Korean Tacos

Since I’ve completely failed to be in the same place as a Korean taco food truck I decided to take a shot at making my own Korean tacos.

Except for the beverages, this is actually a relatively healthy meal… it has a lot of veggies in it. If you want to lighten it up further you might choose something other than tortillas to hold your tacos, and use leaner proteins.

Fillings

Beef

• 1.5 pounds of sirloin steak tips
• 1.5 cups of unseasoned rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon crushed red chili flakes

1. Combine the non-beef ingredients and marinate the beef in it in the refrigerator for between 1 - 4 hours.
2. Grill the beef. I grilled it for about 5-6 minutes per side on high heat on my gas grill but your grilling time will vary, I'm sure.

My marinades are very heavy in the vinegar and use no extra added sugar. There’s some evidence that acid-based marinades may help cut down on carcinogens resulting from grilling, and I like the flavor.

There’s enough sodium in the soy sauce that you probably won’t need to further season the sirloin.

My condolences if two people actually eat all the sirloin tips.

Pork

• 1 pound pork cutlets
• 1.5 cups of unseasoned rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons of fish oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 minced small shallot
• 1/4 cup minced cilantro
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1 tablespoon crushed red chili flakes

1. Combine the non-pork ingredients and marinate the pork in them in the refrigerator for between 1 to 4 hours.
2. Grill the pork. I grilled it for about 3 minutes per side on high heat on my gas grill but your grilling time will vary, I'm sure.

This is more properly a Vietnamese or Cambodian style pork, but who cares? It’s tasty.

There’s enough sodium in the fish sauce that you probably won’t need to further season the pork.

If you can’t get pork cutlets just slice boneless pork chops horizontally. If you can’t get boneless pork chops, just de-bone regular pork chops and trim the fat.

Both these recipes should work fine with other proteins or other cuts of beef or pork.

Quick pickles

• 1/2 peeled, thinly sliced cucumber
• 2 thinly sliced radishes
• 1 thinly sliced jalapeño
• 1/2 thinly sliced small red onion
• cider vinegar, rice wine vinegar, white vinegar - enough to cover the sliced vegetables

1. Slice the vegetables
2. Put the sliced vegetables in separate small bowls or jars
3. Cover with your choice of vinegar for each vegetable
4. Let sit for 1 to 4 hours before serving.

Leftover pickles will keep in the refrigerator for several days. They’re good on grilled food, sandwiches, salads…

Other fillings

• kim-chee
• sriracha
• shredded daikon radish
• sliced avocado
• sliced lime
• cilantro
• corn tortillas, low carb wraps, lettuce leaves or other "taco shells" - 2-3 per person

Putting it all together

Squirt some sriracha on whatever you’re using as your taco shell. Add some kim-chee. Top that with some sliced beef or pork. Add more sriracha if you want. Top with your choice among the shredded daikon, sliced avocado, pickles, cilantro. Squeeze a little fresh lime over the assembly. Enjoy.

Extra Credit

Grilled Corn

• 2 shots of espresso (I recommend decaf…)
• 2 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk

1. Fill a glass halfway with ice cubes
2. Add the condensed milk
3. Add the espresso
4. Stir
5. Enjoy

Limeade

• Sparkling water
• Lime juice (fresh or bottled, fresh is best)
• Sweetener (I used 1 tablespoon of sugar)

1. Fill a pint glass halfway with ice cubes
2. Pour in lime juice up to the top of the ice cubes
3. Fill with sparkling water
4. Add the desired sweetener and stir
5. Enjoy

Cold fresh watermelon would make an excellent dessert for this meal.