Crazy Good Korean Beef Tacos with Quick Slaw and The Sauce to End All Sauces
These are seriously the best Korean beef tacos EVER. Super simple to make, the tender beef + quick slaw + amazing sauce is a flavor explosion you’ll be dreaming about for a long time.
There are some meals you eat simply to sustain necessary life, and then there are those meals. You know the ones. The meals you eat that haunt your every waking moment, the meals you could eat day in and day out and still want more, the meals that become the new standard for every other meal you’ll ever eat.
Please tell me you know what I’m talking about.
These crazy, crazy, crazy good Korean beef tacos definitely fall into the latter category. They are so incredible, you guys. I’ll be sad if you don’t find a way to experience the deliciousness as soon as possible. Like maybe today would be good?
The succulent, flavorful beef bathed in simple but dramatic flavors is the definite star of the show. Tender and caramelized, it’s whoa-good. And dangerously easy to keep snitching piece by piece from the pan. Perhaps the disclaimer on this recipe should be: you might get an end result of assembled tacos if you have more self-control than Mel.
What Type of Beef is best?
I highly recommend flank or skirt steak for this recipe. Both are great cuts of beef for marinading and slicing thinly.
You could experiment with beef short ribs or other types of steak (like sirloin or round), although the beef may not be quite as tender. I like to cook the marinaded steak in a skillet (cast iron or nonstick), but I’ve included a quick note in the recipe for how to turn this into a grilling opportunity.
Although that crazy good Korean beef is the star, it definitely gets a run for its money thanks to the quick slaw and sauce to end all sauces. Both take mere minutes to throw together and the grand combination of tortilla + tender beef + tangy veggie slaw + spicy creamy sauce is exactly why I cannot stop thinking about this meal.
Just looking at these pictures, I’m struggling to type up coherent thoughts, because all I really want to do is make sure these Korean beef tacos are staring me in the face tonight for dinner.
Let’s talk about that sauce
That creamy, spicy sauce is so tasty you’re going to want to drizzle it on EVERYTHING.
It’s already made an adapted appearance in this quick and easy banh mi flatbread recipe, and I can’t guarantee we won’t see it in at least 100 other recipes before this blog has lived its full life. It’s a testament to me how a few, simple, pantry-staple ingredients can combine into something so completely magical.
These Korean beef tacos are a total explosion of flavor and texture. I’m not the only one who goes bananas over them, either. The last time I made them, I was fighting my 12-year old for the privilege of cleaning up dinner so the last bits of beef in the skillet could be “cleaned up” unnoticed.
While the list of ingredients may seem daunting, I promise that everything comes together super fast. Both the quick slaw and the sauce to end all sauces can be made in advance. And since the beef marinades for at least 4 hours (or up to 24 hours!), it means that when you’re ready to put it all together, it happens very, very quickly (20 minutes or less).
I’m excited about every single recipe I post here on this blog, but I cannot wait to hear what you think of these Korean beef tacos. I hope they rock your world like they’ve rocked mine.
One Year Ago: Cherry Pie Cookie Bars
Two Years Ago:No-Bake Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake
Three Years Ago: Homemade Pepperoni Pizza Rolls
Four Years Ago: Strawberry Shortcake Bars
Five Years Ago: Classic Chocolate Mint Brownies
Six Years Ago: 30-Second Chocolate Turtle Cookie Sundaes
Seven Years Ago: Banoffee Pie
Eight Years Ago: Boston Baked Beans {A Quicker Version!}
Crazy Good Korean Beef Tacos
Ingredients
Korean Beef:
- ½ cup soy sauce, I use low-sodium
- ¼ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
- ¼ cup brown sugar, light or dark
- ¼ cup toasted or regular sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger or ginger paste
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic, about 4-5 cloves
- 2 pounds flank or skirt steak, cut into thin 1/4-inch slices across the grain
- 1-2 tablespoons oil, for cooking
Quick Slaw:
- 4 cups shredded napa, red or green cabbage
- 1 cup shredded or grated carrots
- 1 cup chopped cucumbers
- ¼ to ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons oil, like avocado or olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Sriracha, to taste
Sauce to End All Sauces:
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
For serving:
- Corn or flour tortillas
- Avocado slices
- Fresh lime wedges
Instructions
- For the beef, whisk together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, sesame oil, ginger and garlic until the sugar is mostly dissolved. Place the sliced beef in a shallow dish (like a 9X13-inch pan) and pour the marinade over, tossing to coat well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.
