With the traditional Korean flavours of ginger and chilli front and centre, and the accompaniment of fizzy fermented kimchi on warmed, Mexican-style soft-shell tacos, this is the perfect twist on a Latin-American favourite. It was only a matter of time before all three elements came together… and these Korean tacos are it.

Some of the biggest food trends we’ve seen over the last couple of years have come straight from the pages of brightly-coloured Mexican cookbooks, from the steamy kitchens of America’s hippest Korean restaurants, and from the streets of London, New York and San Fran, where inexpensive and convenient foods can be found from a myriad of cultural and culinary backgrounds.

 

Ingredients

12 corn or flour mini tortillas

3 – 4 Fresh duck breasts

Fresh coriander

Sesame seeds

 

For the Marinade:

80g of All in All Ginger and Chilli Seasoning Blend

440g water

 

For the Glaze:

24g All in All Ginger and Chilli Glaze

 

For the Asian Salad:

4 Radishes, finely sliced

¼ Cucumber, finely sliced

4 Baby Leeks, finely sliced

 

For the Salad Dressing:

1 tablespoon of sesame oil

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

2 teaspoons of soy sauce

1 teaspoon of honey

 

For the Kimchi:

1 Large Chinese cabbage

150g of fine table salt

3.5 litres of Water

6 Garlic Cloves, finely minced

1 – 2 teaspoons of fresh ginger, minced

3 tablespoons of fish sauce

1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar

2 tablespoons of granulated sugar

150g of Sriracha sauce

6 spring onions, roughly chopped

1 large carrot, peeled and grated

 

For the Ssamjang Dipping Sauce:

2 tablespoons of soybean paste

2 tablespoons of gochujang

1 tablespoon of sesame oil

½ of a small garlic glove, finely minced

½ teaspoon of honey

INSTRUCTIONS

NOTE: You can skip days 1 – 3 by purchasing your own kimchi in any good Asian foods grocery store.

Step 1

To get this recipe started, you’ll need to prep your kimchi. We recommend doing this 3 – 5 days before you want to eat it as it’s one of those things that just gets better with time. You can buy it from the refrigerator of your local Asian store, but trust us, you can’t beat the satisfaction of creating your own.

Start by chopping your Chinese cabbage into chunky quarters. Pop it into a deep tray and coat it with salt, tossing it to ensure it’s totally covered. Then, add your water and mix well. Leave to stand overnight, or for around 12 – 24 hours. You can leave it stand at room temperature.

Step 2

The next day, drain the cabbage in a colander, and rinse it with cold water. Squeeze out the excess liquid and set aside into a clean mixing bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty here!

Once it’s combined, pack it tightly into a jar or air-tight tub, and store it in a cool, dry place. Kimchi doesn’t like being refrigerated for the first 24 hours. This is a fermented product, so cold temperatures will dramatically slow the process. Think of this like bread!

Step 3

After 24 hours, open the container to let the gasses out, repack your kimchi and store it in the fridge for around two days. Kimchi keeps for around a month in the fridge.

Step 4

The day before, make up your brine, and place the duck breasts in it. Make sure they are submerged in the solution. This will ensure maximum flavour impact.

Leave these in the fridge for around 12 – 24 hours, or at least 3 – 4 hours.

Step 5

The next day, Pre-heat your oven to 160°C.

Take your duck out of the fridge and remove it from the marinade. Let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, then coat with your All in All Ginger and Chilli Seasoning.

Place the duck on a wire rack above a roasting tin and cook for 1 hour. Then, turn the oven down to 140°C and cook until the flesh is tender enough to pull apart and the fat has crisped up.

While you’re waiting for this, prep your salad. It helps to have good knife skills when finely slicing, but if you don’t, one of handiest tools to have in your kitchen is a Japanese mandolin.

To make the Ssamjang dip and the salad dressing, simply combine the ingredients above and mix well.

When the duck is cooked to perfection, remove from the above and let it rest for 10 minutes. Then, with a fork in each hand, start shredding it up.

Lightly coat your salad with the dressing and heat up the tortillas in a warm frying pan.

To make your taco, pop your tortilla onto a warm plate and place a generous helping of your All in All Ginger and Chilli Glazed shredded duck onto it. Then top with your dressed salad and kimchi and serve with a ramekin of Ssangjang dip.