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Instant Pot Korean Bulgogi BBQ Tacos. Shredded chicken in a sweet and spicy Korean inspired Bulgogi BBQ sauce. All made in the instant pot (along with slow cooker or stove-top variations). And topped with a quick roasted tomatillo sesame salsa, lettuce, and cheese. It’s a fusion of Mexican and Korean flavors. These are some of the best tacos to really switch up your weekly taco night. Bonus, these tacos can be made and ready in less than 25 minutes. Making them the perfect dinner for any night of the week!
This post is sponsored by ButcherBox.
I’m often asked if I ever have trouble sourcing certain foods because of the remote area where I live in Colorado. The answer? Yes! Sometimes I can get lucky and find amazing produce, meat, and other items. But more often than not, I look to source the more specialty items, like edible flowers and high quality meat, via online retailers that deliver. For the longest time I had the hardest time with meat. I am very picky about the meat I cook and serve to my family and friends. If I’m going to cook meat of any kind, I like to know where it’s coming from, and that it’s of the highest quality.
Thankfully, I found ButcherBox. ButcherBox delivers 100% grass-fed beef, free range organic chicken, and heritage breed pork…directly to your door (with free delivery). The meat comes vacuum sealed and frozen. All I have to do is unpack it and throw it into my freezer.
I can’t tell you what a game changer ButcherBox has been for me. They offer such a cost efficient way to buy meat. Not only do they save me the time of trying to pick out good cuts of meat at the grocery store, but by buying in bulk on a monthly basis, I’m actually saving money. Above all, the taste of their meat is far superior to anything I’ve found. Their tag line says, “think of us as the neighborhood butcher for modern America”, and for me that’s 100% true.
I also love that they raise all of their animals humanely and free of antibiotics. And because they have access to the whole animal, they introduce you to cuts that you would never find at your local grocery store, but will end up loving! There are so many different options to make your monthly box just right for you.
For our first recipe together I decided on Korean inspired tacos. Thanks in large part to my love for Korean food. Oddly these tacos were inspired more by the tacos that you might find on the streets of LA, versus the streets of South Korea. They’re southern California Mexican meets Korean fusion, so flavorful and so delicious.
If you were to find a similar taco in LA, it most likely would be grilled. But I wanted to keep things as easy as possible. So I decided to let my instant pot do all of the work for us. Don’t worry, for those of you who don’t own an instant pot I’ve included grilling and stove-top directions as well.
Simply toss in your ButcherBox chicken thighs or breasts (use what you love most), add the ingredients for the sauce, and cook 10 minutes. Then simply shred the meat. That’s pretty much it for the chicken.
While the chicken is cooking, make the salsa. This is a spicy roasted tomatillo sesame salsa. It’s so different from anything you’ve probably ever had before. It’s just delicious. The perfect sauce to spoon over the sweet, tangy, and spicy Korean BBQ shredded chicken.
Lastly, finish each taco off with a little cheese, fresh mango, and cucumbers. Done.
Simple, but also so flavorful and different. Excited to make these for Cinco de Mayo this Sunday! These are the perfect tacos to switch things up…just add a margarita and your Mexican fusion meal is complete!
Lastly, I’m excited to be working with ButcherBox this year. To kick off our partnership they are offering $10 off, plus 3 pounds of chicken breasts and bacon to those who sign up through my link. Such a good deal, I honestly highly recommend them! And if for any reason you don’t feel the same as I do, you can always cancel at any time. You can sign up here.
If you make these instant pot Korean BBQ tacos, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Instant Pot Korean Bulgogi Tacos.
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 975 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless chicken breasts or thighs
- 3/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons Gochujang (Korean chile paste)
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
- 4 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 8-10 corn or flour tortillas warmed
- 1 small mango, diced
- kimchi, shredded lettuce, sliced cucumbers, crumbled feta, or queso, for serving
TOMATILLO Sesame Salsa
- 6 tomatillos, skins removed (see notes, for creamy sauce)
- 6 green onions
- 2 tablespoons Gochujang (Korean chile paste)
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- juice of 2 limes
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
Instant Pot
- 1. In the bowl of your instant pot, combine the chicken, soy sauce, vinegar, honey, Gochujang, ginger, and garlic. Cover and cook on high pressure/manual for 8 minutes. Once done cooking, use the natural or quick release function and release the steam. Shred with two forks and stir in the cilantro. 2. Meanwhile, make the salsa. Preheat the oven to broil. Line a baking sheet with parchment.3. On the prepared baking sheet, arrange the tomatillos and green onions. Transfer to the oven and broil 3-5 minutes, until the tomatillos are lightly charred.4. To a blender, add the roasted tomatillos, green onions, Gochujang, sesame oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, lime juice, and cilantro. Pulse until smooth. Stir in the sesame seeds.5. Stuff the kimchi, lettuce, and chicken into the warmed tortillas, and top with the salsa, mango, cucumbers, and cheese. Enjoy!
Slow Cooker
- 1. In the bowl of your slow cooker, combine the chicken, soy sauce, vinegar, honey, Gochujang, ginger, and garlic. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours. Once the chicken is done cooking, shred with two forks and stir in the cilantro.2. Follow the directions as directed above for steps 2-5.
