Happy New Year everyone!! I had such an perfect night and I hope the rest of you did too! It was the first night Chris & I got to spend just the 2 of us on New Years Eve and it was fabulous! I made a special dinner (my rockin crabcakes- coming to the blog soon with housemade fries and a bright arugula salad w/lemon vinaigrette). Wine & Champagne flowed and we got to spend some quality time by the Christmas tree watching a movie and the ball drop. Great start to 2013!
But enough about that, lets talk about this killer taco you see before you. This is not only super easy to make, but it's VERY budget friendly! And if you are a condiment collector (as I call myself) you may have all the ingredients for the sauces in your fridge right now. Either way, it's worth making. The beef is quickly infused with this sweet & savory sauce. The vibrant crunch from the quick pickled veggies and the creamy, garlicky chile aioli are such a punch of flavor when combined into one awesome taco. Chris was in love with this dish and so was I. There are similar flavors in the toppings as the bahn mi sandwich I posted back in September. But the beef makes this recipe extra special.
I got the idea for this dish from a recipe I saw for Korean-style tacos where they used short ribs and braised it for 8 hours in a slow cooker. You could do that, but I didn't have that kind of time before dinner and I knew I could make something just as delicious using a quick cooking cut of beef. Flap meat, the stuff you use for carne asada is such a great choice for this taco. It will remind you of skirt steak. It's thin so it cooks fast. I trimmed some of the outside fat to keep it lean. And when you sear this cut of meat and cut it correctly (against the grain), it's incredibly tender and falls apart in your mouth. Yummy!! It also has such deep striations in the meat that it holds onto that awesome sauce and really doesn't need to even be marinaded if you don't have time! (which I didn't). This is a perfect weeknight meal, and isn't everything even better when in taco form?? I think so!
Easy Korean Beef Tacos (Makes 4 tacos)
1 lbs flap meat (also called "carne asada steak" cut), most fat trimmed
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 Tbs sesame oil
1/2 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp fish sauce (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs ginger, grated or minced
2 Tbs rice wine vinegar
1/2 Tbs Siracha (or more if you like it spicy!!)
2 green onions, sliced
4 tortillas
Fresh cilantro (garnish)
Cucumber Salad:
1 English cucumber, peeled
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
Sambal Aioli (ok, so Sambal isn't Korean it's mainly used in the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore) BUT I am obsessed with it and it goes great with these flavors)
1 heaping spoonful Sambal or more to taste (you can substitute Siracha if you want, but you'd be missing out!)
1/2 cup mayo (I used Olive Oil mayo to cut the fat & calories, and you can't even tell)
Kosher salt & Fresh ground pepper to taste
Squeeze of lime juice
Making the Cucumber Salad: In a medium bowl, whisk all the vinegar, sesame oil, salt, sugar & chile flakes. Thinly slice the cucumbers. Add the cucumber and onions to the vinegar mix and set aside to "pickle".
Yummmm...Sambal is sooo good! The combo of chiles, garlic & spices are delish.
To Make the Beef: In a large bowl, whisk all the ingredients from the soy sauce to the siracha. Add the steak to coat it completely. You can do this as far in advance as the night before, or you can do it for 5 minutes. Either way, it will be great. (I'm trying to make this easy for all us busy people)
Heat a large saute pan in HIGH heat. When the pan is very hot (not smoking!), add a tiny drizzle of olive or vegetable oil. Sear the meat on both sides. Cook about 2-3 minutes per side. It should be furiously sizzling! (AND DON"T THROW AWAY THE MARINADE LEFT IN THE BOWL!)
I cut my steak in 3 large pieces and seared them in batches because you do NOT want to crowd the pan. You won't get any carmelization on the meat that way. Place on a carving board to rest for a few minutes. (Note: You want that slightly burnt carmelization from the marinade on the steak itself, but since there is a lot of sugar in this marinade, the residual marinade in the hot pan tends to burn quickly. If you want to use a paper towel to wipe out any burnt sugars before adding the next batch of steak, that will help keep any bitter, burnt flavors at bay.)
