Best Instant Pot Korean Beef Stew (Kimchi Style)
Seriously, the yummiest Instant Pot Korean Beef Stew you’ll ever make! Sweet, savory with hints of sesame and spice plus melt-in-your-mouth tender beef, you’ll be making this delicious beef stew over and over again!
I’ve been wanting to post this Instant Pot Korean Beef Stew recipe on the blog for the longest time! However, I didn’t want to do so until I have perfected it. It took 3 attempts but I’m happy to announce that I’ve finally nailed this to a T!
You’re probably wondering why I needed to perfect this dish when people who make it can simply adjust the seasonings to their liking. True but I have a reason why!
This particular Korean beef stew is based on my number one favorite Korean beef stew from a mall-based restaurant in the Philippines called Kimchi. It was so popular in the 90s and pretty much everyone’s favorite food.
It was such a food court staple that my friends and I often ordered this when we’re in the mall as it’s super yummy – perfectly spiced stew with the perfect balance of sweet-savory flavors and melt-in-your-mouth tender beef. I ate too much rice every time I ate this stew!!! It was that good!
I cannot mess up with this recipe as everyone who grew up eating this Korean beef stew knows exactly how it tastes like. I didn’t want to disappoint my friends who’ve been waiting for this copycat recipe for quite a while now.
Thankfully, I’m happy to announce I’ve done it! In fact, it was so good that my husband – not a huge fan of Korean stew had at least double servings when I made this, with extra rice naturally. Ha! He told me it was so good – in fact, perfect indeed!
Just one look at that delicious bowl above and you can see how delicious it is!
Initially, I’ve made searches online on how to make this and there are quite a few recipes available. But, I was not satisfied with the results – either too much gochujang or Korean red chili paste was added (stew looked too red), no ginger ever used (not very Korean without ginger in my opinion), and some with added water or broth which diluted the seasoning sauce and ended up with too much liquid.
So I finally decided to abandon trying to adjust these recipes and instead used my own go-to Korean marinade and added just the right amount of gochujang, fresh ginger for that classic Korean taste, used Korean mirin (sweet cooking wine) and left out the water/broth so the flavors were not diluted – the result —– perfection! It’s exactly how I remembered that Korean beef stew from the mall tasted like!
You cannot believe how happy I am to achieve this! I even thought of having a happy dance! LOL.
Hope you try it and I guarantee, you will love this beef stew. Best of all, I made this version in the instant pot so you don’t need to take the entire day trying to make the beef tender on the stovetop. This can easily be done in the slow cooker, too. Simply adjust the length of time to about 8 hours on low or until the meat is tender.
Enjoy with extra helpings of rice!
WHAT INGREDIENTS TO USE FOR THE KOREAN BEEF STEW
(FULL RECIPE WITH INSTRUCTIONS and TO PRINT see the RECIPE CARD BELOW)
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Soy sauce
- Brown Sugar
- Gochujang (Korean red chili paste) – this is a must as it adds that subtle hint of spice and gives the stew its signature reddish color. This can easily be found either in the Asian section of your grocery or at any Asian store. Worth buying this as it adds depth and extra umami flavor to stews and marinades for meat dishes. I honestly prefer this over Sriracha as it’s not as intense.
- Asian pear or green Apple
- Mirin (Sweet Cooking Wine)
- Sesame Oil
- Salt
- Short Ribs (Bone-in and Boneless, combo) – boneless ribs may be replaced by roast
- Oil
- Onion
- Scallions (garnish)
- Toasted Sesame seeds (garnish)
HOW TO MAKE THE KOREAN BEEF STEW
(FULL INSTRUCTIONS IN THE RECIPE CARD BELOW)
Make the sauce first by combining the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sugar, Gochujang, mirin, and salt. Look at the tasty seasoning below!
Brown the beef in batches in the instant pot. Do not skip because this adds depth of flavor to the meat and is so easy to do with the saute function in the instant pot.
Looking good already just after searing, right?
Saute the onion slices then return the beef chunks.
Pour in the sauce made earlier (plus the grated or pureed Asian pear or green apple, if using) then cook in the instant pot.
Ladle in a bowl and garnish with sliced scallions and toasted sesame. Serve with rice.
Super easy, right? What are you waiting for? Make it today!
Best Instant Pot Korean Beef Stew (Kimchi Style)
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker or Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 whole head garlic, peeled and minced
- 2-3 inch fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- ½ cup soy sauce, like Kikkoman
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp gochujang (Korean red chili paste)
- ½ cup mirin (sweet cooking wine)
- ¼ cup sesame oil
- ½ tsp salt
- 3-4 lbs bone-in and boneless short ribs, cut into bite-size pieces ( 1½ inch cubes/length)
- salt and pepper, to taste (for seasoning the beef)
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 large red or yellow onion
- 1 bunch scallions, sliced thinly for garnish
- 1-2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
- 1 Asian pear or green apple, grated or pureed (pulsed briefly in blender or food processor)
Instructions
- In a bowl mix together the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sugar, Gochujang, mirin and sesame oil. Set aside.
