It’s the week of Cinco de Mayo which means… TACOS at our house (I bet I’m not the only one 😉!) More specifically we’ve been enjoying these spicy thai marinated skirt steak tacos with avocado. So satisfying and so loaded with delicious flavor!
Beyond it being Cinco de Mayo, it also happens to be the week of my sweetie’s birthday, and his love of Mexican food and the fact that it falls around Cinco de Mayo usually means mexican themed eats for his party.
So this last weekend while we celebrated there were tacos and a chopped salad with cilantro chipotle ranch. We drank lots of these margaritas from last week’s post, devoured a giant bowl of guacamole and dove head first into some mega spicy aguachile – a dish that I discovered on my recent trip to Mexico. It’s basically a super spicy, cilantro loaded shrimp ceviche. When I tried it for the first time I almost did a backflip! It was so good I’m seriously considering sharing my recipe for it with you here soon.
But I’m totally getting ahead of myself. Back to these spicy thai marinated skirt steak tacos with avocado!
There’s a few tricks to getting super bold flavor for these tacos:
- Make sure you marinate the skirt steak for at least 2 hours, longer if you have the time.
- Get a good sear on the steak (which isn’t hard to do because of the coconut sugar in the marinade, it will caramelize quickly)
- and SAVE the juices that collect on the plate when you let the steak rest before slicing. That’s going to be the bulk of the “sauce” for all the taco goodies and packs a mega spicy flavor punch.
I ended up calling them thai marinated because the ingredients in the marinade are definitely all thai flavors, but the end result doesn’t necessarily scream thai, it mostly brings lots of bold + bright umami flavor. Spicy steak that you wanna keep going back for another bite of!
We’ve had these several times over the last month or so, and I’m hooked on the simplicity and versatility of the recipe.The first time I made it I didn’t add any sliced jalapeños to the steak, and instead lightened up the taco filling a bit with shredded romaine lettuce and some cotija cheese, this time I kept it a little simpler by just sliding in some avocado in addition to my fave combo of add ins:
- radishes
- lots of cilantro
- green onions
- jalepeño peppers
- lime juice
But if you have the basic marinade down and follow the technique I use you can add or subtract any extra ingredients to your liking and I have no doubt that you’ll have a winning dish. I think these would also be super tasty with some cauliflower rice, pinto beans, fruit salsa, marinated kale or even chipotle roasted sweet potatoes.
did you make this recipe? I would love to know how it turned out for you! when you rate my recipes and leave feedback it helps me continue to improve. you can leave me a comment below, or snap a picture and post it to instagram with the tag @nyssaskitchen or hashtag #nyssaskitchen! xo
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spicy thai marinated skirt steak tacos with avocado
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 8 – 10 tacos 1x
Description
Spicy thai marinated skirt steak tacos and avocado are a super bold and umami packed paleo friendly taco that are versatile and easy to make!
Ingredients
for the steak and marinade
- 1.5 lb grass fed skirt steak (for me this took 2 separate pieces about equal in size)
- 1 tbsp yellow curry paste
- juice of one lime
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 3 cloves of garlic, grated or pressed
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 1/2 tbsp high heat fat for searing steak (I used avocado oil)
for taco assembly
- 1 small jalepeño, thinly sliced
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
- 3 tbsp cilantro, chopped
- 5 radishes, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup sliced red onion
- juice of half a lime
- salt to taste
- avocado
- lettuce cups OR grain free tortillas
Instructions
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Whisk together curry paste, lime juice, fish sauce, grated garlic, coconut sugar, salt and black pepper. Add steak and turn to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, but up to 8.
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Pat steak dry with a paper towel and heat a large skillet to medium high. Add 1 1/2 tbsp avocado oil, ghee or lard to the pan and cook steaks one at a time, flipping, until nicely charred on both sides but not cooked all the way through. If you have a meat press, now is the time to use it. The steaks will brown fairly quickly because of the sugar in the marinade, so make sure to flip them regularly. Remove first steak to a plate, sprinkle with a little salt, flip, salt the other side and repeat the whole process with the second steak.
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Set steaks aside to rest and prep ingredients for tacos. Do not throw away the liquid that is released on the plate from the steaks! You’ll use this later.
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Slice steaks in half lengthwise so that you have four equal sized pieces about 3 inches long. Slice each piece into 1/4 inch thick strips across the grain and add to a bowl. Add sliced jalepeno, green onions, cilantro, radishes, juice of half a lime and whatever cooking liquid has been released from steaks on the plate they were resting on. Toss and season to taste with salt if necessary.
- Serve with grain free tortillas or lettuce cups, and any desired add ins – avocado, cauliflower rice, beans or some salsa.
- Prep Time: 20 min + marinating time
- Cook Time: 20 min
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