One of the most important aspects of street food is that it has to be easy. Fast and easy.

This idea came from some of my friends who were gushing about a local food truck. I've never eaten at said food truck, but apparently they have a hoisin pork taco topped with an Asian slaw. Sounds easy enough! Since I already had the shredded beef on hand, I went ahead and made it with beef instead of pork (although pork would probably be less expensive and also super tasty).

I went with the most basic of basic Asian slaws out there to make it fast and easy. It's just a little shredded cabbage and carrot with a sweet and sour dressing. If you want to get a little more fancy, you could add green onions, chopped peanuts, and maybe some pineapple or fresh ginger. As it is, though, it's got all of the crunch, sweet, and sour that this taco needs to make you want that second, third... or fourth taco.

Speaking of, I priced these per taco because it's hard to estimate a serving with these. I could eat anywhere from one to three, depending on the situation. So, I'll just let you make that call.

Hoisin Beef Tacos with Sweet & Sour Slaw

Total Recipe cost: $9.15
Tacos Per Recipe: 8 small tacos
Cost per taco: $1.14
Prep time: 15 min. Cook time: 0 min. Total: 15 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
1/4 cup	rice vinegar	$0.16
1.5 Tbsp	sugar	$0.02
1/2 tsp	salt	$0.03
1/2 tsp	toasted sesame oil	$0.10
pinch	crushed red pepper	$0.02
3 cups	shredded cabbage	$0.75
1 medium	carrot	$0.14
2 cups	Multi-Purpose Shredded Beef	$5.20
1/3 cup	hoisin sauce	$0.95
8 small (6-inch)	tortillas	$1.59
1/4 bunch	cilantro	$0.19
TOTAL		$9.15

STEP 1: First make the sweet and sour slaw. In a large bowl stir together the rice vinegar, sugar, salt, sesame oil, and crushed red pepper until the sugar is mostly dissolved. Wash and peel the carrot. Use a large holed cheese grater to grate the carrot into the bowl with the dressing. Add the shredded cabbage and stir until everything is coated in the dressing.

STEP 2: If your shredded beef is frozen, thaw and reheat it in the microwave (or stove top). Drain off the cooking liquid and then stir in the hoisin sauce until the meat is well coated in sauce.

STEP 3: To make the tacos, place about 1/4 cup of hoisin beef, 1/3 cup of slaw, and a few fresh sprigs of cilantro in a tortilla. Fold it up and enjoy!

Seriously, how fast and easy is that?

Step By Step Photos

First make the super simple sweet & sour dressing by stirring together the rice vinegar, sugar, salt, sesame oil, and crushed red pepper. Stir until the sugar is mostly dissolved. (picture is before stirring)


I usually buy and shred my own cabbage, but this was only $1.50 and the super fine shred was worth it. I used three cups, which was about half of this bag.


Use a large-holed cheese grater to shred a carrot. Add it and the cabbage to the dressing and stir to coat. Set the slaw aside until you're ready to make the tacos.


Reheat your shredded beef and then pour off the cooking liquid. Add the hoisin sauce and stir it all together. I bought my hoisin at the regular grocery store, which was probably twice as expensive as it would be if I had gotten it at the Asian market.


And then build your tacos! A little hoisin beef, a little slaw, a little fresh cilantro in a tortilla, and go!

...Did I mention that a little sriracha is good on there? Did I need to? No.