- Season the beef with salt and pepper. Choose the saute setting in the instant pot and heat the oil. Once the oil is hot, sear the beef, in batches, until nicely browned.
- In the remaining oil in the instant pot (replenish the oil, if needed), saute the red onion slices for 1-2 minutes. Deglaze the pan (remove brown bits) as you saute the onion.
- Return the beef chunks into the pot. Pour in the sauce made earlier and the grated or pureed pear/apple. Stir briefly.Turn off the instant pot and choose manual pressure. Cook on high for 35 minutes. Allow natural release for 15-20 minutes. Uncover. Ladle in a bowl and garnish with extra scallions and toasted sesame. Serve with rice! Super yummy dinner!
Notes
Last updated on February 13th, 2024 at 03:22 pm
Wow! Loved how easy this actually came together in the instant pot! So flavorful and the beef was super tender.
THIS SOUNDS INCREDIBLE!!!
I’ve got the biggest tub of Gochujang in my fridge and cannot wait to dive into it! The meat looks so so tender, I’m ready to rock!
Ps. Would it be a travesty to mop up the leftover juice with a slice of bread???
Mop it all up John! I’d do that for sure but with rice. Thanks, and enjoy!
I am always looking for new ways to use my Instant pot, and this Korean Beef Stew looks delicious.
This Korean beef stew looks so good and comforting! I cannot wait to try it in my Instant Pot!
This korean beef stew looks just melt in your mouth delicious! I know what my Instant Pot will be making next!
The flavors of your stew must be incredible! I can’t wait to give it a try in my kitchen!
I was just thinking about Kimchi Restaurant back in the days at Greenville! I’m getting ready to go to the Asian store to get the ingredients. Thank you Abby!!!!
Hope you like it Loudette! Thanks!
Everything about this Korean beef stew looks amazing! I can’t wait to make this for dinner next week, my husband is going to love it too!
I love any and all things Korean, so this made me so excited to read. I already have everything I need to make this beef stew, so I’m going to make it for dinner on Sunday! Thanks, Gail!
That beef looks so flavorful and tender! I absolutely love the flavors of Korea, the gochujang and sesame are so important!
The presentation is awesome and this definitely looks so delicious. The sauce looks incredibly tasty plus the creamy texture will makes you crave. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful recipe.
This looks amazing!! Always wanted to try out more Korean cuisines and I will sure give this beef stew a go!
This looks delicious!!! I love how simple it is to make and all the flavors that go into it. Looks like the perfect week night meal especially when it can be cooked so quickly.
Oh, I must try this Korean beef stew! I think I can smell the aromas through my computer screen! Looks so delicious, Abby!
Oh my stars…talk about a mouth-watering recipe! This Instant Pot Korean Beef Stew looks so flavorful!
What a great use of the instant pot! The beef comes out perfectly and the flavors are lovely. Great dinner idea and can’t wait to make it again.
This looks so good! My son who loves all Asian cuisines would love it. I’m glad you explained why gochujang is better than sriracha, and I hope Japanese mirin is ok, since that’s what I can find in Honolulu.
Yes, that is certainly fine to use Beth. Thanks, and enjoy it.
Love how tender and flavorful the beef in this Korean stew is. A great recipe to make on the instant pot! Thanks a lot for sharing this amazing recipe.
Oh my!! The look of this dish!! I so want it right now for breakfast. I will make this for my guests this afternoon. Need to get out and get some good beef for it – I have all the other ingredients 😉 I am so looking forward to having this Korean beef stew!
Wow your Korean beef stew looks fantastic. I need to get some gochujang and mirin and then I’m going to put it on the menu for next weekend!
Instant pot beef stew sounds like a healthy dish to gobble on cold nights. The best part is it will be ready to eat in just few minutes in an instant pot.
This recipe is so delicious, I love that it is made in the instant pot, making it even easier. So good!
currently cooking, i cant wait! thanks for sharing this recipe 🙂
Glad to know that. Do let us know how it went.
Made this Korean Beef recipe last night for dinner with a brown rice and veggies. It was a HUGE success! It tasted like “restaurant food!”
It was so easy to make AND my husband absolutely loved it — a very big two thumbs up for this recipe!! Totally going to become a new favourite in our household for sure! Thanks so much for sharing this with us! xxx
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it Meg. It’s indeed super easy to make and so tasty! Thanks for stopping by.
I am making this right now and it is pressure cooking as I type! Can’t wait to serve this to the family! We don’t normally find beef stew in the Korean restaurants here in Malaysia. I always used to eat this in the Alabang Town Center or Mega Mall food courts when I was much younger haha. So glad I found this! Thanks!
So glad you did! Hope you enjoy this.
Thank you for sharing this recipe! Will be using my instant pot for the first time and I’m gonna be following this recipe! Yay! I really need not to use any water/broth for this recipe?
No need. It would make a lot of sauce or liquid on its own and you don’t wish to dilute the taste. It’s good as is. Enjoy.
Made this like 3-4x already since I saw your recipe.. such a hit for us
Thank you for sharing ❤️❤️❤️
Yay! So glad to know this Sarah. Thank you for very kindly letting us know. You totally made my new year’s day 2021 happy!
