Korean Tacos Sweeping LA

My son, the LA music producer, called today all excited about Kogi, a new mobile BBQ operation that sells Korean tacos (that's right, tacos) from two trucks that operate on a schedule announced on their website. Tonight, they were slated to be in his neighborhood, so he went over a bit early to find twenty people already waiting. By the time he was served, he said there were at least fifty people in line. He said it's usually a mob scene wherever they show up.

As he described it to me, each taco consists of marinated meat (steak, short ribs, chicken pork or tofu), hot sauce, cilantro and asian slaw on a heated corn tortilla. He said they're as deliciously addictive as they look on their menu. I suppose it also doesn't hurt that Jonathan Gold gave them a nice plug.

Ok, that's at least ten places I want to try on my next LA trip...

Looks like all kinds of amazing to me. If I get the chance while I'm in CA next month I'll hunt down one of these trucks for a late night snack.

When you come, it's fairly easy to find them. They use twitter!

Also, they're on their way to a brick and mortar site.


http://twitter.com/kogibbq

http://kogibbq.com/

cjla wrote:When you come, it's fairly easy to find them. They use twitter!

Also, they're on their way to a brick and mortar site.


http://twitter.com/kogibbq

http://kogibbq.com/

I've never used twitter...but I'll check it out.

Man... that is AWESOme... did you read their "About Us" section? Someone's gonna see this page and then it's gonna happen in Chicago - who's first? Who's got startup capital!

Don't some of the Korean chicken fast-foodie type places already have this covered?

Crisp in Lakeview isn't half-bad when one wants bibimbap and a box of KFC delivered. The menu touts a bunch of burritos stffed with bulgogi and panchan. Not tacos, but still. I like how they will deliver a container of Chicago Kimchee (love the heavy hand with the fish sauce and dried shrimp) as a "side." Don't get me wrong, this isn't Kang Nam or the Hourglass.

Crisp
2940 N Broadway St, Chicago - (773) 697-7610

cool will have too look for these...

This enterprise consists of Internet driven PR firm running amuck with a side business of a taco truck operation. It should make every Korean American cringe, and every actual Mexican taco vendor in LA cry.

I crawled the streets of E. LA recently in search of al pastor off a spit, but mark my word, it'll be the day after I die before Kogi touches my lips.

Last time Kogi crossed my path was at Bing's (a local bar) parking lot, in, of all places, Abbot Kinney, Venice. That particular nite, a NYT photog was out in full force, hovering, hopping, twisting about, in and out, and around the truck. We wavered in our fickleness for 15 minutes, and finally decided not to sample the fare due to growing incredulity. The operator for the nite offered free tacos (the DSLR in my hand tends to annoy and attract free grub??), but I scoffed and countered with the fact there's bulgogi and tortillas in my own fridge.

And that, really, is the crux of my issue with this venture. I've been told it doesn't taste like a good KBBQ joint. It doesn't taste Korean. It doesn't taste Mexican. There's no salsa condiment bar like a good taco stand. There's no kimchi.

"What it is good for"
"absolutely nothing"

Jayz wrote:

cjla wrote:When you come, it's fairly easy to find them. They use twitter!

Also, they're on their way to a brick and mortar site.


http://twitter.com/kogibbq

http://kogibbq.com/

I've never used twitter...but I'll check it out.

Jay K wrote:Man... that is AWESOme... did you read their "About Us" section? Someone's gonna see this page and then it's gonna happen in Chicago - who's first? Who's got startup capital!

Just wanted to share my glee at immediately adjacent posts by Jayz and Jay K.

anyone have a good copycat receipe of these?

kevin100 wrote:anyone have a good copycat receipe of these?

- Marinated bulgogi from Joong Boo
- Slivered scallions/jalapeno w/rice wine vinegar, lime, sesame oil, salt
- Tortillas
- Kimchee
- Sesame Seeds, toasted
- Cabbage, diced
- Lime
- Red Pepper, julienned



- Griddle bulgogi
- Griddle tortillas
- Assemble
- Eat



Enjoy,
Gary

Joong Boo / Chicago Food Corp
3333 N Kimball Ave
Chicago, IL
773-478-5566

The tortillas at Kogi are fried, not griddled, and the meat is short rib (cross-cut, one assumes). "Authentic"? Of course not. Really annoying website/popularity that makes you want not to love their tacos? Yep. Absolutely delicious short rib tacos that are completely addictive? Sigh. Yes, as well.

conor610 wrote:The tortillas at Kogi are fried, not griddled, and the meat is short rib (cross-cut, one assumes). "Authentic"? Of course not.

So you find my take on Kogi's Korean Tacos inauthentic...........

Somehow I find this amusing.

You sure the tortillas are fried? Either way my version was quite tasty.

Sorry, my reply was confusing. I was calling the Kogi tacos inauthentic, not your version. But of course they're not aiming at "authenticity," whatever that means. I've only eaten them once, so I suppose I could be wrong about the tortillas being fried, but they seemed to be so, very lightly. They weren't crispy, but they seemed to be gently fried. Maybe they were just griddled with oil.

I think I will be trying my hand at making some Korean tacos...

I did end up making some Korean tacos. No place to buy bulgogi around here, so I had to make my own. I had never made bulgogi before but I thought it turned out really well. Nice sweet and salty flavor, a hint of the fruit taste from the kiwi. I'll be making it again in the future:



Cooking:


On the plate:



I have no basis for comparison to other Korean tacos, but I enjoyed them.

brandon_w wrote:a hint of the fruit taste from the kiwi.

You're going to have to post your marinade recipe, brandon. I'm intrigued.

The recipe I used can be found here:

http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/issues/bulgogi.htm

I made a slight change to the recipe though. I'm not a huge fan of Sesame oil, usually it's too overpowering for me, so I toasted some Sesame seeds, threw those in there, and used canola oil for the oil.