Korean Steak Tacos and Guacamole

We're trying to switch from Where should we eat lunch? to What are we making for lunch? these weekends. We found that we ate out for almost every meal starting on Friday night to Sunday evening. And it's not like we were eating lots of unhealthy fried foods, but it was getting expensive! So we're trying to limit our weekend meal allowance, starting to think ahead during the weekdays, shopping for minimal ingredients, and stay cooking at home. At least for lunch, because we do like trying new restaurants with our friends for dinner.

Last Monday, I flagged a recipe in Curtis Stone's new cookbook, What's for Dinner? (I know how this looks as I'm using his recipes for lunch). Korean Steak Tacos. Perfect as we've been trying different Mexican restaurants in the city and still haven't gotten enough of tacos.

Around midnight, I started making the marinade by whisking 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro; 1/4 cup of dark brown sugar; 3 tablespoons of canola oil; 3 tablespoons of soy sauce (I had dark and light soy sauce at home and opted for the light one); 1 tablespoon of sesame oil; 2 garlic cloves, chopped; 1 jalapeño pepper, chopped; 1 teaspoon of freshly grounded black pepper; and 1 teaspoon of coriander powder. Pour out 1/4 of the marinade, cover and refrigerate. Then place the steak in the dish, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Woke up and gave the steak (about 2 pounds and 1.5 inches thick) a flip to the other side. Mmm this marinate smells so good!

While the other side of the steak is soaking, you can prep the veggies for the taco. It's pretty easy, shred some napa cabbage, cut 1 large carrot into matchstick-size strips, and clean some fresh cilantro sprigs.

Don't forget to make guacamole! We used 3 ripe avocados; 1 jalapeño pepper, finely chopped; 1 garlic clove, finely chopped; cilantro; juice from 1 lemon (oops, forgot to pick up lime); and a pinch of sea salt. Mix well!

Remove the steak from the marinade (discard the marinade) and grill for a total of about 5 minutes on each side (for a total of 10 minutes). Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let it sit for 5 minutes.

While the steak is resting, pop your tortillas into the oven for a light toast. Take out the marinade you saved.

Cut the steak into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Pour the reserved marinade over. Assemble the tacos by spreading guacamole on the tortilla, throwing on some cabbages, carrots, and steak. Garnish with cilantro. Or you can fill the tacos with everything and have the guacamole on the side. Up to you!

Enjoy! How do you go about planning weekend meals? Do you plan for the whole week? Play it by ear?

Disclaimer: An ambassador and account manager for Avocados from Mexico contacted us about featuring their products. A #LuvMexAvocado Blogger Pack was sent to us for the campaign. We received recipes featuring avocados from Mexico, a $25 gift card for the purchase of recipe ingredients, and fact sheets about Mexico and avocados from Mexico. We were not required to use the recipes provided or produce a positive feature. All opinions are our own.