- When ready to cook, heat the oil in a cast iron or nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot and rippling. Dump in the steak and marinade and cook, turning the beef, until sizzling and cooked through. If you want the beef more caramelized, only add half the steak at a time and cook in a single layer and then repeat with remaining beef. Remove the steak from the pan to a plate or dish and simmer any remaining sauce in the pan until caramelized and slightly thickened. Pour the sauce over the beef.
- For the slaw, in a large bowl, combine the cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, and cilantro. In a small bowl whisk together the lime juice, soy sauce, olive oil, salt and pepper (start with a pinch of each and add more to taste, if needed), and sriracha. Pour the dressing over the slaw and toss to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve (it can be made 4-6 hours in advance).
- For the sauce, stir together all the ingredients and refrigerate until ready to serve (it can be made several days in advance).
- For serving, place cooked steak in tortillas and top with slaw, sauce, avocado slices (optional), and serve with fresh lime wedges (also optional).
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: Korean beef adapted from this recipe at Food Network, slaw from my own brain, amazingness sauce from allrecipes
Made these twice in two weeks – my grown up kids begged us to make them again. Thank you for such tasty recipes. You are a cooking god.
🙂 Thanks, Michele!
These tacos were an instant favorite at our house.(Even our picky eater actually tried it and gave it a thumb to the side….that’s super impressive by her standards), and the other two kids and two adults gave it raving reviews. I was so thrilled when you shared your ground beef variation of this on Instagram a bit ago (time just blurs, so I don’t exactly remember when it was) because with that little change we had everything we needed to make this. This is SO good! Thank you!!
I’m so happy to hear that, Lindsey! Thank you!
I rarely comment but just have to say my whole family loved these! I’ve wanted to try these forever & they didn’t disappoint! So good. Love your site for so many reasons- thank you!!!
Thanks so much, Brooke!
Yum yum yum! These are great. Thanks for another go-to recipe.
Confessions from a home cook who can not cook beef. Ever. We loved the flavors and I was so excited for my family to try this but it was too chewy. It now goes on the list of 4 or 5 historic non-edible meals. I sliced the beef right but maybe I overcooked it? Maybe it was the meat itself? I dont know but beef is not my thing. I am going to attempt again and try to put it in a crockpot. It won’t get the sear but hopefully it will be edible. I dont want to give up! So jealous of those of you who successfully made these tacos.
What cut of beef did you use, Juliann?
Skirt steak. It was from Costco and maybe wasn’t that good? But I think I over cooked it. So I tried again this Friday. Got skirt steak from Whole Foods (the meat looked much different), and I marinated overnight, dumped it all in the slow cooker on high for 2 hours and its cooked perfectly. I took the meat out, turned the slow cooker to saute, added a little corn starch to thicken the marinade and sliced the steak and threw it back in. At least this time it’s edible! Not dried out with tons of flavor. My family has been teasing me all week when they saw Korean Tacos on the menu again. My 1st attempt goes under the “Velveeta incident” of 2005.
Haha. I think we’ve all had our own “velveeta incidents” 🙂 I’m glad the 2nd time worked out better!
I made these this summer for my family and everyone loved them! I am going to make them again for a luncheon and I am trying to figure out what else to have with them. I am planning on a fruit platter but wondered if you had any other ideas.
Thanks!
Fruit platter would be great – as would a really delicious green salad or a chopped Thai salad or something like that?
And. . . the sauce really is that good! I’ll be making that for other things as well. So simple, when I dumped the ingredients in the bowl I thought “how good can this be?” but after I mixed it and tasted it I’m in complete agreement.
These were very good and a nice change up. My hubby hates messy eating and any kind of thing he has to put up with tortillas for. I love tacos so the compromise is to serve these as sandwiches (I know, not quite the same . . . but) Tonight we’ll have these again in buns I made from your excellent Perfect Small Batch fluffy whole wheat bread recipe.
Great idea to serve these as sandwiches!
These were absolutely outstanding!! Our family just loved this. Thank you so much for all of your amazing recipes.
Thank you, Heather!
Your recipe titles crack me up!
Hi Mel, can’t wait to try this! If I plan to use ground beef, would I just cook the ground beef on the stove with all other ingredients listed under “korean beef”?
Yes, that’s what I would do!
