Crock Pot Korean Beef Tacos

Much to my surprise, my crock pot has been getting so much use lately!  I never really took myself as one who uses a crock pot because I actually like to cook! Who wants to just throw a bunch of food into a pot, turn it on and then walk away? Surely, the meal will be sub-par! But, what I have recently discovered (thanks to Pinterest) is there are so many sophisticated crock pot recipes out there!! Crock pot cooking doesn't have to just produce bland, one note dishes!! Take these Korean Beef Tacos, for example. The flavors have depth; not to mention the beef just gets so incredibly tender from cooking slowly for eight hours. And of course, the unexpected addition of the pickled onions and cucumbers makes these tacos taste refreshing and light!

I am highly recommending all your crock pot aficionados, as well as all you crock pot snobs, give this recipe a try!! I swiped it off the blog Confections of a Foodie Bride and here it is verbatim:

For the Korean beef:

• ~5 lbs beef short ribs (can also use chuck roast or back ribs) *I only used 3 lbs
• 1 bottle (10 oz) low sodium soy sauce
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 Tbsp ginger, grated
• 6 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 Tbsp dark sesame oil
• 2 Tbsp vegetable or olive oil
• 2 Tbsp Sriracha
• 1 cup water (optional) *I only used about 1/3 cup

For the Cucumber Slaw:

• 1 cucumber (seedless recommended)
• Thinly sliced red onion rounds
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
• crushed red pepper flakes to taste

For the tacos:

• 16 small wheat tortillas
• cilantro (optional)
• bean sprouts (optional)
• Greek yogurt OR sour cream (optional)
• Sriracha (optional)

Instructions

1. To make the cucumber slaw, slice the cucumber very thinly and sprinkle with salt. Place in a colander and let sit for up to an hour over a bowl or in the sink.
2. Shake additional water from the colander or pat with paper towels.
3. Transfer to a bowl and toss with red onions, rice vinegar, and red pepper flakes. Refrigerate until ready to use (leftovers get less and less crunchy as they sit but it can be made ahead, just pour off any accumulated liquid and toss with an additional 1-2 tsp vinegar to taste, if necessary).
4. To make the Korean beef for the tacos, spray your slow cooker crock with non-stick cooking spray and add the ribs.
5. Whisk soy sauce, sugar, and vinegar with the garlic, ginger, Sriracha, and oils.
6. Pour over the ribs in the crock pot (if you deem the cooking liquid low, add 1/3 to 1 cup water)
7. Cook on low for 8 hours.
8. Remove 1 1/2 cups of the cooking liquid and skim the fat from the top. Pour the liquid into a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer while separating the meat from the bones. Reduce the liquid by about half and pour over the shredded meat.

      9. To assemble, serve the shredded meat on a warm tortilla topped with a spoonful of cucumber slaw and if using, cilantro, Sriracha, bean sprouts and yogurt.