Instant Pot Korean Beef is tender, flavorful Korean beef made in a pressure cooker. Recipe includes an explanation of gochujang and a gochujang substitute.
This Instant Pot Korean Beef recipe is a variation on my slow cooker Korean beef recipe, which is one of my favorite crock pot recipes.
The Korean beef is super tender and packed with flavor. The recipe makes plenty of sauce, and I love to serve it spooned over the beef.
Rather than having to slow cook it all day, the Instant Pot cuts the total time cooking from 6-8 hours to just over an hour. Most of that time is hands-off, which makes this a pretty easy dinner recipe.
How to make Korean beef in the Instant Pot
This is a really easy dinner recipe!
Step 1: Simply stir the first ten ingredients together for the sauce.
Step 2: Place the cubed meat in the inner pot, and pour the sauce over the meat.
Step 3: Close and lock the lid.
Step 4: Turn the pressure release valve to sealing position. Press the meat button and adjust the time to 40 minutes.
Step 5: Let the pressure release naturally for 25 minutes, and then turn the pressure release valve to venting position.
What is gochujang?
Gochujang is a key ingredient in this Korean beef. It’s a sweet and spicy red chili paste that’s commonly used in Korean cooking.
Not to be confused with Thai sweet chili sauce or a spicy chili sauce like Sriracha, gochujang sauce adds unique flavor to this dish.
There are several different brands of gochujang sauce available, and I’ve seen it everywhere from my local supermarket to Walmart, Target, and Amazon.
We prefer it to Sriracha. Even my kids love the flavor of the sweet and spicy sauce.
**Note – be sure to get gochujang sauce, not paste. The paste is more concentrated and will give you a much spicier result.**
What can you substitute for gochujang?
I highly recommend buying a bottle of gochujang sauce.
If you can’t gochujang sauce (or just don’t want to purchase it), you can substitute a mixture that consists of a little Sriracha, a dash of additional soy sauce, and a little additional brown sugar to taste instead.
What to serve with this dish
I usually serve this beef topped with sesame seeds and sliced green onions over rice with steamed broccoli on the side. It goes well with any number of steamed veggies (snow peas are also really good with this).
You can also serve it as Korean beef tacos in tortillas topped with shredded cabbage.
Storage
Any leftovers should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The beef will keep for up to 4 days when properly stored.
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Instant Pot Korean Beef
Equipment
- Instant Pot/electric pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 1/3 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup reduced-sodium beef broth
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
- 2-4 tablespoons Gochujang sauce1 depending on desired heat
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 3-4 pound boneless beef chuck roast cut into 1-inch cubes
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together first 10 ingredients (up to roast).
- Place cubed roast into Instant Pot.
- Pour sauce over cubed meat.
- Close the lid, and make sure the pressure release valve is turned to “SEALING”.
- Press the MEAT program button, and adjust time to 40 minutes. The pot should reach pressure within 10-15 minutes.
- Once the pot reaches pressure, it will begin counting down.
- Once it has finished cooking, it will beep and switch to keep warm.
- Allow beef to remain in pot for 25 minutes NPR (natural pressure release).
- Carefully release any pressure left at that time by turning the pressure release valve to “VENTING”.
Video
Notes
- See notes above recipe for an explanation and substitute. Also, be sure to get gochujang sauce, not paste.
- Nutrition facts are estimates.
Nutrition
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Reader Interactions
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Comments & Reviews
Lori says
Do I cook for less time if I am only cooking 1.5 Lbs of meat ?
I did this like recipe and I find it dry. I expected it to be a bit more saucy.
Advice ?
Kate says
Yes, you will need to cook it for a shorter amount of time, and it should be pretty saucy when it finishes cooking. For only 1.5 pounds of meat, you shouldn’t need to cook it for more than 25 minutes. Two questions – First, are you halving the sauce? Second, are you using chuck roast?
Ginger says
Great recipe, the proportions of ingredients is just right. I made it for my family in the instaPot on pressure cook for 1hr 15min. And it’s a huge hit on repeat.
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad that it was a hit!
Liz says
This is SO GOOD. I sautéed onion, mushrooms, and asparagus and served the veggies over brown rice with the Korean beef on top. Wow. The beef was so tender you would think it had been in a crock pot all day!
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad that you liked it!
Scott says
I made this several times now exactly as written and it is absolutely terrific. I serve it over ramen noodles soaked in the broth and topped with some sauteed bean sprouts, onion, asparagus and mushrooms and it is delicious.
