Recipe: Bibimbap Tacos
Inspired by one of my favorite Korean dishes, these bibimbap tacos are insanely delicious! If you’ve had bibimbap before and enjoyed it, you need to try this. This is literally bibimbap in taco-form.
I couldn’t let the summer go by without grilling some flank steak. I love grilling flank steak because it’s easy to work with on the grill and tastes best when it is grilled medium-rare or medium. And whenever I grill beef like this, I love using one of my favorite Korean marinades. It’s the one I use when making bulgogi or galbi. There’s nothing like it and it’s so delicious. If you’ve had Korean barbecue before, you know what I’m talking about.
Once you’ve grilled the marinated flank steak, the rest is very easy and quick to make. I like to use fresh green leaf lettuce and raw julienned zucchini in my tacos.
I also like to add pickled radishes and carrots that I always seem to have in my refrigerator. I make this myself at home but you can easily pick this up at any Korean market. Alternatively, you can skip the pickled veggies and use all raw veggies like shredded cabbage and bell peppers with your lettuce and zucchini. The raw veggies add a nice freshness to these tacos. You’re going to want to make your tacos like this all the time.
And the best part? These tacos are really versatile. Skip the beef and use grilled tofu, or simply make a spicy vegetable taco. And even though the fried egg is optional, I say don’t skip it. The fried egg is the pièce de résistance when it comes to bibimbap. Enjoy!
Bibimbap Tacos
Makes 6 tacos
Serves 3
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
For the steak and marinade:
- 1 pound
flank steak, uncut
- 1
medium-sized onion, sliced into strips
- 1
Asian pear; peeled, cut into chunks and puréed in a blender (should yield at least 3 tablespoons of pear purée)
- 1/2 cup
low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon
sugar
- 1 to 2 tablespoons
sesame oil
- 3 cloves
garlic, minced
- 1
heaping tablespoon gochujang
For the gochujang sauce:
- 1/4 cup
- 1 tablespoon
honey
- 1 tablespoon
sesame oil, plus more when assembling tacos
Roasted sesame seeds
For the tacos:
- 6
flour tortillas, warmed
Green leaf lettuce, chopped or shredded
- 1
small to medium sized zucchini, julienned
Pickled radishes and carrots, julienned (store-bought or homemade)
- 6
fried eggs (optional)
Roasted sesame seeds
Green onions, finely diced
Instructions
To prepare the marinade:
Using a sharp knife, lightly score the flank steak in a few places. Place the flank steak into a large zip-top bag and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine the onions, 3 tablespoons of pear purée, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic and the gochujang. Mix well and carefully pour into the zip-top bag, covering the steak. Seal closed and lay it flat in a large, shallow pan or on a plate. Marinate the meat in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours, flipping once halfway through.
To prepare the gochujang sauce:
In a small bowl, whisk together the gochujang, honey and sesame oil. Taste and adjust any ingredients as necessary. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, mix again slightly and set aside.
To grill the steak:
Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to medium-high heat, and when ready, remove the steak from the marinade and place the flank steak directly on the grill. Close the grill and allow to cook for 4 to 5 minutes per side, depending on the thickness and how done you like your steak.
When grilled to the desired doneness, remove the flank steak from the grill and let it rest for 1 to 2 minutes before slicing. Slice into thin strips at an angle, against the grain.
To assemble the bibimbap tacos:
Place a warm tortilla on your plate and top with some fresh green leaf lettuce and the raw zucchini. Place a couple flank steak slices on top and top with a very light drizzle of sesame oil and some of the gochujang sauce. Top with the pickled veggies and a fried egg. Sprinkle on some sesame seeds and green onions and enjoy immediately!