The marinade …. OH MY
GOSH is so good. I used it marinate a flat iron steak that I grilled and my 92 yr old Dad asked for the recipe. The sauce improves with a couple of days in the refrigerator IMO. Delicious!
Thanks, Chris!
Oh Mel, these tacos were amazing! I used ground beef and skipped the marinating, but following everything else exactly and they turned out absolutely amazing. My 6 year old daughter, who talks in her sleep and sneaks in my bed in the middle of the night, literally dreamed about them and requested that I put a taco in her lunch box while she was sleeping!
If that isn’t a ringing endorsement, I don’t know what is. 🙂
I even added quinoa and kale to the leftover slaw and beef for lunch the next day and created the best salad I have had to date. Thank you so much for all of your wonderful recipes!
Haha, that is straight up adorable about your daughter! And talk about a way to revamp leftovers – YUM!
The name of the recipe says it all!! These were fabulous! I cheated a tad though – I bought the pre-shredded coleslaw mix.
No shame in that! Happy you loved this recipe!
Mel, these were good!!!!
These were SO delicious!!! That sauce and chicken flavor combo is an explosion of amazing flavor in every bite! Thank you, Mel for always keeping our dinners wonderful!
Beef, not chicken! Hellllo sleep deprivation from a newborn
Thank YOU, Kelli!
Super good. This meat was so yummy. I made it with some deer tenderloin and it was delicious. I loved all the pieces of this that made it come together perfectly!
So fabulous that this worked great with game!
Mel you’ve done it again! This recipe is fantastic! All my picky eaters gobbled it up!
Yay!
I made these last night and they were fabulous. I realized as I was putting the marinade together that I didn’t have rice vinegar as I thought so I substituted the red wine vinegar that I did have. I also used a bag of shredded coleslaw mix because I’m pretty much just lazy and that was easier. It had some shredded carrot in it, but I was going to do more, but I only had baby carrots and I did not want to try to shred those, so I just skipped adding more carrots (again – see above where laziness comes into play). I had some cucumbers my dad grew that I need to use up so I added lots of cucumber. I left out the cilantro because 2/3 of the people eating this don’t like it. Then I realized that I was stupid because 1 of the 2 cilantro haters wouldn’t eat any of the slaw anyway because she doesn’t eat cabbage and the other one wouldn’t eat any of the slaw with dressing because he is literally the pickiest person on earth. I set aside some plain coleslaw for him and added the dressing to mine. It was SO good!
The spicy sauce was fabulous too. My daughter looked askance at me when I came home with the sriracha sauce and said she wouldn’t eat anything made with it. She tried the sauce though and declared it was yummy and is planning on using on everything now! (My husband tried it and decided it wasn’t for him, but he’s weird anyway)
So thanks Mel for another fabulous recipe! Since most of it can be prepped ahead of time, it made a quick weeknight dinner for us and everyone loved it.
Loved this review, Bev! I also take shortcuts when I can and praise you for also doing so. 🙂 And I’m also very relieved I’m not the only one with kids who insist they will NOT eat something or they will FOR SURE hate something and then they end up loving it. Haha.
Made these for my best friends who are going through a major health crisis. They loved them and so did I. The only change I made is I used nonfat greek yogurt instead of mayo and sour cream for the sauce. Was trying to make it a bit healthier. It was delicious.
Thanks for letting me know what you thought, Tracey – good luck to your friends and what sounds like a difficult time for them.
My husband loathes mayo. Any ideas on an alternate? Greek yogurt maybe? I can’t hide it in stuff like this because he always asks if there is mayonnaise in the sauce…sigh.
Sure, you could try Greek yogurt or sour cream.
OMG so good! I don’t make dinner often anymore, but when I do, I make it count! Everyone raved about these. I do recommend the low sodium soy sauce – didn’t specify to my husband to buy it and while delicious a little salty despite adding barely any additional salt. Long ingredient list and prep was not quick, but still easy. In my “keeper” file.
Thanks, Justine!
Made this for my family of 5 the other night and it was a massive hit, thanks again for another great recipe! have used your site for years and always recommend it
Thank you so much, Ciara!
I made this yesterday in the slow cooker. I coated the flank steak with cornstarch but otherwise followed the recipe as is (I didn’t marinate it either). I cooked it on high for 3 hours. The beef was very tender. My entire family enjoyed it for dinner! Will be making this again and again!
So happy to read this, Christine! Thanks for including your experience using the slow cooker for this recipe. I love it!
