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Korean-Inspired Salmon Tacos with Spicy Gochujang Slaw is a delicious way to switch up your fish taco game!
Korean-Inspired Salmon Tacos
I love my Korean BBQ-inspired marinade with chicken, but I wanted to try a slightly different marinade on fish. You all know how much I LOVE tacos and gochujang, so putting the fish in a tortilla with spicy slaw just made sense. The result: a unique combination of flavors perfect for Taco Tuesday or any day of the week! More fish taco recipes you might like are these Cod Fish Tacos, Blackened Fish Tacos, and Shrimp Tacos. And you can see more salmon recipes here!
Spicy Slaw Ingredients
This spicy Korean slaw for tacos has just five ingredients:
- Mayo: The mayonnaise makes the coleslaw creamy.
- Gochujang: Gochujang, a Korean condiment, is a thick red chili paste, which is what gives this slaw its heat. If you’re interested in cooking more with gochujang, these turkey meatballs and glazed shrimp skewers also use it.
- Water: Add a tablespoon of water to the mayo and gochujang to make the spicy slaw dressing thinner.
- Coleslaw: I bought a bag of premade coleslaw to save time, but if you have a head of cabbage on hand, feel free to slice it for the slaw.
- Scallions: Use the green and white parts of three scallions.
How to Make Korean Inspired Salmon Tacos
- Marinade: Combine the soy sauce, onion, toasted sesame oil, grated ginger, brown sugar, garlic, and sesame seeds. Set aside two tablespoons of the marinade, and then pour the remaining marinade over the salmon in a container. Refrigerate the fish and marinate it for at least two hours or overnight. If you don’t have time, 20 minutes will still work.
- Coleslaw: Mix the gochujang, water, and mayonnaise and then toss it with the cabbage and green onions.
- Fish: Cook the salmon on an oiled outdoor grill or grill pan for three to five minutes until it easily releases from the grill and is charred. Flip the salmon over and top each piece with a tablespoon of the reserved marinade. Cook it for another few minutes until the fish flakes easily with a fork.
- Tortillas: Heat the tortillas over an open flame, on the grill, or in the microwave.
- Assemble: Remove the skin from the salmon and place some salmon and slaw on each tortilla.
What to Serve with Salmon Tacos
These healthy salmon tacos would be delicious with a side salad with ginger carrot dressing, cilantro lime rice, or garlic green beans.
Variations
Try it with any white fish, cod or halibut also great. Or use shrimp instead!
More Salmon Recipes You’ll Love:
- Gochujang-Glazed Salmon
- Spicy Canned Salmon Rice Bowl
- Air Fryer Salmon with Maple Soy Glaze
- Sheet Pan Teriyaki Salmon and Vegetables
- Salmon Coconut Curry with Spinach and Chickpeas
Korean-Inspired Salmon Tacos with Spicy Slaw
Korean-Inspired Salmon Tacos with Spicy Gochujang Slaw is a delicious way to switch up your fish taco game!
Yield: 4 servings
Serving Size: 2 tacos
Ingredients
- 1 pound wild salmon fillet, cut in half
- ¼ cup reduced sodium soy sauce, or gluten-free tamari
- ¼ cup finely diced yellow onion
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- 3 cups tri-color coleslaw
- 3 scallions, chopped
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise, (I love Sir Kensington)
- 3 teaspoons gochujang, or Sempio Gluten Free Korean Gochujang
- 8 6-inch corn tortillas
Instructions
- In a small measuring cup, combine the soy sauce, onion, sesame oil, ginger, brown sugar, garlic and sesame seeds. Whisk to thoroughly combine.
- Set aside 2 tablespoons then place salmon in a shallow bowl or Tupperware container and add the rest of the marinade.
- Refrigerate and allow to marinate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight. (If you don't have time, you can let it marinade 20 minutes)
- In a medium bowl, add the mayonnaise, gochujang and 1 tablespoon water.
- Whisk to combine. Add the coleslaw and scallions and toss to combine.
- Heat a clean outdoor grill (make sure the grates are clean and lightly oiled) or if cooking indoors an oiled grill pan over medium-high heat.
- Place salmon pieces, flesh side down, on the grill and cook 3-5 minutes (thinner fillets will cook quicker than a thicker piece), or until salmon easily releases from the grill and is nicely charred.
- Carefully flip with a spatula, top each piece with a tablespoon of reserved marinade and cook an additional 2-4 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.
- Set aside on a clean cutting board or plate.