Kate says
Thank you! That sounds delicious!
Pete B. says
This is a go to recipe in my house (probably made it or something inspired by this recipe ten times in the last year) I add gochgaru on serving and sub. Gochgang paste ( love the heat) . Also works well with chicken thigh (I think it would likely desiccate chicken breast). Serve on short grain rice with a bit of seasoned marin. Needs a bright green vegetable near to top it off. I’ve also added potatoes and carrots to the top in the pressure cooker to make a stew. Thanks for this recipe.
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad that you’re enjoying the recipe!
Geri says
Delicious!! Prepared exactly as written in the recipe. 2 TBS Gochujang added perfect amount of spice. Thickened sauce a bit with some corn starch. Thanks for a keeper!!
Kate says
Thank you! I’m glad you liked it!
Faz says
What’s the quantity of gochujang paste I should use ? We don’t have the sauce.
Kate says
That’s going to depend on how much spice you like. The paste concentrated, so you won’t need as much of it as you would need of the sauce. If you don’t like as much spice, you could try 1/2 tablespoon. If you’d like more heat, you could try 1-2 tablespoons.
Christina Rea says
We love this so much! I’m add more meat and veggies so should I be doubling the spices and liquids?thank you
Kate says
Hi – it depends on how saucy you want it to be. If you’re happy with the recipe, doubling everything may be the easiest.
Kristin says
We make a lot of Asian food in our house and can be pretty picky about how it turns out. I made this exactly as written and it was DELICOUS!!! We will definitely be adding this to our instant pot meal rotation; so much tastier than making a pot roast. My husband, who is pretty particular, kept saying “this is delicious.” Thank you for publishing this one.
Kate says
Thank you so much!
Robbie says
This looks amazing. However I am wondering if it could be done in a slow cooker, as I don’t have an instant pot nor a pressure cooker.
Kate says
Thank you! I have a slow cooker version, and you can find that recipe here.
Esther says
I thought you needed 1 cup of liquid for the Instant Pot. I’m confused.
Kate says
Hi! The sauce makes more than 1 cup of liquid.
Sharese says
If have a 3-4lb chuck roast. If I want shredded Korean Beef, can I leave it whole when I cook this recipe? Then shred when done and put back into sauce? If so, how should I adjust the cook time? Thank you.
Kate says
The larger the piece of meat, the longer it takes to cook. So, cooking a whole 3-4 pound roast will take much, much longer than a cubed roast. When I make pulled pork and similar shredded meat, I cut the larger piece of meat into 4-6 pieces and then cook those pieces. With the larger pieces of meat, you’re looking at about 25 minutes per pound for tender, shred-able meat. I hope that helps!
Courtenay says
Fantastic! So delicious, thank you!
Kate says
Thanks!
Jan says
Love this recipe. I have made it several times. It’s easy and a flavour pleaser for everyone. I could only find the gochujang paste and find 1/2 tablespoon of that is spicy enough for us
Kate says
Thank you so much! I’m so glad that you like it!
Laura S. says
What cut of beef works best in this recipe? Thanks!
Kate says
Chuck roast works well. You could also use stew meat if that’s easier.
Jen says
This was DELICIOUS! my husband was craving kor an beef and this totally hit the spot! Adding to our rotation.
Kate says
Yay!! I’m so glad that you liked it!
Vanessa Ashley says
Hi,
I’m just wondering if you should cook this on the High, Medium or Low Pressure setting?
Thanks,
Kate says
Hi! You can either use the meat button or use manual high pressure.
Jeanette says
This was an awesome recipe. It turned out so good. I used tri tip steaks cut into 1 inch cubes. This is a first time must try success. Thanks for the recipe.
Kate says
Thank you!
Amy says
Hi! I was just wondering what brand of gochujang sauce you use? Want to try this recipe out and can’t seem to find the sauce ?
Kate says
Hi! I’ve used Bibigo and Momofuku’s gochujang sauces. I’ve ordered it on Amazon because I can’t always find it in my local store. If you decide you don’t want to buy the sauce, also have directions for making a DIY gochujang substitute above the recipe.
Terrenia says
Could I use frozen stew meat?
Jeanette says
This was an awesome recipe. It turned out so good. I used tri tip steaks cut into 1 inch cubes. This is a first time must try success. Thanks for the recipe.
Kate says
Thanks!