry the Ground Beef: Heat oil in a large heavy skillet or wok and cook the beef over high heat until it's no longer pink, 2 minutes or so. Add the sauce to the pan and cook for 30-40 seconds more. Transfer the meat mixture to a bowl and tent with foil to keep warm.
- Stir-fry the bok choy for 2 minutes or so and add it to the bowl with the beef.
- Fry the eggs in the same pan.
- Serve: Heat the rice, divide it between four bowls, and top with ground beef, bok choy and a fried egg. If you want more heat, add a splash of Sriracha.
If you're a fan of flavor-packed quick and easy meals, you'll love these recipes too:
- Cuban Picadillo (ground beef stew with tomatoes and olives)
- Quick Turkey Ragu (Delicious meat sauce made with ground turkey)
- Chinese Orange Chicken (As tasty as takeout but healthier)
Here's the Thai Beef Rice Bowl recipe. If you try this, I hope you'll come back and leave a star rating and a comment. I'd love to know what you think.
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Quick Thai Beef Rice Bowl Recipe
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
An easy, flavorful Thai beef and rice bowl with stir fried ground beef, brown or white rice, sautéed greens and a fried egg.
Adapted from a recipe in Cooking Light
Ingredients
- 2 ½ teaspoons sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoons Thai chile paste (I like the Thai Kitchen Roasted Chili Paste)
- 2 ½ teaspoons Thai fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce (low-salt is fine)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 3 medium cloves)
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (reduce to ½ teaspoon if you prefer less heat)
- 2 tablespoons canola or grape seed oil, divided
- 12 ounces ground beef
- 3 small baby bok choy, cut lengthwise into quarters (cabbage, kale or spinach can be substituted)
- Salt
- 4 large eggs
- 2 ½ cups cooked brown or white rice, reheated
Optional Garnish
- Sriracha hot sauce
Instructions
- Make the rice ahead of time or reheat 2 ½ cups of leftover rice.
- Whisk the sauce ingredients in a small bowl: Sugar (2 ½ teaspoons), Thai Chile Paste (2 ½ teaspoons), fish sauce (2 ½ teaspoons), soy sauce (1 tablespoon), garlic (1 tablespoon) and crushed red pepper flakes (1 teaspoon)
- Heat a large cast-iron skillet or wok over high heat. Add oil (2 teaspoons) and swirl to coat. Add the ground beef to pan and stir-fry 2 minutes or until beef is no longer pink.
- At this point I like to briefly remove the pan from the heat, tilt it, and spoon out some of the rendered fat. This step is optional.
- Add the sauce to the pan, stir-fry for 30-40 seconds, transfer to a bowl, and tent with foil to keep warm.
- Add 1 ½ teaspoons oil to the pan and turn heat high. Add the bok choy and stir-fry 2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Season with a pinch or two of salt and place in the bowl with beef.
- Wipe pan clean with a paper towel. Heat remaining oil (2 ½ teaspoons) in the pan over medium heat; swirl to coat. Crack the eggs, 1 at a time, into the pan; cook 2 minutes. Cover pan, and cook 1 minute longer or until the whites are set and eggs are cooked to your liking.
- Divide the rice, beef, and bok choy among 4 bowls. Top each bowl with a fried egg. Season eggs with a little salt. Serve immediately, garnished with Sriracha, if you like.
Notes
Substitutions for Bok Choy: My favorites substitutions in this dish are Napa cabbage, spinach and kale. Choose about 1 cup of kale or cabbage per person and note that these will take a bit longer to cook than baby bok choy. Spinach cooks extremely fast and shrinks a lot, so you'll need more like 4 cups (3-4 ounces) per person.
[This post first appeared on Panning The Globe in March 2015. It was updated in April 2020 with new added nutritional information, clarifying details in the written post and clearer instructions in the recipe.]
