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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!

overhead photo of Instant Pot Korean Bulgogi BBQ Tacos

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.

Instant Pot Korean Bulgogi BBQ chicken in instant pot bowl

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.

side angle photo of Instant Pot Korean Bulgogi BBQ Tacos

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.

overhead close up photo of Instant Pot Korean Bulgogi BBQ Tacos

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.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
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

TOMATILLO Sesame Salsa

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. 
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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This will forever be one of my favorite recipes! I could and often do add Gochujang to every recipe. These tacos are perfect for a Monday night and then finish off the rest of the week. I’ve made the recipe exactly as is for the tacos as a dinner and it’s *chef’s kiss* but sometimes I want to have it for lunch and the tacos are a bit difficult to bring into the office.

    My adaptation:

    Make the chicken as is (I use the slow cooker version)
    Once chicken is cooked rather than assembling as tacos I make a super quick but delicious coconut-lime, rice as my base.

    In a food processor add 1 generous nub of fresh ginger, the zest of 1 lime and 1/4 cup dried coconut.

    Once chopped add to sauté pan on medium heat until toasted. Turn heat off and add 1/4 cup coconut milk and the juice from 1/2 a lime. Mix everything together and serve chicken over rice.

  2. Thoughts on making the tomatillo sauce a day in advance? Might the flavor be even better? Made these recently and my husband said this taco recipe was the best homemade tacos he’s ever had and probably in his top 3 tacos of all time— wow! I should note that at the end of roasting the tomatillos I turned on the broiler for more char and flavor.

    1. Hey Laura,
      Totally, that would be a great idea!! Thanks for giving the recipe a try, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xTieghan

  3. 5 stars
    While I did heavily modify this based on the ingredients I had on hand and on personal preferences, this was certainly a solid base. I really enjoyed this.

  4. Hello! This sounds delicious! Question-could you grill the chicken with the sauce instead of cooking it on the stovetop? Would you just baste the chicken as it grills? Thank you in advance!

    1. Hey Jodi,
      I would cook the sauce down on the stove top first to thicken it and then yes that will work for you. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx

  5. 5 stars
    5 out of 5 liked this recipe in our family! Even though it has some specialty items (that I normally steer away from on a school night), I made this on a Monday night and it was super easy. So so so tasty too! I am kind of picky about Instapot recipes, but I’ll definitely make this again! This works for an adventurous family night dinner, and I could see serving this at my next dinner party as well!

    1. Hey Shannon,
      Wonderful!! Love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for giving it a go:) xTieghan

  6. 5 stars
    I’m new to Half – Baked Harvest. I made this last night using pork in my instant pot. It was a home run. We loved it. Time for cooking pork in instant pot = 30 minutes.

  7. 5 stars
    OMG SO GOOD. I make a ton of her taco recipes and tbh I think these are my fave!! The sauce is the real star of this meal so don’t skip making your own!

    1. Hey Demeris,
      Happy Friday! I’m so glad this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a try! xTieghan

  8. 5 stars
    SO GOOD! The chicken was on the salty side for us, even with low sodium soy sauce. I couldn’t find tomatillos at the store, so I bought tomatillo salsa and customized it with the sesame seeds, sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, lime, etc. – which actually worked really well! Will definitely make again.

    1. Hey Lexy,
      Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I am thrilled that it was enjoyed! Have a great week:) xTieghan

  9. 5 stars
    Made these in the instant pot last night. My family devoured them. Who knew feta would go so wonderfully on a Korean taco?

    1. Hey Pamela,
      I put them directly over the stove top flame. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan