Korean Beef Tacos with cabbage and kohlrabi slaw

Would you like something to fill those homemade corn tortillas with? I have the perfect, easy slow cooker recipe for you!

I know you still might be thinking that making your own tortillas is too much work and not worth the trouble. Or maybe you think it's a weekend project and not something you could do on a weeknight. This recipe will take care of itself after throwing the ingredients in your slow cooker and slicing a couple veggies so that all you have to worry about is the 20 minutes it will take you to cook up your tortillas. 

You'll be rewarded with soft, warm tortillas topped with savory, melt-in-your-mouth beef and some bright, crunchy quick-pickled veggies. An impressive meal for any night of the week!

Korean Beef Tacos

For the cabbage & kohlrabi slaw:
2 cups cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups kohlrabi, cut into matchsticks
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
4 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

For the beef:

3lb beef shank, or short ribs

1 Tbsp canola oil

10oz bottle lower sodium soy sauce

1 cup water

1/2 cup sake

2 scallions, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1-inch piece ginger, minced

1 stalk lemongrass, minced (discard the thick outer leaves)

2 Tbsp sriracha

3 Tbsp rice vinegar

1 Tbsp sesame oil

1 Tbsp fish sauce

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

For the finished tacos:

tortillas

fresh cilantro

extra sriracha

1. For the slaw: Mix the rice vinegar, sugar, salt and red pepper flakes in a large bowl until sugar is dissolved. Add the sliced cabbage, kohlrabi and red onions and toss until well coated. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, tossing a couple times. Can be made the day before.

2. For the beef: In a large pan (or if you have a slow cooker bowl designed to go over direct heat, use that) heat the canola oil over medium-high heat. Season the beef with salt and pepper. Sear on all sides until golden brown and set aside on a plate. 

3. Add all of the remaining ingredients for the beef to the bowl of the slow cooker and mix well. Add the beef and submerge in the liquid. Cook on low for 8 hours, or until the beef is fall apart tender. Remove the meat from the slow cooker and shred or break into chunks, reserving some of the cooking liquid, skimming the fat, to drizzle on the final tacos if desired. 

4. Pile the beef on the tortillas, drizzle on a bit of the reserved cooking liquid, top with the cabbage and kohlrabi slaw, cilantro and sriracha if desired. Enjoy! 

Pork Meatball Banh Mi

Well I'm back from vacation, and Yellowstone and the Tetons were amazing! It was incredibly difficult to leave and I would seriously consider living out there someday. At least we came back home to my favorite time of the year here in the Northeast, and I'm happy to be home cooking again!

So this was pretty much the first thing I made when I came home. Fresh flavors combined in a good hearty sandwich seemed like a nice transition to fall. And this is what every great sandwich should be - messy, meaty, crunchy, chewy goodness. As always, you can adjust this to your palate and remove the seeds from the jalapenos and chop them or omit them entirely. The sriracha mayo adds a very mellow heat, but reduce the sriracha in it if you need to!

Also, just FYI, sandwiches are a gigantic pain in the ass to take photos of. Just letting that be known for posterity...

Pork Meatball Banh Mi
(makes 4 sandwiches)

Sriracha Mayo

1/2 cup mayo

1 heaping Tbsp sriracha 

2 green onions, finely chopped

Quick-pickled Carrot & Radish

1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar

2 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 tsp kosher salt

1 cup shredded or julienne carrot

1 cup shredded or julienne shunyko or daikon radish

Pork Meatballs

1 lb ground pork

2 green onions, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup basil, finely chopped

1 Tbsp sriracha

1 Tbsp fish sauce

2 tsp corn starch

1 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp kosher salt

3/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 Tbsp sesame oil

For assembly:

4 6-inch long pieces of baguette
fresh cilantro sprigs
thinly sliced jalapenos

1. For mayo: combine mayo, sriracha, and green onions in a small bowl. Cover and set in the fridge.

2. For pickled veg: combine vinegar, sugar, pepper flakes and salt in a small bowl and mix well. Add the carrot and radish and toss until well coated. Cover and set aside for 1 hour, tossing occasionally.

