By: Ellen

Why You’ll Love These Korean Rice Bowls with Mango Slaw

If you’re craving a lighter dinner that will still hit the spot, then you need to make these Korean Rice Bowls with Mango Slaw immediately! This fresh and fun dinner is the most delicious during the hot summer months, so make it soon before July and August slip by. Here’s why you’ll love this recipe:

Sweet and savory. This recipe has perfectly cooked rice and mouthwatering Korean-inspired ground meat topped with sweet and juicy mango slaw. The sweet-savory flavor combination is so good!
Easy to make. With just a few simple steps, these rice bowls are ready in about 30 minutes. They’re quick and easy to assemble, but packed with flavor. It’s about to become a favorite weeknight dinner, I can almost guarantee it.
Customizable. There’s not wrong way to assemble a rice bowl. These Korean bowls are totally DIY, from the juicy ground meat to the grain you choose as a base. Change up the flavors and ingredients depending on what you like, and what’s on hand in the fridge.

Ingredients to make Korean Rice Bowls with Mango Slaw.

What You’ll Need

Below are some notes on the ingredients you’ll need to pull together these Korean rice bowls, as well as the mango slaw. Scroll to the recipe card for a printable list of ingredients.

For the Mango Slaw

Cucumber: Chopped into small slices.
Cabbage Slaw: You can buy a bag of shredded cabbage to save some time.
Mango: Use fresh, not frozen mango for the best results. If you use frozen mango, make sure to thaw, drain, and pat the mango dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture.
Cilantro: Rinse the cilantro before chopping it.
Olive Oil: Or another type of oil, like avocado oil.
Rice Vinegar: You can also use another type of vinegar, such as white wine vinegar or distilled white vinegar.

For the Rice Bowls

Olive Oil: For sauteeing. You can use the same oil you use for the slaw in a pinch.
Ground Meat: Pork, beef, turkey, or even a vegetarian alternative will all work.
Soy Sauce: We like to use low-sodium soy sauce or tamari.
Mirin and Rice Vinegar: Keep in mind that mirin and the rice vinegar are two different ingredients! Mirin is a bit sweeter than the rice vinegar. You’ll find mirin in the international food aisle at most major grocery stores and at Asian supermarkets.
Sesame Oil: You can use toasted sesame oil if you’d prefer.
Garlic: Use fresh garlic cloves, not the pre-minced stuff.
Green Onions: Divide the white and greens after slicing.
Rice: You can use just about any kind of rice for these bowls, but some varieties are better than others (see below).

What Kind of Rice Do You Use for Rice Bowls?

Medium grain white rice is best for a more traditional Korean style rice bowl. You can also use brown rice, sticky rice, Jasmine rice, or basmati rice as a base if you prefer. Coconut rice is also a great way to add more flavor.

How to Make Korean Rice Bowls

Making Korean rice bowls at home is easy! These bowls are perfect to assemble on a busy weeknight, and you can even prepare all of your ingredients, including the slaw, the day before. Follow the steps below. Scroll down to the recipe card for printable instructions.

A bowl of slaw is in a glass bowl. — Season the slaw with rice vinegar.

The ingredients for the mango slaw are all placed in a large mixing bowl. — Season the slaw with rice vinegar.

Make the mango slaw: Peel cucumber and cut in half moon shape. In a large bowl, combine slaw mix, mango, cilantro, cucumbers, olive oil, rice vinegar and salt and pepper. Toss well and set aside.
Create a sauce: While slaw is pickling, prepare the meat. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together soy sauce, Mirin, rice vinegar, sesame oil and garlic. This is what is going to give our meat all those great Korean inspired flavors.

Green onions and uncooked ground meat are in a large skillet. — Cook the meat.

Soy sauce is being poured onto brown ground meat. — Cook the meat.

Cook the meat: In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon of oil and cook ground meat for 4 minutes. Add the whites from the green onions and soy sauce mixture to the meat. Continue to cook until meat is cooked through, about 2 to 3 more minutes. Remove meat from heat and set aside.
Add the rice: In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and stir in rice and the remaining green onions. Cook, stirring often for about 3 to 4 minutes, until rice is heated through. You can also add extra cilantro to your rice if you like cilantro rice.
Assemble the bowls: Divide rice into 4 bowls, top each bowl evenly with ground meat mixture and then serve topped with fresh slaw. Garnish with extra cilantro or green onions, if desired. Enjoy!

An assembled Korean rice bowl placed on a placemat with chopsticks, next to a bowl of mango slaw.

