Taco Night's Korean Short Rib Tacos withe Crunchy Asian Slaw

Happy July!! Can't believe I'm saying it already!! Do you have any big plans for the 4th? We'll probably be keeping it low key with a family BBQ and some local fireworks at night. Still have to figure out what I'm serving though, might just be burgers and dogs, it's been a busy week--but maybe it'll be these incredibly delicious and anything but ordinary Korean Short Rib Tacos topped with the most amazing and gorgeous looking Asian slaw, straight from the pages of Taco Night by Kate McMillan, one of my current favorite cookbooks and the subject of today's Famous Fridays post. One bite of the scrumptiously marinated thinly sliced beef smothered in that fabulous tangy slaw with a drizzle of Sriracha sour cream on top and you'll see fireworks--in the good way because your tastebuds will be wowed and not because steam will be coming out of your ears due to the spiciness a la cartoon characters (well, now you know where my head's at). It's going to be some weekend, huh?!!

If you ❤ tacos and you're looking for different and easy fillings--easy being the operative word here- you are going to LOVE this cookbook. It's down to earth, uses simple accessible ingredients, is full of beautiful helpful photos and every recipe I've tried so far has been flat out fantastic! My family is loving it!! The book is divided into sections for meat, fish, vegetarian fillings and there are also recipes for sides and toppings. So far some highlights have been the Grilled Chicken, Mango and Green Onion Tacos, the Carne Asada with Caramelized Onions Tacos, the Roasted Squash, Spinach, Black Bean and Feta Tacos (all of which I promise to share soon) and this amazing short rib version. The only difficult thing is waiting for these because you've got to marinate the meat overnight in a wonderful soy sauce, sesame seed, garlic and fresh pear marinade!! But other than that everything comes together in a snap and the meat, because it's so thinly sliced, cooks in only a matter of minutes!

The show stealer here though is really the stupendous crunchy Asian slaw which is coated in a sweet and tangy honey/lime dressing and a bit of Sriracha sour cream. It's so fresh and brightly colored and perfectly complements the garlicky, sweetness of the beef. I couldn't stop myself from pinching little tastes as I was making it--I swear I could just eat a bowl of this stuff on its own!

And the tacos--what an amazing combination--makes me think of something I'd get from a hip food truck. So many different flavors and textures--the tender sweet/spicy beef, grilled onions, crunchy/creamy/tangy slaw and the slightly kicked up Sriracha cream--all work so well together with none overpowering the other. YUM!!

Yep, more and more I'm thinking it might be a July 4th taco party--I'll have to find someway to sneak in some red and blue although in just the right light the red cabbage which kind of looks purple but could sort of be classified as blue and the radishes, (truly red) and the sriracha cream (undeniably white) might just cut it, especially if there's tequila involved!! Have a tasty, safe and fun holiday weekend and I'll be back next week with some terrific summery July-friendly recipes.

Taco Night's Korean Short Rib Tacos with Crunchy Asian Slaw-Famous Fridays

Serves 6 but you could easily double the recipe

Prep Time for the Beef: 15 minutes to make the marinade and an overnight soak for the beef: To Cook the Beef: 10-12 minutes; To make the Slaw: 15 minutes

Ingredients

For the Beef and Marinade

1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
6 tablespoons sugar
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 white onion, cut into large chunks
1 ripe pear, peeled, cored and shredded
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 pounds boneless beef short ribs, thinly sliced

For the Asian Slaw

1/2 cup loosely packed parsley
3 scallions, ends cut off
The juice of 2 limes
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups shredded romaine lettuce (you can do this by hand or in a food processor)
2 cups shredded red cabbage (you can do this by hand or in a food processor)
4 radishes, thinly sliced
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
2 scallions, white and green parts, sliced thinly

For the Tacos

12-14 flour or corn tortillas, warmed in the oven (I wrap them in silver foil and heat them in a 350ºF oven for 10 minutes)

For the Sriracha Cream

6 tablespoons sour cream
2 teaspoons Sriracha

The Recipe

1. To make the marinade: In a large bowl whisk together the soy sauce, water, sesame oil, sugar, garlic, sesame seeds, onion, pear, salt and pepper. Add the thinly sliced beef and toss it to coat well. Cover the bowl and let sit in the refrigerator overnight. Before you are ready to grill, remove the bowl from the fridge and let stand at 15 minutes to come to room temperature.

2. Cook the meat over a hot fire. Spray the grill grates with non-stick cooking spray and use tongs to arrange the meat in one even layer on the grill. Let cook for a few minutes per side, turning to allow each side to get nicely seared. Cook the onion as well, about 5 minutes per side until it's softened and has nice grill marks. Transfer meat and onions to plate and tent with foil to keep warm.

3. Meanwhile, make the slaw: First prepare the dressing: Place the parsley, scallions, lime juice, rice vinegar, honey and salt in the bowl of a food processor and combine well. With the machine still running, slowly pour in the olive oil until the whole mixture is well blended. In a large bowl, toss together the lettuce, cabbage, radishes, parsley and scallions. Set aside.

4. To make the Sriracha Cream: In a small bowl stir together the Sriracha and sour cream until well blended.

5. Toss the slaw with the dressing and then add about 1/2 of the Sriracha cream and toss again. Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary.

6. To assemble the tacos: Fill a warmed tortilla with some of the beef, top with a mound of the slaw and some white onion and then drizzle a bit more of the Sriracha cream on top if desired.

Enjoy!

Note: Recipe adapted from Taco Night by Kate McMillan. I subbed in parsley for the cilantro everywhere it's used cause we are not big cilantro lovers around here and doubled the amount of sriracha cream.