Kimchi Tacos - Seoul Food
Sun 04 May 2025
what is korean bulgogi
Bulgogi is a Korean dish made of thinly-sliced meat typically marinated in soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger and pear. Bulgogi is most commonly made with beef, but can also be made with chicken or pork.
Ingredients
½ small pear, peeled and coarsely grated
¼ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1 tablespoon gochujang, Korean red pepper paste
1 ½ pounds boneless rib eye steak
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
Combine first seven ingredients in a large zip top bag. Add the thinly sliced beef and marinate for at least 2 hours to overnight.
Heat 1 T oil in large heavy skillet (cast iron), working in batches grill the beef until well-browned (2-3 minutes on medium-high heat). Repeat with other Tbl of oil and steak.
Garnish with thinly sliced green onion and sesame seeds.
Kimchi
Kimchi is Korean fermented cabbage. It is cabbage, daikan, korean chili paste, green onion and shrimp paste. For this dish, I picked up Mother-in-laws Kimchi at Whole Food.
My verdict for the store bought Kimchi is 4 stars (out of 5). I would like more punch in the kimchi with fermented chile paste. Also, this version seems to lack sharp texture elements from Daikon Radish or even Shredded Carrot. This is mostly a fermented Napa cabbage with a Goujachan chile paste flavor. However, as a condiment for the Tacos, it worked well.
Sriracha Mayonnaise
⅔ cup Mayonnaise (real mayonnaise much better than Miracle Whip or similar)
3 Tbl Sriracha Sauce
Mix and chill at least 15 minutes to marry the flavors.
Cilantro-Chive Chimichurri
Chimichurri is a tradional South American blend of green herbs, garlic, vinegar and oil. For this version, I'm using fresh chives from my garden and Cilantro instead of the traditional Parsely.
1 bunch chives
1 bunch cilantro
2 T Red Wine Vinegar
3 cloves garlic
Olive oil (~ 1 cup)
¼ cup walnuts
The first 4 ingredients are chopped in a food processor while slowly adding olive oil until a condiment sauce forms. Add the walnuts and pulse a few more seconds. The idea is to leave some texture from the nuts in the condiment.
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