Now that is some yummy caramelization!!
After all the steaks have been cook and are resting (at least 10 minutes), place the remaining marinade into the hot pan. Let it cook for about 4-5 minutes. You just want to kill any bacteria from the raw steaks and at the same time reduce it to a nice sauce for the steak to swim in later. :)
Slice the steaks AGAINST the grain. I cannot stress that enough! It is the difference between a tender steak and a piece of meat you will be chewing on for a while.... This is the general rule when slicing ANY beef cut. (If you don't know what "against the grain" means, maybe this will help. You see the long lines that run across the steak? Make your slices across or perpendicular to the directions those lines run. Do not cut parallel to those lines.)
See how the steak just wants to fall apart?? Mmmm....that's good stuff, guys.
Drop the steak back in the warm sauce to coat. Warm your tortillas if desired.
To serve: Stuff your tortilla with the beef, cucmber salad, aioli, and top with the green onions and fresh cilantro. Thank me later ;)
Easy Korean Beef Tacos (Makes 4 tacos)
1 lbs flap meat (also called "carne asada steak" cut), most fat trimmed
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 Tbs sesame oil
1/2 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp fish sauce (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs ginger, grated or minced
2 Tbs rice wine vinegar
1/2 Tbs Siracha (or more if you like it spicy!!)
2 green onions, sliced
4 tortillas
Fresh cilantro (garnish)
Cucumber Salad:
1 English cucumber, peeled
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
Sambal Aioli (ok, so Sambal isn't Korean it's mainly used in the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore) BUT I am obsessed with it and it goes great with these flavors)
1 heaping spoonful Sambal or more to taste (you can substitute Siracha if you want, but you'd be missing out!)
1/2 cup mayo (I used Olive Oil mayo to cut the fat & calories, and you can't even tell)
Kosher salt & Fresh ground pepper to taste
Squeeze of lime juice
Making the Cucumber Salad: In a medium bowl, whisk all the vinegar, sesame oil, salt, sugar & chile flakes. Thinly slice the cucumbers. Add the cucumber and onions to the vinegar mix and set aside to "pickle".
To make the Sambal Aioli: In a small bowl, mix all ingredients together. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready for use.
To Make the Beef: In a large bowl, whisk all the ingredients from the soy sauce to the siracha. Add the steak to coat it completely. You can do this as far in advance as the night before, or you can do it for 5 minutes. Either way, it will be great.
Heat a large saute pan in HIGH heat. When the pan is very hot (not smoking!), add a tiny drizzle of olive or vegetable oil. Sear the meat on both sides. Cook about 2-3 minutes per side. It should be furiously sizzling! (AND DON"T THROW AWAY THE MARINADE LEFT IN THE BOWL!)
I cut my steak in 3 large pieces and seared them in batches because you do NOT want to crowd the pan. You won't get any carmelization on the meat that way. Place on a carving board to rest for a few minutes. (Note: You want that slightly burnt carmelization from the marinade on the steak itself, but since there is a lot of sugar in this marinade, the residual marinade in the hot pan tend to burn quickly. If you want to use a paper towel to wipe out any burnt sugars before adding the next batch of steak, that will help keep any bitter, burnt flavors at bay.)
After all the steaks have been cook and are resting (at least 10 minutes), place the remaining marinade into the hot pan. Let is cook for about 4-5 minutes. You just want to kill any bacteria from the raw steaks and at the same time reduce it to a nice sauce for the steak to swim in later. :) Slice the steaks AGAINST the grain. I cannot stress that enough! It will be so tough if you don't. This is the general rule when slicing ANY beef cut. ((If you don't know what "against the grain" means, maybe this will help. You see the long lines that run across the steak? Make your slices across or perpendicular to the directions those lines run. Do not cut parallel to those lines.)
Drop the steak back in the warm sauce to coat. Warm your tortillas if desired.
To serve: Stuff your tortilla with the beef, cucmber salad, aioli, and top with the green onions and fresh cilantro. Thank me later ;)
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