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Crockpot Korean Inspired Tacos with Yum Yum Yummm Sauce. Shredded beef in a sweet and spicy Korean inspired sauce topped with slaw and the yummiest sauces. Inspired by the tacos served up on the streets of LA, but with my own twist. These tacos are made in the crockpot (along with instant pot and oven variations). They’re the best tacos to really switch up your weekly taco night.
With the Olympics coming up in February, I keep thinking back to our time spent in South Korea 4 years ago. One, it’s so crazy that it’s been 4 years since we all traveled across the world to watch Red compete. We’re so excited for this year’s Olympics in Bejing (but bummed we can’t be with Red and Hailey this time). My memories of Korea have me craving those Korean flavors we all enjoyed while there.
Surprisingly, the Korean taco is more of an LA thing, but the flavors are just so delicious. These tacos are inspired by those famous LA food truck tacos. I did a little bit of my own thing here and they turned out so good! Everyone really loved these.
The meat
I actually used Korean short ribs from Five Mary’s Farms, which were so awesome. You could also use regular short ribs (though I would just use boneless). A flank steak works in a pinch too.
The sauce is a mix of soy sauce (I use Tamari, which is just gluten-free soy sauce…I actually think it’s better), rice vinegar, and honey with lots of ginger and garlic. Brown sugar is traditional, but I wanted to use something healthier. The pear also sweetens the sauce slightly too.
Pour the sauce over the meat, then cook low and slow in the slow cooker. You can also use the instant pot or even the oven.
Just before serving, I like to put the shredded meat under the broiler to caramelize it and get some of it a little crispy. Delicious.
The yum yum yummm sauce
I stole this name from the creamy pink sauce often served at Japanese steakhouses alongside steaming plates of food. Everything I found online was a little different for the sauce, which is tomato-based and made with a little butter.
I wanted something creamy, but spicy, so I made my sauce with Gochujang, which is Korean chili paste. It’s been one of my favorite ingredients for years. I love to use the Mother-In-Laws brand, which doesn’t have any weird ingredients or a lot of added sugar.
It’s so delicious, so I thought it would be fun to just call it yum yum yummm sauce.
Serving
Do these tacos up with a quick homemade slaw. Then top with that yum yum yummm sauce. If you love sauces like we do, you can also make a simple sesame salsa verde with store-bought salsa verde and sesame seeds.
There’s a lot happening with these tacos. Lots of sauce, slaw, and, of course, that caramelized Korean beef. Definitely not your average taco, but so flavorful and delicious. These are the perfect tacos to switch things up any night of the week!
Looking for other Korean inspired recipes?? Here are my favorites:
Oven Fried Korean Popcorn Chicken
30 Minute Korean Beef and Peppers with Sesame Rice
Lastly, if you make this Crockpot Korean Inspired Tacos with Yum Yum Yummm Sauce, 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 tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Crockpot Korean Inspired Tacos with Yum Yum Yummm Sauce
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 919 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds boneless short ribs or 2 pounds flank steak
- 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 peeled
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 small pear, cored and quartered
- 8-10 corn or flour tortillas, warmed
- sesame salsa verde, for serving (see notes)
- avocado, sesame seeds, queso, for serving
Slaw
- 3 cups shredded green cabbage
- 1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 6 green onions, chopped
- 1-2 fresno peppers, seeded, if desired, and sliced
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
Yum Yum Yum Sauce
- 1/2 cup olive oil mayo
- 1-2 tablespoons Gochujang (Korean chile paste)
- 2 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce
- juice from 1/2 a lime
Instructions
- 1. In a blender, combine the soy sauce, vinegar, honey, Gochujang, ginger, garlic, and pear. Blend until mostly smooth, then pour the sauce into the bowl of your crockpot. Stir in 1/2 cup water. Add the meat, then cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours. 2. Preheat the broiler to high. Remove the meat from the sauce to a baking sheet and lightly shred. Add 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid. Broil for 2-5 minutes, until the meat caramelizes. Watch closely! Toss with additional cooking liquid, if desired.3. To make the slaw. In a bowl, mix the cabbage, cilantro, green onions, peppers, lime juice, soy sauce, and rice vinegar. 4. To make the sauce. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. 5. Stuff the meat, slaw, and avocado, into the warmed tortillas. Top with sauces, sesame seeds, and cheese.
Instant Pot
- 1. In a blender, combine the soy sauce, vinegar, honey, Gochujang, ginger, garlic, and pear. Blend until mostly smooth, then pour the sauce into the bowl of your instant pot. Stir in 1/2 cup water. Add the meat, then seal the lid and cook on high pressure for 25 minutes. 2. Follow the directions as directed above for steps 2-5.
