My Paleo Korean-Style Beef and Noodles Recipe is a delicious spin on a traditional dish, and it’s made using easy-to-find ingredients that are readily available in stores or online.
And it’s ready in about 30 minutes and even less if you purchase the butternut squash already made into noodles or if you make the noodles in advance.
Even better is that the recipe is completely Paleo so you don’t have to worry about iffy ingredients that are usually found in takeout.
And the best part is that this is a recipe that your entire family will love!
How I Made This Paleo
The first that you might have noticed was that I used shirataki noodles and butternut squash “noodles” instead of cellophane or rice noodles, which are common in Asian recipes.
Shirataki noodles, also called konjac noodles and miracle noodles, are made from the fiber that comes from the konjac plant’s root. Shirataki noodles have exploded in popularity in the past few years because they are high in fiber but low in carbs and calories.
If you’ve never tried shirataki noodles, don’t be put off by their smell when you open the package. Simply rinse the noodles and boil them for 2 to 3 minutes before using them, which will get rid of the fishy aroma.
The other Paleo pasta that I used in this recipe was butternut squash noodles. Many grocery stores carry fresh and frozen butternut squash noodles, which is a great choice if you don’t have the time to make your own.
But don’t be intimidated by the thought of making your own! Simply cut the bulbous end and the stem, which leaves the neck of the butternut squash.
Peel the neck and spiralize or use a vegetable peeler to make long, noodle-like strands. You might need to cut the neck into several smaller pieces to make it easier to handle.
However, you can use other root vegetables instead of butternut squash. Sweet potatoes are a great substitute but just be mindful that they will be slightly sweeter than butternut squash.
Another ingredient that you won’t find in the recipe is soy sauce, which is made from wheat and soybeans, and isn’t considered Paleo. Instead, I used gluten-free tamari sauce and coconut aminos to give the dish a rich flavor.
Gluten-free tamari sauce is made from just soybeans and contains absolutely no wheat. It has a flavor that is a bit stronger than traditional soy sauce. So, you would want to use a bit less gluten-free tamari sauce if you are substituting it in recipes that use soy sauce.
To balance out the flavor of gluten-free tamari sauce, I used coconut aminos to give the dish an overall flavor similar to soy sauce. Coconut aminos are sweeter than soy sauce and gluten-free tamari sauce because it is made from the sap of coconut trees and salt.
If you don’t have gluten-free tamari sauce, you can use just coconut aminos instead, but you might need to add a bit more salt to the dish at the end.
However, if you don’t have coconut aminos, you can omit it from the dish, but you might need to add a bit more coconut sugar to balance the saltiness of the gluten-free tamari sauce.
Another ingredient I used to make the recipe Paleo was coconut sugar instead of traditional cane sugar. Similar to coconut aminos, coconut sugar is made from coconut sap that has been dried and ground into sugar.
While coconut sugar is slightly better for you than traditional sugar due to the trace amounts of minerals in it, it is still sugar and should be used sparingly. If you want, you can omit the coconut sugar completely for a slightly less sweet dish. And be sure to check out all of my Paleo Asian recipes where you can find plenty of recipes to tempt your tastebuds without ruining your diet.
Drain and rinse the shirataki noodles. Place the rinsed noodles in a pot of boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes and drain well. Set aside until ready to use.
Add 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) of the sesame oil in a skillet or wok over high heat. Add the optional chili pepper, garlic, fresh ginger, and whites of the onions to the skillet and stir-fry until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Add the ground beef to the skillet and stir-fry until browned, about 4 to 5 minutes.
Add the tamari sauce, coconut aminos, coconut sugar, and the remaining 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) to the skillet and stir-fry for 5 to 10 minutes until the ground beef is crispy. Use a wood spoon to break up the ground beef as finely as possible. Season with salt, to taste.
Steam in the microwave or pan-fry the butternut squash noodles for 2 minutes until slightly soft. Toss the butternut squash “noodles” with the drained shirataki noodles to combine.
Top the noodles with the beef and garnish with the remaining green onions and sesame seeds before serving.
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