We are always looking for new ways to use our instant pot, and this looks delicious. I can’t wait to try it.
This sounds wonderful I need to get the dust off my pot and make this delicious meal, its been awhile since I used mine thanks!
Great recipe to make in the instant pot. The beef came out so tender and flavorful.
This instant pot Korean beef stew quickly became a favorite meal at my house! Everyone loved it!
My mouth is watering! What a beautiful stew! This instant pot Korean beef stew is truly a perfect and comforting meal for the winter…my family would thoroughly enjoy this too.
Enjoyed this Instant Pot Korean Sesame Garlic Beef for dinner last night and it did not disappoint! A great recipe for my instant pot and better than take out, indeed!
I haven’t used my instant much and this is the perfect recipe to make! I can’t wait to make this! My family and I are going to love this recipe!
Now this is one delicious instant pot meal I would eat every day. It looks fantastic!
This is such a fabulous dish and I can’t wait to make it myself.
Oh wow! This stew looks so good with the short ribs. I love all those flavors and how easily it comes together in the instant pot.
I’m a millennial who enjoys cooking but rarely finds the motivation to do so. I was craving a slow-cooked beef and this recipe caught my eye —the photos were stunning! I made this and subbed apple cider vinegar as we don’t have mirin in Bangladesh and cooked it on super low heat on the stove in a deep dish pot for about 2 hours. It turned out soo delicious! It wasn’t hard at all and everyone enjoyed it! Thanks for developing this lovely recipe!
Hello Anika! I am so happy you made this recipe worked for you. It truly is delicious! Glad that the apple cider worked, too. Yay! Thank you for taking the time to let us know. Much appreciated.
I cooked this today and it’s awesome!
Yay! So glad to know that Tracy! It is a family favorite for sure. Thanks for letting us know.
This is super delicious! Thank you for sharing your recipe. I made twice already this month.
Yay! I am so glad to know that. Thanks for kindly letting us know. We absolutely love this, too!
Planning to make this over the weekend ❤️ Although I don’t have an instant pot or a pressure cooker so will just do this the old school way – stove top until the beef gets tender. My worry is that while it may take about 2 hours, the sauce will dry up if I don’t add broth. Let’s hope it doesn’t!
It shouldn’t if you do it on low heat or a simmer. It makes a lot of liquid in the pressure cooker so it may work fine. Do let us know how it goes.
My family LOVED this recipe tonight when I made this for dinner! It was spectacular!!!! My hubby asked for this to be put in our regular dinner rotation. I cooked this in a slow cooker and used a combination of bone-in short ribs and boneless country style ribs. I also only used 2.5 Tablespoons of sesame oil to accommodate my family’s taste but everything else was the same. Thank you so much for this yummy recipe!!! ❤️❤️
I’ve been wanting to add a slow cooker version of this on the blog because many have asked for it. Glad it worked for you! Yay! Now, I really ought to add that to my must-make list. Thanks for kindly stopping by. Much appreciated.
I was invited to dinner and this dish was served. All I can say is WOW! I really enjoyed it and I will definitely try this for myself at home.
If you are using chuck roast, how much beef? Hard to figure how much bones would weigh.
Get the boneless roast or if there’s bone still follow the recipe as is with no change of measurement because the short ribs I used had bones, too. It shouldn’t be a problem.
I have been cooking this recipe and my family really loves it.
Hi, Can I remove the gochujang? I want to let my toddlers try Korean beef stew but they don’t want anything spicy. Thanks.
Jean, after 1-2 days the stew mellows down so it’s no longer spicy but mild in flavor. However to be sure, simply halve the amount if you like and the taste it imparts would still be there but without much heat. You can opt to not use it but it won’t have the same flavor though it may still be ok. I suggest making it 1-2 days ahead. Thanks for asking.
I just made this tonight, and it came out super yummy! I was only able to get the English Cut, so I ended up removing the entire bone on each piece, and then I was able to cut it down to 6 bite-size pieces. Next time I need to dump some of the rendered fat because it was a bit too rich. Besides that, SO delicious!
Yay! So glad you enjoyed this! Thanks for letting us know!
hi. looks yummy.can I use the ninja foodi pressure cooker for this? thx
You can use any pressure cooker for this. Enjoy!
I know this is best cooked with an Instant Pot, but can I cook this on a regular stove pot? If so, are there any changes to the recipe other than length of cooking time? How long would you suggest it’ll take for me to boil everything on a regular pot? Thanks!
About 1 1/2 to 2 hours slow cooking. Hopefully, the sauce won’t dry up (so you may need to top up, if needed) but with slow cooking it shouldn’t evaporate so quickly. Let us know how it goes. Thanks!
Hi Abby! Just made this tonight after it popped up on Google. It was delicious!!! Subbed the chili paste for hot sauce, chili flakes and ketchup. Americanized it, sorry LOL. Hope you and your family are well!
Hi Janelle! So delighted that you enjoyed this! It’s one of my favorites for sure. Appreciate the kind feedback!