Yum, yum, yum! Another huge hit that we will definitely be making over and over. You were totally right about wanting to heat on the slaw and sauce. It was also tasty together and easy to make. My husband thought it tasted like a really good bahn mi sandwich and I agree!
I love the flavors of banh mi! Maybe that’s why I love this meal so much! 🙂
Made this last night and it was a HIT! Love the flavor of the meat and the sauce w mayo and sour cream was incredible! Definitely a keeper!!
Yay! Happy to hear this, Leslie. Thanks for taking the time to let me know!
Made this for my husband who served his mission in Korea. We both loved it. He said it tasted like Korea. Such flavor explosions! Forgot the cilantro and can’t wait to try it with cilantro next time. Thanks for always giving us such great recipes!!
Thanks, Hilary!
These were so delicious! I made everything earlier in the day and so it was super quick to ok up the meat at dinner time. The creamy sauce is really good but our fav was the leftover marinade after we finished eating the meat. kids were pretty creative finding things to dip in it;)
Thanks for the comment, Jamie! Glad you guys loved this one (especially that marinade – haha)
This is my favorite thing I have ever cooked. A perfect combination of warm tender meat and crispy crunchy slaw, and then there is the sauce… took a delicious ensemble to an entirely new level I didn’t even know existed. Just amazing! Thank you!!
Loved reading this, Anna! I’m glad I’m not the only one obsessed with this meal. 🙂
We loved these as much as you did!
Yessss!
These will have to be tomorrow’s Sunday dinner! What would you serve with them?
Sorry I forgot the “what to serve with this” section for this recipe – will add now!. They really are a meal unto themselves so a simple side dish (like fresh fruit) would be great.
I made this using a frozen rump roast that I cut into 1 inch cubes. Then I tossed it in my instant pot with the marinade. I set it for 45 minutes. After it was done I pulled out the meat, set the instant pot to sauté, shredded the meat, added it back in until the juices were reduced down. It was absolutely delicious. I really love the slaw recipe. It is so light and still flavorful. This is one of my favorite slaws. Thanks for a great recipe. It is definitely one I will keep and return to often.
Awesome, Elizabeth! Thanks for the details on using a rump roast AND the Instant Pot. Love that it worked out so well!
These are AMAZING. I had some Korean beef tacos while vacationing recently on Oahu, and I cannot stop thinking about them. This recipe totally hit the spot. Even my super picky, zero condiments or weird veggies allowed 10 yr old said it was “really yummy”. That’s basically a Michelin star review.
Haha, that made me laugh out loud.
Melanie, I made tonight. The flavor profile was epic! But the beef was a little tough/chewy. Any suggestions?
Hey Lillie – what cut of beef did you use?
This recipe is almost beyond words incredible. The flavour pairing rocks! Thanks so much for developing and posting. PS. For leftovers, I served the beef, coleslaw and dressing on top of a bed of field greens the next day, and drizzled a bit of beef sauce over top. A lighter version. Still so good the next day.
Love that lighter next day lunch! Happy you loved this one!
Oh yum! What are the odds that I would have some leftover flank steak (marinade almost exactly your recipe), plus half a bag of slaw (rarely buy) and all the other ingredients? Cobbled this together as close to your recipe as I could and man, was it ever good!
That’s awesome! I love it when meals come together like that!
Absolutely delicious and so easy to make. My husband said you have to make this again!!
Thanks Mel for making dinner time delicious at our house.
Yay, Ann! Glad you guys liked this one!
made this last night and it was DELICIOUS! I’m always skeptical of things with siracha sauce because i’m a total wuss when it comes to heat, but it was not spicy, it was just enough to flavor it but not make it hot. loved it!
Thank you, Elisabeth!
Yes I did,,,did the steak on the charcoal grill,,and sliced thin like paper, OH My was this good,,
DCB
Thanks for taking the time to let me know you liked this recipe!
Luckily I saw this recipe before I went to the store. I didn’t have enough time to properly marinate a flank steak, so I bought shaved beef and marinated it about 3 hours. You weren’t kidding, these tacos are amazing. Such wonderful flavor we couldn’t stop talking about their deliciousness. Will make again, probably this week!!!!
Thanks for the review! I’m so happy you loved these! I’ve been waiting with bated breath all day just to make sure I wasn’t crazy calling them amazing. Haha. I need other people in my obsession corner!
This looks right up may alley! Can’t wait to make them! Thanks, girl!
*my
Thanks, Amy!
How spicy is the sauce?
