Recipe: Korean-ish Tacos

 
I love Korean barbeque. A lot. There are a few things that I look forward to when I go to Portland, and stopping at the Korean bulgogi burrito food truck is one thing that I have to do every time I'm there, even before stopping at Voodoo Doughnuts (GASP! I KNOW!)

But because of this romanticism I've associated with this particular food truck, I've never let myself try any other Korean barbeque. I'm not a huge fan of kimchi, so this is as far as I'm ready to dip my toe into Korean food, at least for now.

Tonight my mom had an entire pork roast slow cooking in our crock pot - and we had no idea what to do with it. Both of us thought - TACOS!

But what kind of tacos? That was the question.
These are going to be a new staple for my diet, because OH MAN were they delicious.

Now because I have a food tab on this here blog, I thought I'd share my recipe!

 
I guess you could call these more of an ingredients list, because I never measure anything, unless I'm baking. I basically add ingredients until I like how it tastes. That's how I insert spontaneity into my life on the daily. 

"How much mayo am I going to add to my tuna? Mom, look at how spontaneous I am - I'm not measuring ANYTHING!"

It's up to you how much of each ingredient you want to use, because everyone's taste buds are different and some people like more salt, some people like more spice.

For the sauce:
  • Soy Sauce
  • White Wine Vinegar
  • Dark Sesame Oil
  • Ketchup
  • Honey
  • Hoisin Sauce
  • Honey Barbeque Sauce
  • Sriracha
  • Sweet Chili Pepper Sauce
  • Grated Fresh Ginger
  • Black Pepper
  • Garlic Powder
  • Onion Powder
  • Scallions (green part)

For the slaw (make the slaw like half an hour in advance to make sure the vinegar tenderizes the veggies just a little
  • Shredded cabbage
  • Shredded carrots
  • Scallions (white part)
  • White wine vinegar (just enough to moisten the cabbage to let it wilt a little)
  • Light sesame oil (just a tad)
  • White sugar
  • OPTIONAL - Kimchi, cilantro, if they're your thing. They're not my thing.

Now in terms of what meat you use - it's all up to you. We used our pork roast and shredded it with a fork. Shredded meat is probably the best way to go so it can soak up the most sauce. If you use chicken, poach chicken breasts or slow roast a whole chicken and shred it with a fork. Beef is a little bit trickier, as it doesn't shred as well - so if you marinate the beef in this sauce before cooking it and save some on the side to put on the finished taco, you should be good. If you so feel like it - tofu might work too. I honestly have no idea how to cook tofu, but the main point of this post is the sauce and the slaw.

When assembling the tacos, I liked adding some crunchy chow mein noodles and sesame seeds (talk about international food!) for some extra crunch. That's what I love about these tacos - the crunch. The food truck burritos have bean sprouts (and on occasion cilantro - which I hate), but those aren't as practical to have in the fridge, so I'm good with the cabbage and carrot slaw.
Another plus about these tacos - they're healthy! Now I'm not one to boast about my diet, because I often have a bowl of Cocoa Crispies at 11 o'clock at night, but if I can save myself fat and calories anywhere, I'll do it.

Unlike mexican tacos, these have no cheese, no sour cream, no guacamole - it's all meat, sauce, and veggies (both of which are what you call "negative calorie" foods, which take more calories to digest than you consume). It's definitely not light on the sodium, but you could easily cut down the soy sauce and make your sauce spicier to make up for the lack of salt.

So if you're looking for a low-calories alternative to traditional tacos, give these a try. They're so tasty and don't make you gassy in the morning. Can't complain about that, can we?

Best wishes!
-Abby

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