Korean-Style Beef Tacos
I’ve been making some variation of this for years now and they’re always delicious and always, always a crowd pleaser. The origin story goes a bit like this: Once upon a time I had a delicious beef taco with kimchi and spicy Kewpie mayo at Bent Taco in Collingwood. I live in Toronto, so not somewhere I could visit often. But I needed these flavours in my life all the time, so, naturally, I went digging for an at-home alternative. Shortly after, I stumbled on a post from Jasmin Sheree on All Recipes for slow-cooked Korean beef soft tacos. I made it and was immediately hooked. From that moment on I made it for every large pot luck gathering I went to and people started asking me, “how do you make this??” But often, those same people didn’t have a slow cooker. (Side note: one time someone actually bought a slow cooker after eating these tacos because they are THAT good.) Anyway, so now, as a humble service to my fellow taco lovers sans slow cooker, I present to you an adapted version for the good ol’ oven. You’re welcome!
Ingredients
2-3 lbs beef chuck roast
1 yellow onion
2 thai chilis (or 1 jalapeño)
10 garlic cloves
1 inch piece fresh ginger root, skin removed
1 tbsp canola oil
⅓ cup soy sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp sesame oil
¼ cup brown sugar
1 cup low sodium beef broth
2 tsp salt
Black pepper
12-16 soft shell tortillas
3 tbsp kimchi
3 radishes
1 cup cilantro
1 tbsp sesame seeds
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 300F.
2. Season your roast with salt and pepper. Let rest at room temperature while you prep the veg.
3. Start by slicing your chilis. Then dice your onion and ginger. Finally, peel and smash your garlic. Set aside.
4. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes. Add oil then sear your beef on both sides until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.
5. Back in the Dutch oven, add your chilis, onion, ginger and garlic. Cook until fragrant.
6. Add soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil and brown sugar. Next add your beef back into the pot. Finally, cover with the beef broth.
7. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a summer. Cover and let cook in the oven for 2.5 hours.
8. While you wait, prepare your toppings. I like to chop my kimchi, julienne my radishes and separate the cilantro leaves from the stems. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can even try making your own tortillas. I’m using the corn flour tortilla recipe from Mi Cocina by Rick Martinez.
9. When the beef is done, shred it into small pieces. Cover and set aside until ready to serve. This will let the beef absorb more juice and thicken up a bit. If you’re making it in advance, you can let it cool and then reheat in the oven at 300F until warmed-through.
10. Serve on tortillas with kimchi, radishes, cilantro and sesame seeds.