KOREAN TACOS WITH MANGO SLAW
Once upon another time, I lived in New York City for a summer with my family while I interned at a company downtown. It was basically the most boring job in the world, so the best days were those in which I got to get out and find something yummy for lunch with my dad, the king of all things food. One of our favorite haunts was a food truck called Korilla, where they served these massive Korean-fusion burritos. You’d choose your meat, rice, and pickle variety, and they’d wrap it all up in a burrito bigger than my arm. Those babies are so soooo good. I got sad every single time when I couldn’t quite finish the whole thing.
Aaaaanyway, this recipe is inspired by my beloved Korilla burritos. And it’s probably my very favorite recipe that I’ve ever developed. The bulgogi-flavored beef combined with the zippy kimchi fried rice and then topped with my favorite crunchy mango slaw? All wrapped up in a chewy, crunchy tortilla covered in melty cheese?! Fuhgetaboutit! Seriously, if you only try ONE of my recipes, let it be this one! These tacos are perfect for feeding a crowd, and a crowd you’re hoping to impress at that. And they’re really not hard at all! Doooo ittttt! Ugh, now I’m craving these again.
Korean Tacos with Mango Slaw
serves 6-8, adapted from Nine and Sixteen
For the Beef:
Ingredients
- 3-4 lb chuck roast, large pieces of fat trimmed
- 1/2 c light brown sugar
- 1/2 c low sodium soy sauce
- 1 head of garlic, peeled
- 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
- 1/2-1 c chicken broth
Method
- Combine all ingredients except meat and chicken broth in crockpot and whisk together. Add meat. Pour enough chicken broth into the crockpot to cover the meat about 2/3 of the way.
- Cook on low 8-10 hours. When meat is fork-tender, remove from crockpot and shred. Return meat to crockpot set to low until ready to serve.
For the Slaw:
Ingredients
- 2 14-oz. bags pre-shredded slaw mix
- 1 ripe mango, peeled and diced
- 1 large handful cilantro, chopped
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and sliced into very thin matchsticks (optional)
- 1 small shallot, minced
- 1/2 c mayo
- the juice of 1 small lime, or 1/2 of a large lime (you want about 3 tbsp juice)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt, 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper (possibly more to taste)
Method
- In a medium bowl, combine slaw mix, mango, cilantro, and jalapeño.
- In a small bowl, whisk together shallot, mayo, lime juice, sugar, rice vinegar, salt, and pepper until completely combined. Taste and add more salt or lime juice if necessary.
- Pour mayo mixture over slaw mixture and toss to combine.
- Make slaw up to 8 hours ahead of time, and store in the fridge.
For the Kimchi Fried Rice:
Ingredients:
- 3 c brown or white rice, pre-cooked a day in advance and refrigerated (or buy pre-cooked frozen rice, it’s so easy and delicious! Trader Joe’s sells this)
- 1 c kimchi, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 c kimchi juice (the liquid in the jar)
- 1/4 c water
- 2-3 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 green onion, chopped
Method:
- Heat deep frying pan over medium-high heat. Add enough olive or vegetable oil to cover the bottom of the pan. When pan is hot, add kimchi and garlic and stir fry 1 minute.
- Add rice, kimchi juice, water, rice vinegar, and sesame oil, and fry about 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Remove from heat and add green onion.
Assembly:
Additional Ingredients:
- 12+ flour tortillas (Trader Joes’ Truly Handmade Flour tortillas are my favorite for this)
- 1 bag shredded Mexican cheese
- Heat a griddle or pan over medium-low heat. Place tortillas on griddle, and sprinkle cheese down the middle of each tortilla. When cheese is melted, add a large scoop of fried rice followed by desired amount of meat.
- Remove tacos from heat, top with generous helping of mango slaw, and serve.
