Korean-Style Beef Lettuce Cups

Sweet-savoury beef, crisp lettuce and a quick cucumber crunch. Ginger-garlic beef in a glossy soy and sesame sauce, tucked into crisp lettuce with rice and quick-pickled cucumber. A practical weeknight take on Korean-inspired flavours.

30 minApprox. time
EasyEffort
4 servings (12 lettuce cups)Makes
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Korean-Style Beef Lettuce Cups — recipe cover
Everything you need

Ingredients

Batch size

Choose a batch size above. Portion to your appetite.

Rice and cups

Quick cucumber

Beef

Soy, wheat (soy sauce) and sesame.

Let’s cook

Make it tonight.

  1. Cook the rice

    Rinse the rice. Put in a small saucepan with 225 ml water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce to the lowest heat and cook 12 minutes. Remove from heat, keep covered 10 minutes, then fluff. Follow the rice packet if it specifies a different water ratio.
  2. Quick-pickle the cucumber

    Toss sliced cucumber with rice vinegar, 1 tsp sugar and salt. Leave 15 minutes, tossing once, then drain. Wash and thoroughly dry the lettuce leaves.
  3. Mix the sauce

    Stir together soy sauce, brown sugar and 2 tbsp water. Keep the sesame oil for the end.
  4. Brown the beef

    Heat neutral oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef and cook 6–8 minutes, breaking into small crumbles, until browned and cooked through to 71°C. Spoon away excess fat.
  5. Glaze

    Stir garlic and ginger into the beef for 1 minute. Add the soy mixture and simmer 2–3 minutes, stirring, until glossy with a little sauce left. Remove from heat and stir in sesame oil and half the spring onions.
  6. Build the cups

    Divide rice, beef and drained cucumber among 12 lettuce leaves. Finish with remaining spring onions and sesame seeds. Serve immediately, allowing 3 cups per person.

Make it yours.

Switch the protein

Use 500 g ground turkey instead; cook to 74°C before adding the aromatics.

Choose your crunch

Use little gem or romaine leaves if butter lettuce is unavailable. Keep leaves dry so the filling stays put. For extra crunch, add 1 small grated carrot alongside the cucumber; this optional variation is shown on the swaps card.

Make it spicy

Add chilli flakes or a little sriracha to your own portion. For gluten-free cups, use certified gluten-free tamari and check other labels.

Prep ahead

Refrigerate beef, cucumber and lettuce separately for up to 3 days. Cool rice quickly and refrigerate within 1 hour; use within 24 hours. Reheat beef and rice once until steaming hot, then fill fresh leaves.

Equipment

Small lidded saucepan, large skillet, mixing bowl, measuring spoons, knife and chopping board, instant-read thermometer..

A note on the nutrition

The recipe, in pictures.

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