The current food craze: Korean Tacos

Neil has this hair brained plan. he is going to go to bed tonight at 10pm, sleep until 2.30am, get up, watch the wedding while drinking some beer, so he can fall asleep easily at around 4am, get up at 8am and go to work. I am intending on joining him in this craziness. In the UK, there is a bank holiday for the Royal Nuptials tomorrow, which, coupled with May Day on Monday, gives my fellow Brits a pretty long weekend. All this after Easter last weekend, also a 4 day-er and the glorious 22oC temperatures they have been receiving, and a little envy comes into play and so we are undertaking this ridiculous stunt just for the hell of it. 

I plan to make some canapes and drink Rose. Really, every tiny or huge event should be an excuse for some celebrating in my opinion. My downstairs neighbours are having an open house complete with champagne during the ceremony. Why not?, though none of us are particularly patriotic, (they're Canadian, we live in Canada), or even that bothered about the Royal Family. But anyway, you didn't come here to read about my late night escapades, right? You came for the food, (hopefully).

 

After a purchase of a new cookbook, I decided to jump on the street food wagon and make something that is rapidly becoming the big food craze; Korean tacos. In Vancouver alone, we have 3 or 4 such street carts, selling a combination that seemed almost inevitable. The book that I bought highlighted that the fusion of Korean ingredients like gochu jang sauce, kimchee and nori and Mexican tacos, salsa and cheese is indeed reaching pandemic proportions. After a shipment of low carb goodies including tortillas, I planned on making fajitas, but this soon turned into something more hybrid as I spotted some fancy, artisan jars of kimchee, gochu jang and Japanese pickles in the fridge and, along with some Caerphilly cheese, which is similar to the tangy, crumbly Mexican cheeses, dinner was born.

What is it about this combination in particular that has everyone jumping? The sauces and kimchee provide an element of sweet sesame, spicy, tangy, while something like nori, shredded, provides a deep savoury kick. Coupled with salty, sweet cheese and the meat itself, which is toothsome and well, meaty, you have a very satisfying meal with the starchy bread component that seems to tick all the boxes required in a taste explosion.

The meat itself can be anything from pulled pork shoulder with a barbecue or Korean red pepper and sesame (gochujang) sauce, to crispy grilled meats such as lean pork or beef, sliced finely and marinated, or beef brisket, long cooked and highly spiced.  

The toppings, accompaniments and sauces can vary extensively. From strips of nori with toasted sesame seeds to shredded pear, apple or a mixture of carrot, beansprouts and cucumber with some pickled crunchy Japanese eggplants or daikon. It really is up to you, but I've made some suggestions below based on what I've eaten recently and read about.

You can add vegetables to make a kind of stir fry with the sauces as your base for the taco and simply add some crunch and texture with other toppings if you like. This is what I did above with some lean pork and a mixture of things I had in the fridge, all bound together with the gochujang sauce.

So, this is my recipe from last night. Below I will make some suggestions for other possible combinations and some I have eaten recently.

Recipe : Korean inspired fajitas (I used tortillas, so they're not really tacos, but easily adapted).

For 4 large tortillas or about 8 small tacos.

1 tbsp oil

1 lb lean pork loin, cut into thin shreds

1/2 onion, diced

1/2 bell pepper, seeded and diced

4 mushrooms, sliced

1 small handful kale, shredded

1 small handful cabbage, shredded

4 tbsp gochujang sauce

To serve: 

4 tbsp kimchee

4 tbsp Japanese sweet and sour pickle (anything you like, there are lots)

4 tbsp Caerphilly or other crumbly, salty, tangy cheese

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat and when hot, add the onion, pepper and pork. Stir fry until the pork is almost all cooked.

Add the mushrooms, kale, cabbage and sauce and stir everything together well for a few minutes until the pork is cooked through, the greens wilted and the mushrooms soft.

To serve: 

Heat a tortilla in the microwave until warm and place 1/4 of the mixture down the centre. (If using tacos, use 1/8 of the meat and sauce)

Top with 1 tbsp each of the kimchee, pickle and cheese. Wrap up and enjoy. Repeat.

Some winning combinations from Vancouver street carts:

From Roaming Dragon street cart in Vancouver. This taco has pulled pork made from long, slow cooked pork shoulder with a mixture of barbecue and Korean red pepper and chili sauce. This is topped with some shredded carrot and daikon in a sweet, sour pickle mixture and some shredded nori and toasted sesame seeds. Everything is drizzled with the red pepper sauce.

From Ursu Korean tacos: This is a more hybrid version with definite Korean and Mexican ingredients. Ground beef with Bulgogi flavourings (a mixture of many things like pear juice, chili, soy sauce, honey and wine) is barbecued and served with Tex Mex shredded cheese and Mexican tomato salsa.

From Cartel Taco : Two options are beef bulgogi and pork. Served with a salsa of cilantro and onion, red mole and green mole sauce, kimchee and an orange segment to squeeze on the pork and lime to squeeze on the beef.

Combination suggestions:

For the meat:

Stir fried lean beef or pork with some barbecue sauce, bulgogi or gochujang sauce.

Pullled pork from a long, slow cooked shoulder, seasoned with some spices and garlic.

Beef brisket, cooked long and slow with some Mexican spices like oregano, cumin and chili.

Prawns, simply grilled and drizzled with any sauce you choose.

Chicken breast or thigh, shredded and drizzled with a spicy sauce. A little crispy skin would work well also.

The classic ground beef fried with onion, paprika, salt and cilantro.

Duck, cooked until the skin is crisp enough to shatter, broken into shreds along with the meat.

Vegetable options:

Add shredded carrot, onion, beansprouts, cabbage, bell pepper etc. to the stir fry meat or cook separately by stir frying or steaming. 

Toppings:

Kimchee

Japanese pickles

Indonesian Acar (carrot, beansprouts and cucumber in a little vinegar and sugar)

Sliced pear or apple

Nori, shredded

toasted sesame seeds

cheese, grated or crumbled

tomato salsa or radish salsa

nuts, such as peanuts or cashews, chopped or left whole.

Guacamole

Cucumber and scallions, shredded (to be served with the duck).

Sauces:

Barbecue sauce

Hot sauce

Korean gochujang or doenjang sauce

Bulgogi sauce

Sriracha hot sauce

Chipotle chili in Adobo sauce (taken from the tin)

Japanese mayonnaise or a little mayonnaise with some soy sauce and sesame oil added.
Hoisin or plum sauce (again with the duck).