Sometimes a quick meal is just what you need and it can be particularly delightful when you work in a fun twist. That's exactly what you get when you take traditional sloppy joes and mix up the sauce ingredients to give then a bit of Korean flare.
I would not tweak these a lot, but you could add a spoon of kimchi to the mix if you want things spicier and sliced green onions are a nice touch on top. The mix of ingredients in this ground beef mixture hit the right combination of excellent flavor and enough stickiness to help keep it mostly together inside a bun. You can opt for other buns, but I adored the richness a good toasted brioche bun brings to the sandwich.
I paired mine with kettle chips and a chopped salad consisting of mini sweet peppers, coarsely shredded carrots, roasted peanuts, sesame seeds, and Thai peanut dressing. However, they'd be stunning along all manner of sides that would be happy with Korean food - think cucumber salad or kimchi - or traditional sloppy joes - think pasta or potato salad. Whatever you serve with them, grab a couple of napkins and dig in!
Korean Sloppy Joes
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- ⅓ cup chopped red onion
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- ½ cup ketchup
- ½ cup hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon sriracha sauce
- 4 brioche rolls
In a large skillet, brown the ground beef until well browned. Add the red onion, garlic, sesame oil, ketchup, hoisin, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and sriracha; stir well until the sauce starts to thicken and the mixture becomes a bit sticky - about 5-6 minutes.
Toast the buns and spoon the sloppy joe mixture into them. Serve warm.
- Yields: 4 servings
- Preparation Time: 20 minutes