3. For meatballs: In a medium bowl combine pork, green onions, garlic, basil, sriracha, fish sauce, corn starch, sugar, salt and pepper and mix gently but thoroughly. With moistened hands, form meat mixture into about 1-inch sized meatballs. Heat the sesame oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add the meatballs and cook, turning frequently, until brown and cooked through. Transfer to plate while you assemble the sandwiches. 

4. To assemble: Slice the baguette pieces in half and pull out some of the soft bread innards (save and dry out for breadcrumbs if you like.) Spread some of prepared mayo on the inside of each piece of baguette. Add some cilantro and jalapeno to the bottom halves, then top each bottom half with 1/4 of the meatballs. Drain the carrots & radishes and place atop the meatballs. Press on the tops of the baguettes and serve!
(adapted from Bon Appetit)

Thai Turkey Meatballs with wilted tatsoi

 

Well, folks, I'm leaving for vacation in a few days for 2 whole weeks! We are heading out to explore Yellowstone and The Grand Tetons. I'm wicked excited, but I won't be cooking or photographing much food (just mountains, wolves and bears, oh my!) so I wanted to get up a post before I go MIA again!

This dish is a staple meal of mine. Even moreso since my favorite local farmers' market, Coventry Regional Farmers' Market, acquired Ekonk Hill Turkey Farm as a new vendor this year. They raise pastured turkey and I buy a package of ground turkey meat almost every week for various purposes - burgers, meatloaf, and of course these meatballs! 

I love thai food because it hits all the marks for me - sweet, sour, salty, spicy. The flavor of these only improves overnight so they make excellent leftovers. I made this version in the spring when the markets were overflowing with greens and tried tatsoi for the first time. I loved it in this dish for it's mildly bitter, mustardy flavor, but you could absolutely use spinach or another green in its stead. And if you aren't a heatseeker like me, feel free to omit the jalapeno.

Thai Turkey Meatballs

with wilted tatsoi

For the meatballs:

5 shiitake mushrooms

1 1/2 lbs ground turkey

2 tsp thai green curry paste

2 tsp minced ginger

2 Tbsp fish sauce

1/3 cup green onion, chopped

pinch of sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1 cloves garlic, finely minced

2 Tbsp peanut or vegetable oil 

For the coconut curry sauce:

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

2 Tbsp jalapeno, minced (optional)

1 Tbsp ginger, minced

1/3 cup green onion, chopped

1 small bunch tatsoi, chopped, or your choice of greens (such as 2-3 cups packed fresh spinach)

1 13oz can unsweetened coconut milk

3 Tbsp thai green curry paste, or to taste (it will depend on the type of curry paste you have)

1 tsp fish sauce, or to taste

juice and zest of 1/2 - 1 lime

1. For the meatballs: In a small bowl, pour boiling water over the mushrooms and let them soak for at least 30 minutes. Remove the stems, chop finely, and squeeze out some of the excess water. Place in a large bowl.

2. To the mushrooms, add the turkey, curry paste, ginger, fish sauce, green onion, sugar, egg, cilantro and garlic. Mix gently until well combined. Using slightly wet hands, form into 1 to 1 1/2 inch meatballs. They will be fairly loose and may not completely hold their shape; that's ok.

3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Cook the meatballs until well browned on all sides. Remove from the pan and set aside in a large bowl.

4. For the coconut curry: To the same pan add the garlic, jalapeno, ginger and green onion. Sautee, stirring constantly, just until fragrant. Add the chopped tatsoi and stir just until it has wilted slightly. Pour in the coconut milk, curry paste and fish sauce, bring to a simmer and scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the meatballs and any accumulated juices back to the pan with the coconut mixture, cover and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through and the greens are tender, about 10-15 minutes. Stir in the lime juice, taste for seasoning and serve with rice or just as-is!