Korean kalbi (BBQ beef short rib) tacos. Amazing tacos with tender, juicy and the most delicious Korean kalbi.
If you live in the Los Angeles area, I am sure you have heard of Kogi food truck and its famed Kogi taco.
Kogi tacos pretty much launched the food truck culture and craze in the United States.
For the longest time, I have wanted to share the recipe here and finally I got to do it over the weekend.
I had Kogi taco once. The food truck comes to the Orange County area from time to time and I was lucky to have tried it.
I remember the line was as long as the Space Mountain ride at Disneyland as eager diners waited patiently for their turn to place the order.
I thought the tacos were delicious but I was mostly impatient with the long wait.
Kogi taco is basically Korean Kalbi taco, so I decided to create a similar recipe and share it with you.
I personally like my creation (Mr. Rasa Malaysia gave his thumbs up). For the Kalbi, I referred to the guest post from Diana at Eating Richly.
I might be biased but the end result was a lot more refreshing than Kogi taco.
I opted out the salsa in Kogi’s and serve it with diced tomatoes, red onion, and cilantro.
Plus, the seasoned Romaine lettuce and the tangy dressing with a lemony note complement the tastes very well.
If you are making Korean Kalbi this summer, do save up a few pieces of the Kalbi and make them into this Korean Kalbi tacos.
I am sure the delightful flavor will entice your taste buds!
Korean Kalbi Taco Recipe
Korean kalbi (BBQ beef short rib) tacos. Amazing tacos with tender, juicy and the most delicious Korean kalbi.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds beef short ribs or Korean Kalbi, about 11-12 pieces
- 1/2 Romaine lettuce, thinly shredded
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 1 tomato, seeded and diced
- 1 cup chopped cilantro
- 18 small flour or corn tortilla
- 1-2 lemons, thinly sliced for garnishing
Marinade for Kalbi:
- 1 Asian pear
- 1/2 white or yellow onion
- 1 1/4 cups soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 cup citrus soda
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1/4 cup sesame oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Gochugaru, Korean chili powder
- 3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- Salt to taste
Instructions
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Marinade the beef short ribs with the Marinade for at least 30 minutes, overnight is best. Refer to the Korean BBQ Beef Short Ribs Recipe for the step-by-step instructions on how to marinade.
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Prepare the ingredients for the Sauce and mix well. Refrigerate until use. Prepare the Romaine lettuce, red onion, tomato and cilantro in separate bowls.
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Wrap the tortilla in aluminum foil and warm them in the oven at the lowest setting for a few minutes. Toss the shredded Romaine lettuce with 1/2 of the sauce. Save the remaining sauce for the tacos.
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Grill the marinated beef short ribs, each side for 3-4 minutes. When all the ribs are done, cut the meat into 1/2 inch cubes.
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Place the beef short-rib cubes on the tortilla. Add some seasoned lettuce. Top it with the diced red onion, tomato and cilantro. Drizzle some sauce on top, garnish with a sliced lemon and serve.
Recipe Notes
1. If you prefer spicier taste, you can add an extra 1 tablespoon Gochugaru to the Sauce to give it the extra zing.
2. Gochugaru can be purchased from any Korean grocery stores like H-Mart. Most Asian stores also sell them.
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Denise Hebrank
I made these tacos this past weekend and what a hit with my husband! We used the shortribs from our side of beef. They were delicious! I followed the reipe exactly except I did not have an asian paear. So flavorful and different.Loved the thinly sliced lemon addition. My husband took a picture of the tacos before we devoured them and put it on facebook with the caption “This is what’s for dinner!”. I even got calls for your recipe Bee and directed them to your site. I enjoy your recipes so much and my husband sends his thanks too!
MALY
Your awesome, :) love this stuff
Vishakha
I haven’t had this before but it looks like such an interesting combination of flavors with sesame oil, lemon, ginger and the chilli powder! The photos make it look very desirable.
Rasa Malaysia via Facebook
Chae Cho You cracked me up! LOL.
Eating and Living - a Korean-American mom's home cooking via Facebook
Looks great!
Eating and Living - a Korean-American mom's home cooking via Facebook
Looks great!
Chae Cho via Facebook
oh……dear……..I need to go there and put that in my mouth…..sorry for sounding like a cereal killer but……..good taco does that to me.
Aaisha Burney via Facebook
Awesome, I always wanted to try this. :)
Rona Leah via Facebook
This sounds delicious!
Rona Leah via Facebook
This sounds delicious!
Maria
Can you advise which citrus soda to use? Also, how might I be able to up this recipe for 50 people? Do you think cooking the meat in advance (maybe 3/4 cooked) and then warming it in the oven for a party would work?
Rasa Malaysia
I used Sierra Mist. You can use 7-Up or Sprite.
It depends if you are doing this recipe as your main and only dish OR if you have any other dishes at your party. As your main dish, you can estimate 3-4 tacos per adult and 1-2 per kid. Yes, you can definitely prepare the meat in advance and warm it up when you are ready to serve.
joey
Love the flavors of kalbi and we love tacos too so this would definitely be a hit! Have heard of that food truck but we are a wee bit too far to try it ;) So thank you for sharing this recipe!