Stove-Top
- 1. In a medium size pot, combine the chicken, soy sauce, vinegar, honey, Gochujang, ginger, and garlic. Set over medium heat, partially cover and cook 20-15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. If the sauce is thickening too quickly, add 1/3 cup water. Once the chicken is done cooking, shred with two forks and stir in the cilantro.2. Follow the directions as directed above for steps 2-5.
Notes
To Make a Creamy Sauce: Replace the tomatillos with 1/2 a cup plain Greek yogurt, sour cream, or mayo.
Just delicious. I don’t have an instant pot so made on stove top (cooked covered about 1 1/2 hours). Kids and adults all went crazy for it. Not a bite left. Thank you!
I love to hear that! Thank you Sarah! xTieghan
If I wanted to make an Asian slaw (need to use up some red cabbage) to top the tacos instead of kimchi, do you have a recipe suggestion that would complement the flavors? Thank you!
HI! Linked to a good Asian slaw recipe below! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/asian-slaw-recipe-1913307
I wish I could give more than five stars – this was so good! There were so many layers of flavor, and they just kept delighting my tastebuds. My husband drank some of the salsa right out of the bowl. It was all just heaven. The sauce for the chicken was toasty, the salsa was tangy and smoky, and the kimchi added a layer of fresh KER-POW! Everything had a sweet savory quality. The array of flavors went very well together. Incredibly delicious.
Tieghan, you’ve done it again. You’re a genius.
Wow this is so sweet! Thank you so much Julie! xTieghan
Made these on Sunday for Cinco de Mayo…. what a fantastic recipe – will be making over and over for sure! Thank you for your great content! I always look forward to seeing what you come up with next.
Amazing!! Thank you Anni! xTieghan
Made it on Friday night for my girlfriend and it was soooo delicious! Have so many leftovers!! the mango and kimchi were a perfect added touch to this dish. The honey was a lot, so i would consider lower the amount of honey and soy sauce since it came out very saucy and sweet… still amazing though will be making this again!
Thank you so much India! I am so glad this turned out amazing for you! xTieghan
We really enjoyed these. Sadly I forgot the kimchi and my mango was no good but they were still delicious tacos. I think we will try the leftovers as a bowl over rice – but with the kimchi and mango. Thanks for the recipe.
Thank you Lynn! xTieghan
Made this yesterday! The flavor was unbelievable! I think my favorite part was that salsa – so fresh and bright! I used a mix of breasts and thighs in the crockpot, and all I had to do was stir the chicken at the end to have it fall apart perfectly. I served my tacos with shredded coleslaw mix (red and green cabbage, matchstick carrots) instead of shredded lettuce, for a little more crunch. Definitely keeping this recipe for rainy days this summer! So easy and tasty!
I am so happy to hear that Kate! Thank you so much! xTieghan
Made this yesterday – sooo good ! Everyone loved it
Thank you!
Thank you so much Rania! xTieghan
Made this last night. The chicken was super good, loved the sauce it was in. The salsa turned out really runny so I added an avocado and blended it in too, which gave it more body. An overall fun twist on tacos with the kimchi and the mango. Once I run out of tortillas I’m planning to make some rice and eat it bowl-style. It definitely took more than 15 minutes of prep time, and more than 10 minutes of cooking time (with waiting for the IP to come to pressure and roasting the tomatillos).
Hi Lauren! Thank you for trying this recipe! I am so glad you enjoyed it! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan ! This recipe looks awesome and I’m so happy about the metric conversion on your site now (or maybe it was there and I never saw it?), being French it’s now in my language ahah even though I did invest in some measuring cup in order to do your recipes !
I don’t think I see your cooking instructions for stove top, could you help me with the cooking time ? Thanks in advance ! Xx
Thank you so much Isadora! It is new and I am so glad you are loving it! xTieghan
Made this tonight….incredible! I didn’t have fresh mangoes – so I substituted some frozen (thawed) and some mango chutney…It got rave reviews from my hubby and his friend… This is a keeper recipe…Thanks Tieghan! I will definitely make this again and it’s sooo easy! I used a crock pot on low (6 hours) and we were shocked how fall-apart tender this chicken was….and the combo of Korean and Mexican flavors was a perfect fusion…yummy!
Thank you so much Kris! I am so glad you loved these tacos! xTieghan
I found gochujang chili sauce at the store is that the same thing?
HI Maggie! Yes, that will be perfect! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
looks delicious! can you throw the chicken in still frozen or does it have to be thawed out?
Hi Rachel! Yes, you can! Add 3-5 minutes onto the cooking time for frozen chicken. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
So this might be a silly question but do you defrost the butcher box chicken first or do you put it in straight from the freezer? Only because I know the instant pot can cook from frozen. Thanks!
Hi Lauren! I like to thaw the chicken first, but if you would like to cook from frozen, add 3-5 minutes additional cooking time on high pressure. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
such an easy, fun and pretty recipe! I love that it can be ready in 15 minutes, a real plus for those with hungry kids and husband! Will be trying this soon! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much Nikki! xTieghan