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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.
I made this in the Instant Pot and followed the recipe exactly with chicken thighs (even used about 1/4 lb more). I did use gluten free low sodium soy sauce. The chicken turned out very tender. However, it was all way too salty – almost hard to eat and felt like it took away from any other flavors. Any suggestion on how to fix the saltiness?
Hey Lisa,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am sorry it was too salty for you. Next time I would just reduce the soy sauce to your liking. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Amazingly flavorful and easy. Make a double batch of the sauce. You will want more of it!
Thank you so much Jennie! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Omg these tastes like restaurant tacos!! Even my picky husband liked them. I made the creamy sauce that was in your instagram story version and topped them like traditional tacos with cilantro, onion, avocado, and jalapeños. 100% doing this again!!!!
Thank you so much Katherine! xTieghan
Long time follower, first time commenter 😉
This was delicious! Great flavors, as always, and made loads of food. I really appreciated how quickly it all came together. We subbed hard shell tacos (because it was what was on hand) and later in the week made it a salad with spinach/arugula and tortilla chips/broken taco shell bits. This is definitely going into the “Quick and easy Go-To” file! Thank you!
Thank you so much Kait! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you!! xTieghan
Hi there! Can’t wait to make these!
Can I make the tomatillo salsa the day before or do you advise not to? Going to make the creamy version as well.
Hey Cassandra,
Yes, totally fine to do! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
WOW! These were such a huge hit! I made both versions of the sauce a day in advance, and doubled up on the chicken (made 2 separate batches). Everything was devoured. Can’t wait to make again!
Hey Cassandra,
Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am thrilled to hear it was enjoyed. Thanks for sharing your comment! xTieghan
Planning to make these tonight-can’t wait! I’m trying to remember on your Instagram video a substitution you suggested for the Gochujang if you can’t find it? Not much variety in my rural town! Thanks!
Hi Addie,
You can use chili paste or sriracha. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
These tacos were the first recipe from HBH I have made and I LOVED them (and so did my whole family for that matter). I did not use tomatillos in my sauce and alternated for sour cream and even though it was thin it was so tasty and I slathered my tacos in it and was looking for other uses for this sauce- because it was SO good. I loved the mango topping as it balanced everything out perfectly and added a layer of sweetness. Cant wait for leftovers tomorrow and to make the thai meatballs tomorrow (and many more recipes in the future).
Hi Maddy! That is so amazing to hear! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I hope the leftovers are even better!! xTieghan
The underlying flavor is delicious but this is incredibly salty! I used liquid aminos and with 3/4 cup that is apx 12,600 mg of sodium. Granted you’re not consuming all the sauce for one serving but even if you divided the entire recipe into four servings that over 3,000 mg of sodium for one serving alone. Will maybe try again with coconut aminos. Will still end up being a lot of sodium at 3/4 cup so will try only 1/2 cup to see how that turns out.
Hi Lisa! I am sorry this was a bit too salty for you! Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help! xTieghan
So sorry I didn’t take a photo when I made these Korean Bulgogi tacos but these are absolutely amazing & delicious! I just wanted to keep eating them even though I was full. The mingling of zesty, tangy spicy, smoky flavored deliciousness was so refreshing! Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe and for the beautiful work you do with your videos and gorgeous photography that make the recipes look so simple and delectable! You are a true food artist.
Aw you are too sweet! I am so glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Hi, I don’t have honey. Is there a substitution I can use?
This looks great! i was only able to find Korean BBQ sauce “bulgogi” at my grocery, how could I modify this recipe to use that ingredient? Thanks!
Hi Jamie,
I would use that as is! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I made this tonight for dinner and it was DELICIOUS! so easy + flavorful. I have a lot of chicken left over, I should have cut the recipe in half lol but I think leftovers will be good over rice!
Thank you so much for trying this one, Sarah! I am so happy it turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Made these last night! Soooo good! They are going in the rotation! Next time I might see how avocado slices taste in addition to the recommended toppings!
Love that!! Thank you so much Emily! xTieghan
Love it. Did in the instant pot And used chicken thighs. Just the right amount of heat and sweet.
Amazing! Thank you so much Lisa! xTieghan
Can you include the stove top instructions please? I’d love to try this but only have a stove.
Hi Wendy,
The stove top instructions are already included! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
This sounds so good! I am going to try to substitute jackfruit to make it vegetarian. Can’t wait for next Taco Tuesday!
Ooo love that idea! I hope these turn out amazing for you Kim! Thank you! xTieghan
Hi! This recipe sounds amazing, but I’m not a big fan of spicy food. Can I use just 1 tablespoon of the gochujung or omit it all together or will it not be too good that way. Thanks!
Hi Gillian,
Sure I would just reduce to 1 tablespoon. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan