Take taco night to the next level! Korean Tacos with chicken bulgogi are so incredibly flavorful-succulent, marinated chicken is sauteed until tender and topped with fresh avocado, cabbage, and a creamy gochujang taco sauce. Vegan-adaptable.
If you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.
Erica Jong
Korean Tacos are such a delicious fusion of Korean and Mexican cuisine. Chicken thighs are marinated and then cooked right in the marinade until succulent and tender, soaking up all the juicy flavors from punchy gochujang chili paste, toasty sesame oil and fresh ginger. Loaded up in a tortilla, topped with crunchy fresh veggies, and slathered with creamy gochujang sauce, it’s a flavor bomb! YUM!
For more taco ideas check out Carne Asada Tacos (Steak Tacos), Salmon Tacos, and Cauliflower Tacos with Mole Sauce (Vegan!).
Table of Contents
Why You Will Love Korean Tacos
- Punchy good flavors and textures!
- A different but delicious twist on tacos!
- Tacos are fun to eat!
Ingredients in Korean Tacos
Korean Taco Ingredient Notes
- Chicken Thighs- bulgogi is often made with beef ( top sirloin or flank steak); but we used chicken thighs that cook up so tender and absorb all the delicious marinade. The meat braises in the pan so thighs are recommended as they can handle a longer cooking time without drying out. (For a vegan option, make our Vegan Bulgogi with jackfruit!)
- Gochujang Chili Paste– a savory, slightly sweet and spicy fermented chili paste. Yes, you can substitute with garlic chile paste or sriracha, but do make an effort to find gochujang, it is a special flavor!
- Soy Sauce– or use tamari, braggs, coconut aminos, low sodium soy sauce, whatever you prefer.
- Pear- this is an optional part of the marinade but it adds great texture and flavor! Traditionally an Asian pear used but a regular pear is easier to find, an apple will work too.
- Brown Sugar– or use coconut sugar, maple syrup, honey.
- Greek Yogurt– the creamy sauce is made with a Greek yogurt base or feel free to use sour cream, or vegan yogurt.
- Tortillas– use flour tortillas, corn tortillas or a blend.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How To Make Korean Tacos
STEP ONE– Make the marinade: Mix together grated pear, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, and gochujang paste. Add sliced chicken and let marinade at least 30 minutes or overnight in the fridge.
STEP TWO– Whisk the sauce: In a small bowl, combine Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, gochujang paste, sesame oil, sugar, and rice vinegar, and whisk until smooth.
STEP THREE- Cook the chicken: Heat a heavy skillet to medium-high heat. Add chicken and all the marinade, stirring every minute or so for about 5 minutes until sauce begins to reduce. Turn heat down and cook until sauce mostly evaporates and the chicken is cooked and nicely coated.
Assemble the tacos
- Warm the tortillas.
- Spoon in the chicken bulgogi.
- Top with your favorite veggies- avocado, shredded cabbage, radishes, kimchi, etc.
- Liberally dollop with creamy gochujang sauce.
Korean Taco FAQS
A fusion of Mexican and Korean cuisine, a trendy street food originating in Los Angels. Tacos shells are filled with Korean bulgogi beef traditionally but chicken thighs are delicious! Then topped with cabbage, avocado and fresh cilantro, drizzled with gochujang creamy sauce.
Korean Cucumber Salad
Kimchi
Kimchi Pickles
Pickled Onions
Avocado
Fresh Cilantro
Creamy Gochujang Sauce
Bulgogi, sometimes known as Korean BBQ, is a savory delicious Korean marinade for thinly sliced beef (chicken thighs are good too!) consisting of Asian pear, sesame oil, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and gochujang pepper paste.
What to Serve with Korean Tacos
More Recipes You May Enjoy
These tacos are so good! Enjoy!
Love this recipe? Please let us know in the comments and leave a 5-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below the recipe card.
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Korean Tacos Recipe
- Prep Time: 60
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 10–12 tacos 1x
- Category: dinner ideas, taco recipes, chicken recipes
- Method: sautéed
- Cuisine: Korean
Description
Korean Tacos with bulgogi chicken are so incredibly flavorful! Succulent marinated chicken is sautéed until tender and topped with fresh avocado, cabbage, and gochujang cream! Vegan adaptable.
Ingredients
Chicken and Bulgogi Marinade
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken thighs, sliced thin (easiest to do when partially frozen) See notes for vegan.
- 1/2 cup of pear, grated (or Asian pear is traditional, apple works too) Optional but adds texture and flavor
- 1/4 cup soy sauce or GF liquid aminos
- 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar (coconut sugar or maple syrup works too)
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated or minced
- 1 tablespoon gochujang pepper paste ( or sub garlic chili paste)
Gochujang Taco Sauce
- 1/2 cup greek yogurt or sour cream
- 2 tablespoons mayo
- 1 teaspoon gochujang paste
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar or lime juice
Taco Fixings
- flour tortillas (or your favorite tortillas)
- shredded purple cabbage (or green cabbage)
- green onions, thinly sliced
- avocado slices
- grated carrots and radishes
- fresh cilantro
- toasted sesame seeds
Serve with Korean Cucumber Salad, Asian Slaw, Kimchi, and Jasmine Rice.
Instructions
- Marinade: In a large bowl, mix grated pear, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, and gochujang paste. Add sliced chicken and let marinate at least 30 minutes or overnight ( best!) in the fridge.
- Taco Sauce: In a small bowl, mix Greek yogurt, mayo, gochujang paste, sesame oil, sugar, rice vinegar whisk until smooth.
- Cook the chicken: Heat a heavy skillet to medium-high heat. Add chicken and all the marinade, stirring every minute or so for about 5 minutes until sauce begins to reduce. Turn the heat down and cook until the sauce mostly cooks down and the chicken is cooked through and nicely coated, about 3-5 minutes.
- Assemble the Tacos:
Warm the tortillas. Spoon in the warm chicken bulgogi. Top with your favorite toppings and veggies. Liberally dollop with creamy gochujang sauce.
Notes
Chicken Thighs– bulgogi is often made with beef, we used leaner chicken thighs that cook up tender and absorb all the delicious marinade. The meat braises in the pan, so thighs are recommended as they can handle a longer cooking time without drying out.
Gochujang Chili Paste– is a savory, slightly sweet and spicy fermented chili paste. Yes, you can substitute with garlic chili paste but do make an effort to find gochujang for authentic flavor!
Vegan: For a vegan option, make our Vegan Bulgogi with jackfruit! Use vegan mayo and yogurt for the sauce.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 tacos
- Calories: 395
- Sugar: 6.5 g
- Sodium: 642.7 mg
- Fat: 18.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 5.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 41.3 g
- Fiber: 7.6 g
- Protein: 16.5 g
- Cholesterol: 40 mg
Excellent!
Once again an amazing recipe…the sauce takes it over the top. Added some smashed avocado to the cucumber salad. Thank you for creating such beautiful food!
Great to hear Marsha! Sounds tasty!
We voted these the best tacos ever! We did use Gochugaru flakes instead of the paste to cut back on the sugar. We had the Asian slaw with it. Perfect together. Hope there’s enough left for lunch tomorrow!
Great to hear Sandy!
These were a hit-the cucumber salad too.
So happy you enjoyed these George!
These are so good. I didn’t want to stop eating them. We made them extra spicy and added a pickled spicy pineapple on top that we got at the farmer’s market recently. I also cut the leftover pear and ginger into thin matchsticks and did a quick pickle and added to the top of one (without pineapple) which was very nice too. I think I will probably dream about these until we make them again.
Amazing Mandy, love your resourceful additions! So glad you liked these.
Another crowd pleaser! Loved the flavors and there was none leftover for my lunch.. Will have to triple the recipe next time! 😉
We also made the asian slaw and used it in the tacos… YUMMY!
Yum! So glad you enjoyed this Cynthia!
I made chicken bulgogi for bibimbap and my kids love the chicken. So flavorful! Thank you so much for the recipe.
Awesome to hear Bay! Glad everyone love it!
Made this (and the sliced cucumber side dish) last night – very tasty. Thanks for the tip about partially freezing the chicken so it was easier to slice.
Thanks so much Jim! Very appreciated!
A different take on taco’s. Very delicious, a treat for sure. Thank you Sylvia for including substitutes if we don’t have the recommended ingredients.
So happy you enjoyed these tacos, Betty!
This is a great recipe! However, if you truly want the bulgogi to taste more authentic, it would be best to leave out the gochujang. Bulgogi is a slightly sweet meat dish. I have a couple of recipes from different Korean grandmothers. None of the recipes I have call for gochujang. If you go to any good Korean restaurant, their bulgogi is not spicy or red (both would be from the gochujang). If you want some spice, keep in the gochujang. If you want authentic, leave it out.
Glad you liked the recipe and thanks for the feedback Missy!
Could you please give a time estimate on the time required to cook the chicken? Would help me in overall meal coordination. Thank you!
8-10 minutes total. 🙂 included in the recipe now!
Thank you! I made them tonight and served with kimchi, red cabbage, and pickled radishes. Delicious!
Sounds so yummy!