Weeknight Shorts: Korean Beef Street Tacos

Ronda L. Halpin

Summer calls for messy, easy food. For my family, that often means tacos and fusion gives us joy. And excellent example are these Korean Beef Street Tacos. Served in mini flour tortillas (you can also use corn - we just prefer the flour ones), you can assemble them with as much of each type of filling as you'd like. The blend of sweetness, saltiness, spiciness and more will have you craving them regularly.

As is often the case, these are pretty tweakable. Add some spicy mayo or chopped cilantro if you'd like. Diced red pepper cooked with the beef is lovely. Chopped green onions instead of the red is an easy swap and you can use any kind of sesame seed or none at all. You get the idea.

I like keeping the tacos fairly simple as described in the recipe below and adding a light cucumber salad (with or without peanuts) and sliced watermelon as sides. Then we eat outside and enjoy our messy, easy food without worrying about a lot of cleanup! After all, isn't that what summer is for?

Korean Beef Street Tacos

For the beef:
  • 2 T. brown sugar
  • 2 T. soy sauce
  • 1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
  • ¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
  • ½ tsp. grated fresh ginger
  • 2 tsp. canola oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 8 oz. lean ground beef
For the kimchi:
  • 2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
  • 1 c. chopped kimchi
  • 1 tsp. sugar
To assemble:
  • 12 mini flour tortillas
  • ¼ c. diced red onion
  • ½ tsp. black sesame seeds

In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, soy sauce, 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil, red pepper flakes, and grated ginger; set aside.

Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly about 1 minute. Add the ground beef and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef into small pieces as it cooks.

Stir the soy sauce mixture into the cooked beef until well combined, allowing it to simmer until heated through; set aside.

Heat the 2 teaspoons of toasted sesame oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add the kimchi and sugar, and cook, stirring constantly, until caramelized and heated through; set aside.

Serve the ground beef mixture in tortillas, topped with the caramelized kimchi, diced red onion, and black sesame seeds.

  • Yields: 3-4 servings
  • Preparation Time: 20 minutes

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