Korean Beef Tacos or Bowls in the Instant Pot

I made this as a rice bowl and served it to my brother, who claimed it was the best thing I'd ever made for him. It is very tasty. Its a great combination of sweet, spicy, savory, crunchy and creamy. I made it as a taco bar for a family holiday party (with the small street taco corn tortillas) and even the picky kids ate it up! The recipe comes from one of my favorite blogs, Your Home Based Mom, which always has recipes that use "regular" ingredients and taste good!

I make up a batch of meat and then freeze half to use for another night (I am usually planning for 4 servings, so if you want to freeze half, you might need to double the recipe first).


Ingredients for the meat
2 lbs sirloin steak sliced thin, 1/4" thick (easy to do if meat is still partially frozen)
1/2 c soy sauce
3/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c water
2-4 tsp minced garlic (I use the bottled kind, and usually go for about 2 tsp, but you can use more)
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp ginger minced (again, the bottled kind is super convenient)
1 tsp sesame oil (I think a little goes a LONG way)
1-2 tsp sriracha sauce (I'm probably closer to 2 than the 1)
1/2 tsp pepper
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp water

Measure everything (except the meat, cornstarch and 1 Tbs of water) and put it in the Instant Pot and bring to a boil. Make a slurry of the cornstarch and 1 Tbs of water and add to boiling liquid. Add the raw meat. Put the lid on the pot and set for 15 minutes. Natural release for about 10 minutes.

Make the Yum Yum sauce. I never have tomato paste on hand (or don't want to open a can...maybe I should buy that tube that looks like a toothpaste tube). I digress. I just use ketchup. Seems great to me. I also leave out the butter. Still tastes great to me.
2 tsp ketchup
1 Tbsp melted butter
1 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp white sugar
1/2 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/8 tsp sriracha
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp water

 Rice Bowl Version: Make some rice while the meat cooks, top with the meat and veggies. I like Nappa cabbage, red cabbage, green onions, shredded carrots, cilantro, jalapeno, sesame seeds, fresh lime. Top with the Yum Yum sauce.

Taco Version: Fry/heat corn tortillas and fill with meat and veggies along with Yum Yum sauce and fresh lime.

Vegan/Vegetarian version:  Make the sauce on the stove and then add your favorite substitute meat product.   For the Yum Yum sauce, leave out the butter and use Vegan mayo.