Korean Turkey Sloppy Joe Sliders (Printer-Friendly)

Sweet and spicy ground turkey on soft buns topped with tangy crunchy slaw for a delicious Korean-American fusion comfort food.

# What You Need:

→ Turkey Filling

01 - 1 pound ground turkey
02 - 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
03 - 1 small onion, finely chopped
04 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
05 - 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
06 - 1/4 cup gochujang
07 - 2 tablespoons soy sauce
08 - 2 tablespoons brown sugar
09 - 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
10 - 1 tablespoon ketchup
11 - 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
12 - 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
13 - 2 green onions, sliced

→ Cabbage Slaw

14 - 2 cups shredded green cabbage
15 - 1/2 cup shredded carrots
16 - 2 green onions, thinly sliced
17 - 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
18 - 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
19 - 1 teaspoon sugar
20 - 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
21 - Salt and pepper to taste

→ Assembly

22 - 8 slider buns
23 - 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds, optional

# Directions:

01 - In a large bowl, combine shredded cabbage, carrots, and sliced green onions. In a separate small bowl, whisk together rice vinegar, mayonnaise, sugar, sesame oil, salt, and pepper. Toss the vegetable mixture with the dressing until evenly coated. Transfer to refrigerator until assembly.
02 - Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onion and cook for 3 minutes until translucent and softened. Stir in minced garlic and grated ginger, cooking for 1 minute until fragrant.
03 - Add ground turkey to the skillet and cook, breaking apart with a spoon, for 5 to 7 minutes until completely browned and cooked through.
04 - Stir gochujang, soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, ketchup, sesame oil, and black pepper into the cooked turkey. Simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and fold in sliced green onions.
05 - Toast slider buns if desired for added texture. Distribute turkey filling generously onto the bottom half of each bun. Crown each slider with a generous portion of chilled cabbage slaw and a sprinkle of sesame seeds if using. Cap with the top bun and serve immediately.

# Expert Suggestions:

01 -
  • That moment when sweet, spicy, and savory all hit at once is genuinely addictive and keeps people coming back for more.
  • The whole thing comes together in under 40 minutes, making it perfect for weeknight dinners when you want something that tastes like you tried way harder than you did.
  • Everything is dairy-free, so you're not limiting who gets to enjoy these at your table.
02 -
  • Don't skip refrigerating the slaw, because cold, crisp vegetables against warm turkey is what makes this actually sing instead of just tasting okay.
  • The turkey filling needs to actually simmer and thicken a bit after you add the sauce, or you'll end up with something more soup-like than slider-like, which is a lesson I learned the hard way.
03 -
  • Make the slaw the morning of if you're serving these for a party, because it actually gets better as it sits and the flavors deepen, plus you remove that last-minute stress.
  • Toast your slider buns in a dry skillet or under the broiler for about thirty seconds per side if you want them to hold up better and add a little textural contrast that matters more than you'd think.
Go Back