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: stir fry
- Cuisine: Thai
Keywords: Thai beef rice bowl with bok choy and a fried egg, ground beef stir fry with rice and bok choy
Sue
I googled recipes with bok choy and ground beef because I had both to use in my fridge. I didn't have Thai chili paste or Thai fish sauce. I did have Fly by Jing Sichuan Chili Crisp and oyster sauce so I substituted with those. Followed the rest of the recipe...OMG...this was soooo good!! The fried egg on top, magical. Lisa, thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
★★★★★
Nadine
Really easy and delicious. I had Thai red curry paste so used that instead of Thai chili paste which I did not have. Wonderful flavor. Will definitely make again!
★★★★★
Alexandra
Great easy recipe. Turned out super yummy and my picky husband loved it. Really enjoyed the bok choy which I happened to have on hand from my csa (and wasn't sure what to do with). I paired it with quinoa since I had some already made, and I had to sub worcheshire for fish sauce, but the flavor was still really good. Will be putting it into my regular rotation.
Miriam
Super yum and easy! I made it with kangaroo mince and baby spinach (thought it was bok choy)!
★★★★★
Heather
This was so good and easy!! I used Kale instead of bok choy because I had to use it up. Thanks!
★★★★
Beth
A little late to the game, but I just found this recipe online. I loved it. It lends itself well to prepping ahead of time. I already had leftover rice and browned ground beef in the fridge, made the sauce the night before. It took only a few minutes to complete. Asparagus is also a great veggie to use with this recipe. Looking forward to making this again.
Chaeves
Delicious! Kids even asked for seconds!
★★★★★
Richa
Looks amazing. I particularly love the first picture. It really makes me want a bowl 🙂
Khadijah
I am excited to try this. Do you think Thai Curry Paste would be a good substitute for the Chili Paste?
Lisa Goldfinger
I think curry would add a different flavor, but it might be good! I'd be tempted to give it a try. If you do, I'd love to know how it turns out.
Elaine
Wow - this was so so good. Flavors in the beautiful sauce were spot on. Served over steamed jasmine rice and it was such a hit - we could not get enough!! Thanks so much for an awesome recipe that will be part of our menu rotation often!!
Alex
Just made this for dinner and so scrumptious!!
I made my sauce a little spicier wit some extra chili oils n swapped sugar for erythritol n absolutely delish! Put it over cauliflower rice n now I got a keto recipe that will be in regular rotation!!
★★★★★
L. Smith @ First Time Foods
This looks great! I love breakfast meals; we'll have to try this one!
Lori
I love this recipe! It's really easy to make and tastes so good! Loved being able to make it with bok choy fresh from my garden. 🙂
Lisa
This recipe is so. good. It is definitely going into my favorites folder. It looks very impressive even though it is so easy especially since I added a few slices of avocado and some pickled red onion I had in the fridge as a garnish. I didn't have any thai chili sauce, although I'm sure it i even better, so I used sriracha and increased the fish sauce by 2 teaspoons to approximate and it was delicious. Thanks for this recipe!
Carol at Wild Goose Mama
It's the easy sauce that catches my attention. I have to give that a try. I like making my own sauces, because you can tweak them a bit to suit your own taste or not. It sounds Ta Ta if you make your own sauce. And of course life is all about your image. You know I am teasing here. I like rice bowls and I love bok choy----works for me!
I don't normally talk about ME, but take note of the slight name change from Wild Goose Tea. New web site design too--whoopee and I will be adding some new features.
Rachel (Rachel's Kitchen NZ)
Mmmm - delicious Lisa - wish I had this recipe last night - I look to do something interesting with mince (ground beef) last night and this would have been perfect - thanks Lisa.
Melissa
I can't wait to make this! Can you recommend a substitution for bok choy? My local grocery store rarely carries it. Thanks!
Lisa Goldfinger
Hi Melissa, I think this dish would be delicious with fresh spinach or kale or snow peas. I hope that helps. Lisa
Betsy Brand
Love everything about this recipe!
Lisa Goldfinger
Thanks Betsy!
Krishna
I like this . Looks easy. I need to learn how to use these sauces to reproduce the Asian flavors.
Lisa Goldfinger
Hi Krishna, Thanks for your comment. It is an easy dish. Let me know how you like it if you try it out.