My husband and son both have a voracious appetite for Korean barbecue, but they both also have a severe aversion to the lettuce leaves that are usually used to wrap the beef. We experimented with our own version one night after becoming inspired by Korean food trucks, wrapping marinated Korean bulgogi in hot corn tortillas. They were a huge success and contained gochujang, a spicy Korean pepper paste, as well as crispy scallions, creamy avocado, and crisp, spicy cucumber.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 15 mins |
| Additional Time: | 1 hr |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 45 mins |
| Servings: | 12 |
| Yield: | 12 tacos |
Ingredients
- 2 pounds rib-eye steaks
- ½ yellow onion, cut into chunks
- ½ Asian pear, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 (1/2 inch) piece ginger root, peeled
- ¼ cup sake
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes), or to taste
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 5 small cucumbers, cut into 1/8-inch slices
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
- 12 (6 inch) white corn tortillas
- 1 avocado, thinly sliced
- 5 green onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoons gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste), or to taste
Instructions
- Trim excess fat from beef and slice very thinly across the grain. Transfer beef to a container.
- Place onion, pear, garlic, ginger, and sake in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy. Add soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, and black pepper. Pulse until marinade is well mixed.
- Pour marinade over beef. Gently massage beef for a minute or two. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
- Mix vinegar, sugar, garlic, gochugaru, sesame oil, and salt together in a large bowl. Add cucumbers and green onions and mix gently by hand. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Remove beef from refrigerator about 20 minutes before cooking.
- Heat canola oil in a cast iron pan over high heat. Cook beef in batches, one layer at a time, stirring until nicely browned, about 3 minutes. Avoid overcrowding beef, or it will end up steaming instead of browning. Transfer to a serving plate and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Heat tortillas in another skillet, about 1 minute. Transfer to a serving platter and cover to keep warm. Serve beef bulgogi with the tortillas, cucumber salad, and avocado, green onions, and cilantro as garnishes. Drizzle gochujang over tacos, mixing it with a little water if too thick.
- Substitute honey for the sugar if preferred.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 268 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 26 g |
| Cholesterol | 27 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Protein | 12 g |
| Saturated Fat | 4 g |
| Sodium | 560 mg |
| Sugars | 9 g |
| Fat | 13 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |