Steak tacos with crumbled cheese and sauce.

Korean steak tacos are a fantastic example of how delicious Asian fusion meals are. Tacos are good any day of the week and any time of day and there are endless variations! These Korean steak tacos marry to bold and complex flavors of Asian dishes with the vibrant punchy flavors of Mexican cuisine. My goal in making these were to highlight the best of both worlds and bring them together right to your dinner table.

Korean steak tacos are indulgent and special enough to serve guests or at an event yet easy enough to any night of the week for your family. Pair them with Easy Tomatillo Verde Salsa or Fresh and Fast Salsa for a complete meal!

This is a dish I created when I was in the catering business full time. We had a specific request for some fusion foods, and I thought to myself... why not blend together two or my favorite foods, Korean and Mexican? Of course, I have seen Fusion Foods before, but this was the first time I had made them for 50 people. They ended up being a hit! All 100 tacos on the 50 plates were gone and we ended up adding this to our menu permanently. Now, the recipe is yours to enjoy!

What are Fusion Foods?

What does fusion mean when it comes to food? It means you take foods and seasonings known to one culture or ethnicity and blend part of the ingredients with another one to make something completely new. You end up getting the best of both worlds! My favorite cuisines to cook are eat (and cook) are Mexican and Asian so that's why you see me combine them so often. Here are some other fusion recipes of mine:

Tell me in the comments what your favorite flavor fusions are! Tex Mex? Sushi burritos? Pizza bagels? I wanna know!

Now - Let's Make some tacos!

What Type of Beef is Best?

I recommend flank or skirt steak for this recipe. Both are great cuts of beef for marinading and slicing thinly. However, I have even used a Ribeye Steak, and it was amazing. I encourage you to experiment with short ribs, sirloin or whatever cut of beef you may like. Just make sure it's a little more tender cut of beef. You want it soak up flavor!

Let's Talk Sauce!

It's nothing more than sesame oil*, chipotles and mayo… I know right, super simple! But, do you like things more spicy? Add extra chipotles* or even sriracha*! Play around with asian spices or sweeten it up with more brown sugar. That's the beauty of sauces!

What's in the Salsa?

Daikon Radish, red onion and cabbage are literally the stars of the show in this Asian Salsa. I typically buy things that just catch my eye in the store. The radishes and cabbage looked particularly good that first trial cook day, so we went with it and it was a WIN! If you've never used a daikon radish before, be sure to peel it before using it in a fresh dish like salsa.

Korean Tacos are a total explosion of flavors! I go absolutely crazy over these because of the combination of flavors that marry well together. The last time I made them was just before I left to go to Ireland to be on Gordan Ramsay's Next Level Chef cooking competition. Of course, I did not fare to well but it's all good and it was an absolute great experience!

Rice vinegar going into marinade mixture.

Faster Than it Seems!

The list of ingredients may seem daunting, but I promise everything comes together super-fast! I would also encourage you to go to your local Asian Grocery and stock up on these sauces. They'll last you awhile (depending on how often you cook) and you'll be surprised how often to start grabbing them out of pantry! They are fun to experiment with and they dress up meals beautifully!

Helpful Supplies and Equipment

Knives I love - 40% off Flint and Flame using code ChefTim40
Food Processor - You'll want one that holds at least 10 Cups if you cook for large groups

Ingredients You'll Need for Korean Steak Tacos

Korean Asian Steak Marinade
- 6-7 Cloves Garlic
- 4 Tbsp Ginger
- 1 Cup Soy Sauce
- 1 Large White Onion chopped
- 3 Asian Pears peeled and cubed
- ¾ Tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 1 ½ Tsp Black Pepper
- 1 ½ Tbsp Sesame Oil
- ½ Cup Sugar
- ½ Cup Brown Sugar
- 3 Cup Rice Wine Vinegar
Asian Salsa
- ¾ Cup Daikon Radish peeled and diced
- ¾ Cup Cabbage diced
- ⅓ Red Onion diced
- ½ Red Bell Pepper diced
- 1 Tsp Rice Wine Vinegar
- 1 Tsp Mirin
- 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
- 2 Tsp Sesame Oil
- 1 ½ Tbsp Hoisin Sauce
- 1 Tsp Chili Flakes
- 1 Tsp Toasted Sesame Seeds
- 1 Tsp Poppy Seeds
Sauce
- ½ Cup Mayo
- 1 Chipotle Pepper pureed
- 1 Tsp Sesame Oil
Tacos
- 2 lb Skirt Steak
- 10 oz Queso Fresco Crumbles
- 12 Tortillas 4.5 Inch / Street Tacos

Detailed Instructions Korean Tacos

Marinating the Steak

Step 1 : To make marinade, mince garlic and ginger first in the food processor.

A chopped pear going into a food processor.

Sauce pouring over chopped vegetables in a food processor.

Step 2 : Chop onion. Peel and chop Asian pear. Add onion, pear and soy sauce into food processor with garlic and ginger. Puree to mix well.

Step 3 : Then, we'll add in the remaining ingredients for the marinade. Add in the cayenne, black pepper, sesame oil, both sugars, and rice vinegar. Puree just enough to combine the ingredients giving it a couple pulses.

Step 4 : Completely cover the steak with the marinade. You won't use too much of it! Marinade steak in this mixture for 12-24 hours in the refrigerator.

Making the Asian Fusion Salsa

Step 5 : Once steak has marinated, gather ingredients for your salsa.

Step 6 : Chop your daikon radish, cabbage, red onion, and bell pepper. In a bowl, combine chopped vegetables with the remaining salsa ingredients (Rice Wine Vinegar, Mirin, Soy Sauce, Sesame Oil, Hoisin Sauce, Chili Flakes, Toasted Sesame Seeds, Poppy Seeds).

Mix well and then place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. It's better served chilled!

Sauce

Step 7 : Gather mayo, sesame oil and pureed chipotle pepper. If you don't have a chipotle pepper, use ½ teaspoon chipotle chili powder. Mix together together well and place to the side.

Assemble Korean Steak Tacos

Step 8 : Remove steak from marinade. Salt both sides of steak and grill to mid-rare. Remove steak and allow it to rest before slicing into it. Lightly grill tortillas while steak rest.

Step 9 : Chop up steak and place into tortillas. Top with Asian salsa, mayo sauce, and queso fresco. Enjoy!

@cookitwithtim
Korea meets Mexico with this taco fusion style ! Let the flavors take over! Pop over to cookitwithtim.com for this full recipe and more. #Fusioncooking #asianfusion #asiantacos #koreansteak #koreantacos #asianmexicanfusion
♬ original sound - Tim Clowers

Recipe

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