Korean inspired Chicken Tacos with sesame slaw and Gochujang Crema. These healthy chicken tacos are bursting with bold Korean flavors made with fresh ingredients to spice up any ordinary weeknight meal.
Boldly-spiced, skillet sautéed chicken pieces go into a warm street taco topped with crunchy Asian style slaw and finally a creamy Gochujang sauce to finish this amazingly flavorful taco. The trifecta of a healthy chicken taco meal made weeknight-friendly and so fun.
The marinade includes classic bulgogi ingredients like garlic, sesame oil, sugar, soy sauce. These tacos have a good amount of kick from the Gochujang sauce. If you’re spice-adverse, I suggest scaling back on the Gochujang paste, hence the 1-4 tsp range in the recipe..
The slaw is made with a rainbow of veggies like red cabbage, cucumber, carrots, green onions, and radishes. We love to pile on for a healthy dose of veggies and crunch.
Components
- Protein: We used skinless boneless chicken breast for this recipe, the pieces are thinly sliced, marinated for a short time and pan sautéed until cooked. Bulgogi is usually made with thinly sliced beef or pork which is always an option if chicken is not your preference.
- Marinade: A mix of garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, a little sugar for balance rice vinegar and gochugaru(Korean chili powder) is used. The gochugaru is optional but recommended if you like it spicy. . If you can’t find Gochujaru any mild-medium chili powder can be used.
- Sauce: We love Gochujang sauce to top the tacos, if you have been around my blog you know I use this condiment very often. Again scale the amount back if you prefer milder sauce.
- Slaw: we kept things simple with the slaw so the other components shine. thinly shredded cabbage, radish, cucumber, green onions with lime juice, white vinegar, sesame seeds and seasonings is all you need.
- Tortillas: Use corn, flour, or a gluten free variety, such as cactus flour, almond or cassava tortillas. Tortillas are simply a vehicle to enjoy all the goodies we top it with.
Korean Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
- 1½ lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts slice into 1/4-inch slices across the grain
- 2-3 tbsp low sodium shoyu or soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sugar or honey more to balance depending on the saltiness of the soy sauce
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp any neutral oil you use for cooking
- 1 tbsp minced ginger
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1-2 tbsp Gochugaru chile powder optional
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
Gochujang Sauce
- 1-4 tsp Gochujang paste
- 1 cup Greek yogurt alternatively do part yogurt part Mayo
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp sesame oil, roasted preferably
- 2-3 tbsp lime or lemon juice, fresh
- ½ tsp sugar for balance
Slaw
- 5-6 cups red cabbage shredded
- 1 medium Persian cucumber thinly sliced
- 2 medium carrots shredded
- 1 bunch green onion, about 6 stalks chopped
- 2-3 radish, sliced
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- salt and pepper as needed
Garnish
- 1 tbsp roasted sesame seeds
- 2-3 tbsp chopped cilantro for garnish
- lime wedges optional
- 10-15 tortillas, depending on the size
Instructions
Chicken
- For the marinade, whisk together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, neutral oil, minced ginger and garlic. Place the sliced chicken pieces in a shallow dish and pour the marinade over, tossing evenly to coat. Cover and refrigerate for up to 4 hours. When ready to cook, heat a cast iron or nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot**.
- Add in the marinated chicken pieces + the marinade. Allow to sear for 2 minutes before turning. If you want the chicken to caramelize, cook in batches allowing a single layer and then repeat with remaining chicken. Cook for another 3-4 minutes until the pieces are cooked through. Transfer the chicken, keep warm.
Slaw
- In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, green onions, and radishes. Pour the vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper over the slaw and toss to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve (can be made in advance but remember the veggies will soften and release liquid if the dressing is added in advance.)
Gochujang Sauce
- Stir together all the ingredients and refrigerate until ready to use (can be made a few days in advance).
Assemble
- For serving, Toast the tortillas until warm and slightly charred. Add a few pieces of chicken and top with generous amounts of slaw and sauce. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and cilantro. Serve with fresh lime wedges (optional).
Notes
I prefer adding neutral oil in the marinade to prevent the chicken from drying out. When ready to cook simply heat the skillet or pan, dump the chicken and cook. No need to add more oil while cooking.
We like a lot of slaw in the taco for crunch, added texture+ more veggies the better. If you don’t want leftover slaw, scale back on the veggies, but trust me its so good with lots of slaw.
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