Korean Beef Tacos
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The most mind-blowing tacos EVER! Filled with everyone’s favorite Korean beef, caramelized kimchi + Sriracha mayo!
I feel like I have been all over the place these last 10 days. I was in Arkansas last weekend, then flew off to Minneapolis for a quick work trip at the General Mills headquarters, then worked at the studio in downtown Los Angeles for two days, and now I’m off to Ecuador tomorrow morning!
I literally have been all over the place. But the only thing keeping me sane right now are these tacos.
These Korean beef tacos that are absolutely to die for.
I don’t know if it’s the Korean beef, the caramelized kimchi or the Sriracha mayo, or the combination of everything neatly tucked in a mini flour tortilla.
It’s just amazing. And I’ve had about 17 of these while packing for my next trip.
Maybe I can pack 3-5 for the flight? The passenger sitting next to me probably won’t mind, right?
Tools For This Recipe
Large cast iron skillet
Korean Beef Tacos: Frequently Asked Questions
Not at all! Ground pork or ground turkey can be used instead of ground beef.
Kimchi is a fermented vegetable dish made with napa cabbage. It is a staple in Korean cuisine, and can be found in most grocery stores such as Whole Foods.
Yes! You can freeze the Korean beef leftovers in individual freezer bags, thaw overnight, and reheat on the stovetop (adding a tablespoon of water as needed).
Korean Beef Tacos
Ingredients
For the Korean beef
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes
- ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 ounces ground beef
For the kimchi
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 cup chopped kimchi
- 1 teaspoon sugar
For the Sriracha mayonnaise
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha
- 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
For the tacos
- 12 mini flour tortillas
- ¼ cup diced red onion
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- ¼ teaspoon sesame seeds
Instructions
for the korean beef
- In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flakes and ginger.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add ground beef and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks; drain excess fat.
- Stir in soy sauce mixture until well combined, allowing to simmer until heated through, about 2 minutes; set aside.
for the kimchi
- Heat sesame oil in the skillet over medium high heat. Add kimchi and sugar, and cook, stirring constantly, until caramelized and heated through, about 3-5 minutes; set aside.
for the sriracha mayonnaise
- In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, Sriracha and lime juice; set aside.
for the tacos
- Serve ground beef mixture in tortillas, topped with kimchi, red onion, cilantro and sesame seeds, drizzled with Sriracha mayonnaise.
Did you make this recipe?
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We loved this! Agree with others there is no way it serves 12. I doubled the meat and its ingredients. Otherwise, it is damned perfect. An alternative to tortillas is lettuce leaves. Yum!
So tasty! A great weeknight meal. I try to eat more plant based so used TVP for the meat and vegan Mayo and it was delicious!
Easy recipe. I used 1 lb. ground beef to fill 12 mini tacos with about 2 tb of mixture. Next time I’ll use cream instead of mayo. Great spicy dish!
These tacos are delicious and a great way to change up taco night. We followed the recipes and did not make any substitutions except we made a pound of ground beef and doubled the amount of the brown sugar/soy sauce sauce.
I haven’t made them yet I plan on making them for dinner tonight but I am checking out reviews first
Hey I’m going to make these tonight! Question, I bought kimchi from a farmers market last weekend and it came packaged with spices and what not. Usually I put it in my ramen but I’m interested in trying it in these tacos. Will it work for the kimchi in this recipe? I’m concerned about the spices in the kimchi I have purchased unless that how it’s supposed to be? Honestly it’s the first time I bought kimchi anywhere so I wouldn’t know what it’s supposed to look or taste like originally. Thanks for the recipe, I’ll be anticipating your brief response 🙂
I can only find vegan gluten free kimchi. Will that work or should I keep looking for regular kimchi?
All kimchi is vegan and gluten-free. There are no animal or wheat products in it. Sounds like the company is just trying to jump on trends and charge more money!
that’s not right. Kimchi almost always has fermented shrimp paste and/or fish sauce, but there are vegan versions out there that exclude those
My oldest is a very picky eater but this is one of her favorite things for me to make her. We hardly ever eat traditional tacos anymore because this is a family favorite. Thank you so much for this recipe. We sometimes use ground turkey instead of beef and they are just as delicious any way we make them.
These are absolute winners.
I’ve made these about 4 or 5 times – I now substitute the ground beef for beef strips, double the sriracha and lightly toast the tortillas in a sandwich press before serving.
Better then EVER
So good! Made them paleo compliant with a couple substitutions. Will definitely make again!
Made this recipe tonight and was outstanding. Very easy as well. Will definitely make again and again. Next time will carmelize more kimchi to add more to each taco.
I love this recipe! I like to pair these tacos with some Korean cheesy corn. Yum!
Holy heck, these were delicious. Didn’t change a thing. Thanks for a great recipe.
To Steph I was wondering if u are gonna use sour cream instead of mayo or what kind of cream did you mean in your review?
Excellent recipe! Very easy.
I love the sweetness of the Korean beef.
Thank you so much.
I made this last night and it was a hit. I had to quadruple the recipe for 10 people. I used two 16oz jars of Kimchi and 4 lbs of meat. I made a slightly different sauce in order to have enough (I had more than enough, some people just used straight up Siracha sauce) with 1 C sour cream and 1 C mayo, 2 t garlic powder, 5 T lime juice, a dash of salt and quite a bit of siracha. I made white rice as a side and it went fast because they used it on the tacos. I also used corn tortillas and learned that if I put them in layers on parchement paper and nuke them for 30 secs in the microwave then place them in a zip lock I could prepare them in advance. I made bowls of toppings – cilantro, red onion, scallion and limes and a bowl of nappa cabbage salad. Thanks so much for this recipe, I was hesitant because I never cook with sugar, but I did and it was delicious.
What’s the Napa cabbage salad that was made
These turned out fantastic. It is going to be a staple in our household. It was simple and easy to make and everyone enjoyed them.
I made this last night, and my family loved it. I used gochujang instead of red pepper flakes (heaping 1 t.), and had spicy kimchi, so I toned down the siracha in the mayo. Made a double batch, and served it over rice or in hard shell corn tortillas, because I didn’t have soft tortillas in the house. It was damn delicious!
Wow!! Made these and regular taco meat. Not sure if anyone touched anything besides the Korean tacos. Thank you for the recipe!!
Just made this for dinner have a busy afternoon. Of course had to do a taste test…OMG!!!!! THESE ARE DELICIOUS!!!!
Made this for my Wife and I to eat during the superbowl. Came out great! But I may cut back on the Sriracha a little and a little less brown sugar. Other than that it was excellent. I made homemade tortillas which added to the yumminess.
These tacos are the BEST! Everyone, including the 2 kids and picky hubby, loves them. These are in regular rotation at our house.
My family went nuts for these tacos. Interestingly, the beef – when eaten alone – doesn’t seem that flavorful or interesting. But, once the tacos are assembled, wow. Thank you for an easy, yet amazing, recipe.