These mini tacos are inspired by the memory I had in one of the greatest cities in the States: the weird Austin. Every time when I hung out around 5th and 6th street areas, I had to pass by the amazing Korean taco food truck Chi’lantro to munch on their juicy mini tacos. If you ever have chance to visit the city in night time, this food truck should be on your to-eat list. I promise you will not be disappointed.
So the taco in my memory has Korean fusion with Mexican flavor, and the ones I was making really had nothing do with this flavor profile. Funny enough, isn’t it? I just need a solid reason to make good tacos, in fact, I think it’s the other way around. Making these mini tacos remind of the good time I had in Austin and the unforgettable memory I built up with this one of a kind city. It’s forever my home, regardless of where I am now. Keep Austin weird, right?
Well, enough with a romantic, cheezy breezy flash back. Lets go straight to the point: these tiny tacos are mixed between Vietnamese and Mexican flavor/style. They’re sour and salty with a lot of hint of lime juice and that’s why I call them Beef Ceviche Mini Tacos. However, i don’t use the original method. I don’t cure raw beef with lime juice from a-to-z. Instead, I quickly sear sliced beef on the stove and then I submerge them in lime juice for curing process. By doing this, I can reduce the prepping time significantly and also I feel safer consuming beef by cooking them half way.
Wanna have good snack while watching your favorite team in upcoming College football season? Then go for this.
Easy Peasy Beef Ceviche Mini Tacos
Ingredients
- 10 mini taco
- 1/2 lb beef (preferred rump) sliced
- 1 small white onion thinly sliced
- 1 medium red/yellow bell pepper thinly sliced
- parsley or cilantro for garnish
- pickled jalapeno, gherkin, cucumber optional
Ceviche mixture
- 1/2 c lime juice
- 3 garlic gloves minced
- 1 oz fish sauce
- 1/4c + 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 Thai chilies minced
Instructions
- Season sliced beef with a little bit of salt and pepper
- Heat a small pan on a stove. Wait until the pan is hot, add 1 tbsp of vegetable oil then add sliced beef. Quickly sear the beef (about 1-2 minutes only) until the outside of the beef turned light brown, but make sure the inside still stays red
- Quickly turn off the heat and transfer seared beef to a plate or a sheet pan. Spread them out so they can cool down to room temperature quickly
Curing process
- In a small sauce bowl, whisk together all ingredients. Set aside about 1oz of the mixture and save for later. The curing juice/sauce should taste a little bit sour than the normal fish sauce mixture.
- When the beef cool down to room temperature, submerge them and white onion completely in curing juice, and cure for 30 minutes or until all the meat turn light brown
- In a mean time, heat 2 tbsp of vegetable oil in a medium pan and quickly cook bell pepper
- When beef is done with the curing process, take them out of the juice and put in a separate bowl. Served the beef with mini tacos, complimented with stir fried bell peppers, pickled, garnish and sauce on the side (add more if you want). Enjoy!
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