Tips for Success

The following are some helpful tips for the best Korean rice bowls:

Serving: These Korean rice bowls are great served hot or cold. Enjoy them right away, or store the leftovers promptly to enjoy for a fresh and tasty lunch the following day.
Timing the Rice: We usually start cooking the rice while we’re making the slaw, and it’s ready to go in time to assemble the dish. Follow the individual package directions to make sure the rice is cooked properly.
Double the Sauce: If you’re fond of especially saucy ground meat, feel free to double up on the sauce ingredients!
Use Noodles: If you’d prefer to use noodles in place of rice, that’s also a delicious option. Swap out the rice and make Korean noodle bowls with Udon, rice noodles, or egg noodles. You can also use other grains, like quinoa, as a base if you prefer.
Dressing: Instead of oil and rice vinegar, bring even more flavor to the mango slaw by tossing the ingredients with homemade Asian salad dressing.

Chopsticks lifting a bite sized portion of rice and ground meat from a rice bowl.

Easy Variations

The beauty of making your own rice bowls is that you have the freedom to customize them, any way that you’d like. Try these ideas:

Kimchi: We are big kimchi lovers in our house. For a more traditional Korean dinner, serve these rice bowls with some kimchi either in the bowl itself or on the side!
Spicy: As they are, these bowls are not spicy. They are full of flavor, but not spice to keep them family friendly. If you love heat, you can spice up these rice bowls with gochujang, a spicy Korean red chili paste or with Sriracha.
Rice Vinegar: If you can’t get your hands on any rice vinegar, apple cider or white vinegar will also get the job done. It’s not the same, but close enough to work in a pinch.
Protein: In place of ground beef, you can make this recipe shredded beef, or another type of meat like ground chicken, turkey, or ground pork. For a meat-free option, try crumbled tofu.

A plated Korean rice bowl topped with mango slaw.

How to Store and Reheat Leftovers

Store: Store any leftover ground meat and mango slaw separately in airtight containers. They’ll keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. I recommend making a fresh batch of rice for serving.
Reheating: Reheat the meat in a skillet on the stove. Sprinkle in a bit of soy sauce or water if needed, to help loosen up the meat again.
Freeze: Cooked ground meat freezes well. Store it in containers or freezer bags and keep it frozen for up to 2 months. Defrost the meat in the fridge before serving cold or reheating. Don’t freeze the mango slaw, as fresh veggies don’t hold up well in the freezer.

More Easy Dinner Recipes

A serving of rice, meat and veggies is presented on a tan plate.

4.8 from 5 votes

Print Pin Recipe

Yield: 4 servings

Korean Rice Bowls with Mango Slaw

These quick Korean Rice Bowls are easy to make and absolutely exploding with flavor. Use ground pork or beef, and don't skip the sweet and juicy mango slaw!

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Total Time25

Ingredients

Mango Slaw:

1 large cucumber
4 cups cabbage slaw
1 cup chopped mango
⅓ cup chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup rice vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste

Meat and Rice:

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound ground pork or beef
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Mirin
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
3 fresh garlic cloves, minced
4 green onions, sliced and whites and greens divided
2 cups cooked medium grain white rice**

Instructions

SLAW:

Peel cucumber and cut in half moon shape. In a large bowl, combine slaw mix, mango, cilantro, cucumbers, olive oil, rice vinegar and salt and pepper. Toss well and set aside.

MEAT:

While slaw is pickling, prepare the meat. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together soy sauce, Mirin, rice vinegar, sesame oil and garlic. Set aside.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and cook ground meat for 4 minutes. Add the whites from the green onions and soy sauce mixture to the meat. Continue to cook until meat is cooked through, about 2 to 3 more minutes. Remove meat from heat and set aside.

RICE:

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and stir in rice and the remaining green onions. Cook, stirring often for about 3 to 4 minutes, until rice is heated through. You can also add extra cilantro to your rice if you like cilantro rice!
Divide rice into 4 bowls, top each bowl evenly with ground meat mixture and then serve topped with fresh slaw. Garnish with extra cilantro or green onions, if desired.

Notes

**Rice: We start cooking our rice, according to the package directions, before we start with step #1 (making the slaw) and it’s done cooking just in time to finish our dish.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 809kcal, Carbohydrates: 64g, Protein: 31g, Fat: 47g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 37g, Cholesterol: 84mg, Sodium: 1443mg, Fiber: 6g, Sugar: 31g