It has a mild kick as a written. Not too spicy for my kids…but you could dial down the sriracha, if you are worried about it being too spicy and add more as needed.
Rave reviews for this one when I made it for dinner last night! You know it’s good when the kids say “I’m choosing this for my birthday dinner” Thanks for another great recipe, Mel!
Haha, that made me laugh because that’s exactly what my kids say every time they love dinner!
Hi Mel,
Under the area- ‘sauce to end all sauces
it lists ‘siracha sauce’ . Where do I get that?
My grocery store carries it in the Asian foods section by the teriyaki sauces or I’ve seen it in the hot sauce section. The one we buy has Asian characters on the bottle, a green top, and a picture of a rooster on it.
Hey Laura, it’s usually by the other hot sauces and ketchups, but like Courtney said, you can also find it in the Asian foods section in a lot of grocery stores. Any type of hot sauce should do the trick.
At the store by BBQ sauce, your kidding right?
Look for a bottle with a green cap,,,red bottle with a outline of a chicken on it,,,
Not kidding, actually. In my small town grocery store, that’s where it’s at! But every grocery store is set up a bit differently so it’s a good idea to check several sections.
Can you make this in the Instant Pot or even the slow cooker?
Haven’t tried that but you could experiment!
Due to lack of time, I’m contemplating making these with ground beef via your Korean beef and quinoa recipe! I’ll report back how it goes!
Oooh yes, let me know!
I used shaved beef and marinated for a few hours. It was amazing.
I want to hear how this goes, too!
Made it with ground chicken and did more or less the sauce from the other recipe – but added some rice vinegar! It was super tasty – and quick. Added a little more siracha to the sauce and I just ate it on top the slaw – but others ate it in tortillas!
Amazing, thanks for the report, Anna!
Haha! I love the title of this recipe it made me lol. There is no way I canNOT make this. Cant wait!
Hope you LOVE it (basically I need someone else to be as obsessed as I am – haha)
We make a recipe similar to this and it is our favorite meal. I use sirloin steak or even London broil steak and slice it thin in my food processor thawed just a little. It has always turned out very tender. Your slaw recipe is different so it will be fun to try it with the carrots and cucumbers. Thank you for another amazing recipe!!
Thanks for the tips, Colleen!
Any suggestions for substitutes for the cilantro? This recipe sounds delicious, until cilantro came on the scene! Thanks from non-cilantro picky eaters…
You could just leave it out or sub in parsley.
Yum!! I always get nervous about cutting steak, but I’m excited to try! Any tips for someone who’s never cut it?
Here’s a great tutorial, Chelsea. Also, another tip is to freeze the cut of beef for 10-15 minutes before slicing. It makes it MUCH easier to slice thinly! https://www.thekitchn.com/heres-exactly-how-to-slice-meat-against-the-grain-and-why-you-should-be-doing-it-meat-basics-215798
Wow!! These are fantastic! My husband put them on his top 3 favorite meals (all his favorites are from your site). And all my children loved them too. That’s pretty much a miracle! Thank you Mel!
This sounds amazing! I have a completely irrational issue with mayo. Any substitute suggestions?
Haha. You sound like my sister. 🙂 Try all sour cream, maybe?
Fat free greek yogurt is an excellent substitute for sour cream and/or mayo. Maybe add a little milk or water to thin it to the right consistency. Mel – that’s what I used for your Mexican Corn Salad and it was delicious!
Thanks, Anna!
Two comments/questions:
I thought it wasn’t safe to use the marinade as a sauce, once it’s had raw meat soaking in it. Is this okay because it’s beef and not chicken?
Can you do a video to show how to cut meat against the grain?
Thanks! Love your site!!!
It’s my understanding that as long as the marinade simmers and *cooks* thoroughly, it’s ok to use. You could always pull out the beef pieces one by one and add them to the skillet, letting excess marinade stay in the dish (discard it) and cook that way (although the finished beef obviously won’t be saucy, but the flavor will still be good).
I’m not sure when I’ll get a video of slicing meat against the grain, but here’s a helpful article about it: https://www.thekitchn.com/heres-exactly-how-to-slice-meat-against-the-grain-and-why-you-should-be-doing-it-meat-basics-215798
Hope that helps!
I’m going to have to adjust the menu plan this week to make room for these! I already have the chicken Banh mi flatbreads on the menu and I feel like this sauce warrants two appearances!
Yes, yes it does! 🙂