Slow Cooker Korean Beef Tacos

Friends have asked for more slow cooker recipes, so I’m sharing one of my favorites: spicy and sweet Korean beef tacos. This has quickly become one of my go-to recipes. It’s perfect for dinner parties or group gatherings or even just to make a large batch and to freeze leftovers (although many leftovers are rare in my house). And all you need to do is sear the meat, prepare the sauce and then let it cook all day as you go about doing whatever you want!

This recipe makes enough meat for a large group (6-8 people). But feel free to reduce the cut of meat and adjust the sauce ratio accordingly—although extra sauce also doesn’t hurt! I share this recipe in the form of tacos, but you can honestly just serve the meat on top of rice too. I’ve served the beef in the style of my Asian ground turkey bowls, alongside sautéed scallions and topped with a poached egg. Delicious, I promise.

Preparing the meat

I typically go for a standard beef chuck roast for this recipe, although you can sub out with other large cuts of stewing beef. Chuck roasts don’t work well for regular grilling but are fantastic for slow cooking or braising, with the right amount of marbling to break down with the low and slow heat. You want your Korean beef tacos to be juicy and flavorful, not dried out. I tend to choose cuts around 3-5 pounds, depending on how many people I’m serving and/or what’s available.

Start by trimming the chuck roast to remove excess fat from the outside, and pat dry. Then, either in a large skillet or directly in the slow cooker (if your crock pot supports this, as my Cuisinart 3-in-1 multi-cooker does), add about 1 tbsp of canola or vegetable oil over high heat. [VC note: Do not use olive oil as it doesn’t handle high heat well, and adds flavor that doesn’t work well with this dish.]

Sear the beef roast on all sides, until each side develops a nice brown color. This should only take a couple minutes max on each side, as the middle should remain raw. I would recommend not skipping this step, to help provide a richness and depth of flavor from the browned meat.

Transfer the beef to a slow cooker as you put together the sauce.

Preparing the sauce

The sauce is actually super simple. There are two unique ingredients I want to call out that might be tough to come by – seasoned rice vinegar and gochujang (Korean red pepper paste). Gochujang is this wonderfully spicy, pungent and slightly sweet dark red paste made from chile peppers, glutinous rice, fermented soybeans and salt. It adds incredible flavor and really can’t be replaced with a substitute. You can often find this in Asian grocery stores or even the ethnic aisle of your local grocery store (Whole Foods carries this!), or you can order online from Amazon. The same goes for seasoned rice vinegar, which is a flavorful light vinegar made from sake and a bit of sugar (order online here).

The sauce truly makes these Korean beef tacos spectacular. Just whisk together the following ingredients in a medium-size bowl:

• 1/3 cup of soy sauce
• Grated ginger – using a piece of fresh ginger about 1-inch long (although can sub with 2 tsp of ground ginger powder)
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• ½ cup of gochujang
• ¼ cup seasoned rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons of sesame oil
• 1 diced jalapeno (seeded if you want less heat, or you can omit entirely)
• 6 minced garlic cloves
• 7 chopped green onions (using both the white and green parts).

Cooking the beef

Pour the sauce over beef in the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or high for 3-4 hours. After it’s been slow cooking for the allotted time, then remove the beef from the crock pot. This can be done in pieces if it’s easier, since the beef should be falling apart easily at this point.

Using two forks, or a fork and a knife, shred the beef into small chunks. Return the shredded meat to the slow cooker to absorb all of the sauce and meat juices. This is a really important step since the meat won’t be able to soak in the flavor fully when it’s one big roast. Cook for another 30 minutes or so on low with the lid off, allowing some of the sauce to cook down and thicken. If you need to leave it longer, it’s fine to keep the slow cooker on the warm setting and keep covered prior to serving. Add in the fresh lime juice, and then adjust seasonings as necessary (you may want to add a bit more sugar or vinegar).

Serving the Korean beef tacos

Serve the Korean beef mixture warm, alongside tortillas and/or lettuce wraps (if you’re looking to go carb free), lime wedges and quick Asian cucumber pickles. These quick pickles are the perfect accompaniment as they add a delicious crunch and nice counterbalance to the heavier meat. Additionally, I also serve rice and kimchi with my Korean beef tacos, but both are optional. Let guests serve themselves and build their own tacos or wraps as they see fit! As mentioned, they can decide to opt out of the wrap and just go straight for the Korean beef and the rice – you can honestly do no wrong.

As mentioned, this recipe makes enough for a group. So if you’re preparing these Korean beef tacos for a smaller crowd, then you might have leftovers. But be thankful for that because the meat is arguably better the 2^nd and 3^rd day around! Enjoy!