- Meanwhile, heat the tortillas over an open flame, on the grill or microwave.
- Place 2 tortillas each on 4 plates.
- Using a spatula, break up the fish into pieces, sliding the spatula between the flesh and skin to remove the skin.
- Place a piece or 2 of salmon on each tortilla then top each with 1/3 cup slaw. Repeat with remaining fish and slaw. Serve immediately.
Last Step:
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Variations: Try it with any white fish, cod or halibut also great. Or use shrimp instead.
Nutrition
Serving: 2 tacos, Calories: 404 kcal, Carbohydrates: 33 g, Protein: 27 g, Fat: 18 g, Saturated Fat: 2.5 g, Cholesterol: 70 mg, Sodium: 735 mg, Fiber: 5 g, Sugar: 8 g
My husband raved about how he loved how the salmon and the coleslaw complemented each other! It was super delicious and easy to prepare.
I make this recipe all the time. It’s just so tasty, easy and fast. We eat it as tacos and as bowls. I add a little sesame oil to the slaw when I make it (just a touch, sesame oil is very strong). The salmon is best if you have time to let marinate overnight. So yummy!
Perfect dish!! I marinaded for eight hours the flavors were really good. Family approved
Amazing tacos. We’ve never really cooked anything Korean style. We grilled salmon and a strip steak on charcoal with a similar marinade and grilled our shells at the end. Amazing simple dinner
Has anyone used chicken thighs/breasts instead of fish for this recipe?
So good. About to make it for the third time, this time on the grill!
Delicious. I uses the air fryer. Next time I’ll probably use skinless fillets.
I just made this but subbed cod instead of salmon; also added a squeeze of lime to the slaw sauce….sooooo good!! Will def be added to the rotation of tacos 🙂
LoveIt! Our favorite fish tacos and so easy! We do prefer flour tortillas, but that’s the only change.
I just wanted to share for those are gluten free. Most gochujang isn’t GF. I found this one Amazon, that’s labeled GF. So just FIY 🙂
Chung Jung One O’Food Gluten-Free Korean Paste (Gochujang, 1 lb) https://a.co/d/4pZwMwk
Do you use light or dark brown sugar?
This is a simple, delicious recipe for salmon.
My husband and I absolutely love this recipe! It’s now a staple for us – the perfect weeknight meal.
They were a hit with the family. My son said they were restaurant worthy, which is a great compliment from someone who works at a high quality restaurant.
I made mine Mexican/Korean fusion style by spreading cream as a base, then topping it off with Cotija cheese, red onions and cilantro. My only mistake was making the coleslaw too soon, which became a bit mushy. But it was still delicious. Next time I’ll make right before cooking salmon.
The marinade was delicious. So to not waste the marinade, I cooked it and topped off the tacos with it as well. Yummy!
Will make again and again!
Loved this!!!
As another reviewer did, I cooked my salmon in the air fryer because I had it out to make Gina’s charred sesame green beans- which was a perfect pairing. I look forward to making this again!
Whole family loved this – half of them are mayo-averse so next time I might do slightly less mayo in the slaw, but otherwise proportions were perfect. I love gochujang so might be tempted to add a little to the marinade next time too!
Great!
Would this still be tasty without mayo
Sure
These were phenomenal. I air-fried the salmon for 8 minutes and 30 seconds. I didn’t flip it over, and I added the reserved sauce after 4 minutes. Otherwise, followed the recipe exactly. I will make these many, many times. My boyfriend completely agreed and was super impressed.
Do you know where I could purchase gochujang in a store on Long Island?
Kroger or any standard chain grocery store will have it on the international aisle.
These were delicious. I am not big fan of corn tortillas so I used street tacos. Will definitely be on making again.
I can’t find it consistently where I am so I buy from Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004IM5ZSS/
this post is absolutely interesting because I like everything about Korea. I totally love music, culture, and typical food. In this post I can see the love about “Kimchi” and a little mix between korean food and mexican food, that’s amazing. I learned that whatever combination is possible if we are passionate with our beliefs and is extremely easy close ourselvs to the opportunity to try different things especially with food.
Really good. Kids liked the salmon. We made it into a salad using the coleslaw as the base. Next time think we will add kimchi.
Great!
What brand are these tortillas? I love corn but find the brand I buy always cracks!
Wondering how this might be with halibut or cod?
Great!
This looks so delicious! Do you know if any gluten free gochujang?
Sempio Gluten Free Korean Gochujang on amazon