Oven
- 1. Preheat the oven to 325° F.2. In a blender, combine the soy sauce, vinegar, honey, Gochujang, ginger, garlic, and pear. Blend until mostly smooth, then pour the sauce into a large dutch oven. Stir in 1/2 cup water. Add the meat, cover and roast in the oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until the short ribs are tender and falling off the bone.3. Follow the directions as directed above for steps 2-5.
Notes
Sesame Salsa Verde: combine 1 1/2 cups salsa verde, 1-2 tablespoons Gochujang, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 2 tablespoons sesame seeds. Serve with the tacos.Â
This was absolutely delicious! My entire family loved it! Flavors were amazing and so easy to make. I will be making this again and again!
Hey Margaret,
Wonderful!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was a winner. Have the best weekend:) xT
This is unreal!!!! We subbed in a jalapeño instead of the Fresno pepper. Can’t wait to have leftovers tomorrow ?
Hey Sarah,
Happy Friday!! I am thrilled to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for giving it a go! xxT
This was so amazing!! Super easy and so so so tasty. I made it a few weeks ago and am making it again tonight!!
Hey Olivia,
Happy Friday!! I am thrilled to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for giving it a go! xxT
OMG!!! Sooooo delicious! Made these tonight for the family and everyone couldn’t stop saying how good they were. So simple, yet amazing! Thank you for another incredible recipe.
Hey Ashley,
Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am thrilled to hear that it was enjoyed! Have a great day:) xxT
Sensational recipe! Great excuse to dust off the Instant Pot.
Beef is incredibly tender and extremely flavourful. Made all the sauces, the salsa verde with gochujang sauce was da best!
Leftover are fanastic…can’t wait to make nachos with everything.
Toronto, ON, Canada
I used boneless short rib and slow cooked for 6 hours
Hey there,
Fantastic! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
Made these last week. Making it again this week – so easy to put together and so yummy! I can’t believe it. I halved the honey and left out most of the heat, and they were still delicious!
Hi Bridget,
Fantastic! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
AMAZING!! Thank you for our new favorite recipe!
Hey Christy,
Awesome!! Love to hear this recipe was a winner, thanks for making it. Have the best week:) xT
I made these tonight. They were absolutely incredible. I can’t say enough about how freaking yummy these were.
Hey Julie,
Awesome!! Love to hear this recipe was a winner, thanks for making it. Have the best week:) xT
The flavors were of course excellent. I think 25 minutes in the instant pot was too long for the flank steak – but I know tieghen isn’t a huge instant pot fan so I don’t hold it against her.
Actually upon further research maybe 25 minutes isn’t long enough to get the meat tender.
I made the salsa verde sauce – very delicious. I’m making tieghen’s chicken chili today and that uses salsa verse as well!
Hi Kristine,
Happy Sunday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks bunch for giving it a go! xxTieghan
I made this recipe tonight and it was so delicious I was sad when I finished. I even warmed the tortilla over the flame of my stove & wow amazing . Thanks for the great recipes can not wait for the Cookbook
Hi Sandra,
Happy Sunday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks bunch for giving it a go! xxTieghan
OMG! Your recipes have ruined eating out for us. The food is never as good as your recipes.? Actually you are probably saving us tons of money by cooking at home. These tacos were fabulous. Used the instapot and we were doing the happy food dance! Thanks for another awesome dinner.
Hey Theresa,
Awe thank you so very much!! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am glad to hear that it was enjoyed. Have the best weekend!! xTieghan
Can I do this recipe with Pork Ribs instead?
Hi Susan,
Sure, that should work well for you, let me know if you give the recipe a try! xTieghan
Yum! A few things I did different was used a chuck roast instead of short ribs. It was a cheaper recommendation from my butcher and was so good! I also topped it with cotija cheese which added an awesome salty flavor. I had some picky eater who really loved this and I will be making it again
Hey Makena,
Fantastic!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
I made this tonight and it was amazing! I found the Gochujang paste at Whole Foods and used boneless short ribs. It was ready in about 5 hours on low. I also halved the amount of meat but kept the same amount of sauce in the crockpot, turned out perfect. Otherwise, I followed exactly as written and it was a hit with my picky husband! Will definitely make this again!
Hey Michelle,
Fantastic!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
Can I use chicken instead of beef?
Hey Julia,
Totally, that will work well for you! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan