The LA based Kogi BBQ Truck, serving Korean Tacos, is so famous these days, we hear about it in New York. Sadly, it doesn’t seem like they’re hitting the big apple any time soon. But, I have received a message from a group of guys that are going to be launching their own Korean Taco Truck, The Krave, around Jersey City. More on that soon.
For now, feeling deprived of Korean Tacos, I whipped some up from my imagination. It’s a pretty simplistic take and perfect as an easy party solution.
Korean Tacos
~about 16 (5″) tacos
Red pepper sauce
- 1/4 cup Korean red pepper paste
- 1 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
Beef
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup chopped scallions
- 1 lb ground beef
Peppers and Onions
- 2 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 cups sliced red onion
- 1/4 cup sliced garlic
- 1 large bell pepper, thinly sliced
- kosher salt and white pepper
Assembly
- 14 to 16 (5″-6″) corn tortillas, warmed
- sesame seeds for sprinkling
Instructions –
1. Make red pepper sauce by stirring together paste, sugar, and sesame oil. Set aside.
2. Make beef by heating the oil in a medium sized ceramic pot on medium high heat. Stir in scallions and mix for about a minute. Crumble in beef and brown while breaking it up with a wooden spoon. When you don’t see any pink left, mix in 1/4 cup of the red pepper sauce. Stir around for another minute. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. To make vegetables, heat oil in a wok on high heat. Soften onions and garlic with a few pinches of salt. Add peppers and stir until softened but not mushy. Adjust seasoning. Set aside.
4. Spread a thin layer of red pepper sauce in the middle of each tortilla (optional). Scoop a generous amount of beef (2 to 3 tablespoons) onto each tortilla and top with peppers and onions. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
You can also just set out bowls of each component and allow guests to assemble themselves.
Notes:
You can buy corn tortillas or make them yourself. It’s pretty easy. We just bought instant corn masa flour and followed the directions on the bag.
You may have noticed the purple tinge on the peppers. Yup, it’s a purple bell pepper, which looses the darkness of the purple when you cook it but it still looks unique.
You can use any color pepper you want, even a spicy one if you want. They will have different tastes but I can’t imagine any one being bad.
