Korean Tacos with Kalbi and Napa Cabbage Slaw

Korean Tacos with Kalbi or Bulgogi have been around for some time now. These days, I even see them pretty often on TV, on programs like Eat St. and DDD. Usually, I am not a big fan of fusion food but every now and then I run into some really good combinations. While I was living in Korea, I visited Vatos Tacos in Itaewon and I instantly fell in love with Korean Mexican fusion. If you ever get to visit Bulgogi Taco and Kimchi french fries smothered with cheese, topped with kimchi are some of their great foods

So recently (well, actually not really.. it was last year 😜 ), I was inspired to try out some recipes for Korean Tacos for a party that I hosted at our home. I thought Korean Tacos would be a great party menu for a people who are still pretty new to Korean cuisine. Also, it is a good party menu because you can prepare most of the taco fixings in advance and just cook the meats after your guests arrive. I have also served Chicken Bulgogi as filling for Korean Tacos as an alternate meat option.

Since then, I made even more improvements and I think the resulting Korean Taco recipe came out pretty awesome. I also have to give credit to my daughter who suggested the addition of cherry tomato salsa to add freshness to it.

Even though this is not a difficult recipe to cook, Korean Tacos involve quite a few components, so let’s get started right away.

Notes

• Boneless Short Rib meat comes from a different cut than the traditional bone-in short ribs. They are cut from the meat above the ribs closest to the shoulder (i.e., the chuck). The bones near the shoulder are too narrow for it to make sense to keep them attached to the meat, so butchers simply remove them and cut the meat into short rectangular “ribs.” (from Cook’s Illustrated). As you can see from my picture below, boneless short rib meat have very little fat and is not as tender. So you will always need to use some kind of tenderizer and even with that, it will be somewhat chewy but have the most wonderful flavor.

Korean Tacos with Kalbi and Napa Cabbage Slaw

Makes: 6 Tacos              Prep: 40 min   Inactive: 3 hrs   Cook: 10 min                 Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• Kalbi marinade
  • 1 lb Boneless Short Rib
  • 1/4 yellow onion
  • 1 green onion, chopped
  • 3 Tbs soy sauce (Korean Jin Ganjang)
  • 1.5 Tbs red wine
  • 1 Tbs sesame oil
  • 2.5 Tbs brown sugar
  • 1 tsp ginger, grated
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• Napa Cabbage Slaw
  • 2 Napa Cabbage leaves (2~3 oz)
  • 2 oz Korean or Daikon Radish
  • 3 green onions, chopped
  • 1.5 Tbs cilantro
• Soy Lime Dressing for Cabbage Slaw
  • 1 lime, juiced (1 Tbs)
  • 2 Tbs soy sauce (Kikoman or Pulmuone Jin Ganjang)
  • 1 Tbs cooking sake or mirin
  • 1 Tbs olive oil
• Cherry Tomato Salsa
  • 8 oz cherry tomatoes or 2-3 medium ripe tomatoes
  • 1/3 red onion
  • 1 Jalapeno pepper, chopped
  • 1/2 Tbs lime juice (1/2 lime, juiced)
  • 1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
  • 1/8 tsp ground cumin
  • salt and pepper
• Creamy Gochujang Sauce
  • 4 Tbs mayonnaise
  • 2 Tbs 2% low fat plain yogurt
  • 1 tsp lime juice
  • 1 tsp gochujang
• Soft Taco shells

1. Cut boneless short ribs into thin strips.

   

   

2. In a blender, blend onion and red wine until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and mix in remaining marinade ingredients. Alternatively, you can blend everything together in the blender until smooth.
3. Marinate rib meat for at least 3 hrs to overnight. 

   

4. Julienne napa cabbage leaves and radishes.  
5. Chop green onions and one bunch of cilantro. One bunch chopped cilantro should make about 1/2 cup. Use 3 cup + 1.5 Tbs for recipes and then serve remaining as extra garnish.
6. Toss napa cabbage, radish, green onions and cilantro altogether and serve in a bowl.
7. Soy lime dressing – juice lime and mix with soy sauce, sake and olive oil. Set aside.
8. Salsa – chop ripe cherry tomatoes (I had these beauties from my garden!), red onion, Jalapeno peppers. Toss with lime juice, cumin, cilantro. Season with salt and pepper.

   

9. Creamy gochujang sauce – mix mayonnaise, yogurt, lime juice and gochujang. Set aside.

   

10. Heat a frying pan on medium high heat. Separate out short ribs pieces from the marinade and grill in pan. Do not overcook since the meat will become too tough. Cook until brown on both sides and while it is still a little soft when pressed.

    

11. Cut grilled Kalbi into strips and lay them out in the center of the taco.

    

12. Assemble the rest in following order: meat -> cabbage slaw + soy lime dressing -> tomato salsa -> gochujang sauce. For more heat, drizzle siracha sauce on top.

    

    

    And there you go!! You can also just serve all of the fixings for Korean Taco separately and allow your guests to assemble themselves.

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    5 from 1 vote

    

    Korean Taco with Kalbi and Napa Cabbage Slaw

    Korean Taco with Kalbi, Napa Cabbage Slaw with soy lime dressing and creamy gochujang sauce, topped with cherry tomato salsa.

    Prep: 3 hours hours 40 minutes minutes

    Cook: 10 minutes minutes

    Total Time: 3 hours hours 50 minutes minutes

    serves: 3 people

    Ingredients

    • ▢ 6 Soft Taco Shells

    Kalbi marinade

    • ▢ 1 lb Boneless Short Rib
    • ▢ 1/4 yellow onion
    • ▢ 1 green onion (chopped)
    • ▢ 3 Tbsp soy sauce (Korean Jin Ganjang)
    • ▢ 1.5 Tbsp red wine
    • ▢ 1 Tbsp sesame oil
    • ▢ 2.5 Tbsp brown sugar
    • ▢ 1 tsp ginger (grated)
    • ▢ 2 cloves garlic (chopped)

    Napa Cabbage Slaw

    • ▢ 2 Napa Cabbage leaves (2 - 3 oz / 56.7 - 85.05 g)
    • ▢ 2 oz Korean or Daikon Radish (julienned)
    • ▢ 3 green onions (chopped)
    • ▢ 1.5 Tbsp cilantro (chopped)

    Soy Lime Dressing for Cabbage Slaw

    • ▢ 1 lime (juiced, approx. 1 Tbsp)
    • ▢ 2 Tbsp soy sauce (Kikkoman or Pulmuone Jin Ganjang)
    • ▢ 1 Tbsp cooking sake or mirin
    • ▢ 1 Tbsp olive oil

    Cherry Tomato Salsa

    • ▢ 8 oz cherry tomatoes or 2-3 medium ripe tomatoes
    • ▢ 1/3 red onion
    • ▢ 1 Jalapeno pepper (chopped)
    • ▢ 1/2 Tbsp lime juice (1/2 lime, juiced)
    • ▢ 1/3 cup cilantro (chopped)
    • ▢ 1/8 tsp ground cumin
    • ▢ 1 pinch salt and pepper

    Creamy Gochujang Sauce

    • ▢ 4 Tbsp mayonnaise
    • ▢ 2 Tbsp 2% low fat plain yogurt
    • ▢ 1 tsp lime juice
    • ▢ 1 tsp gochujang

    US Customary - Metric

    Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Cut boneless short ribs into thin strips.
    • In a blender, blend onion and red wine until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and mix in remaining marinade ingredients. Alternatively, you can blend everything together in the blender until smooth.
    • Marinate rib meat for at least 3 hrs to overnight.
    • Julienne napa cabbage leaves and radishes.
    • Chop green onions and one bunch of cilantro. One bunch chopped cilantro should make about 1/2 cup. Use 3 cup + 1.5 Tbs for recipes and then serve remaining as extra garnish.
    • Toss napa cabbage, radish, green onions and cilantro altogether and serve in a bowl.
    • Soy lime dressing – juice lime and mix with soy sauce, sake and olive oil. Set aside.
    • Salsa – chop ripe cherry tomatoes (I had these beauties from my garden!), red onion, Jalapeno peppers. Toss with lime juice, cumin, cilantro. Season with salt and pepper.
    • Creamy gochujang sauce – mix mayonnaise, yogurt, lime juice and gochujang. Set aside.
    • Heat a frying pan on medium high heat. Separate out short ribs pieces from the marinade and grill in pan. Do not overcook since the meat will become too tough. Cook until brown on both sides and while it is still a little soft when pressed.
    • Cut grilled Kalbi into strips and lay them out in the center of the taco.
    • Assemble the rest in following order: meat -> cabbage slaw + soy lime dressing -> tomato salsa -> gochujang sauce. For more heat, drizzle siracha sauce on top.

    Tips & Notes:

    You can also just serve all of the fixings for Korean Taco separately and allow your guests to assemble themselves.

    Adapted from Korean Bulgogi Taco by Garbo's Grill

    Nutrition Information:

    Calories: 709kcal (35%)| Carbohydrates: 40g (13%)| Protein: 34g (68%)| Fat: 44g (68%)| Saturated Fat: 11g (69%)| Cholesterol: 97mg (32%)| Sodium: 1878mg (82%)| Potassium: 979mg (28%)| Fiber: 4g (17%)| Sugar: 20g (22%)| Vitamin A: 760IU (15%)| Vitamin C: 45.4mg (55%)| Calcium: 115mg (12%)| Iron: 4.7mg (26%)

    Author: JinJoo Lee

    Course:Appetizer, Main Course

    Cuisine:Koreanfusion

    Keyword:beef short ribs, korean mexican, snacks

    Did You Make This?I love seeing what you’ve made! Tag me on Instagram at @Kimchimari or #kimchimari and don’t forget to leave a comment & rating below!

Original recipe was taken from Korean Bulgogi Taco by Garbo’s Grill. The addition of Gochujang sauce is my idea and I think it adds  more Korean flavors.