Mexican Chicken Tacos

Last night, we had a ‘Taco night’ and it turned out to be a hit. It was simple and yet so flavorful.

I like to experiment with the salsa fillings, the salsa sauce and the chicken marinade. I would usually make a guacamole for my tacos, but today I skipped it and instead tried a salsa fresca (salad/filling) which I had read on the Coles Magazine, almost a year back. 😉

In today’s taco recipe, the chicken is tossed in the taco seasoning and then stir-fried. The use of the fresh ingredients makes this recipe extra special. The Taco is finally served with Mexican chicken, a Avocado-Tomato Salsa Fresca, a medium fiery Salsa Sauce, Lettuce, Cheese and Sour Cream.

Ingredients:

6 Tacos – hard shells

1/2 cup Lettuce, shredded

1/2 cup Cheese, grated (optional)

1/2 cup Sour Cream, whip till smooth

For the Mexican Chicken:

300 gm Chicken Thigh or Breast Fillet, cut into thin strips

1 tsp Chili Flakes

3 Garlic Flake, minced

1 tsp Cumin, crushed

1 Lemon Juice

2 tbsp Vinegar

3-4 tbsp Soy Sauce

2 tbsp Oil

Salt to Taste

For the Salsa Fresca:

1/2 Onion, diced

1 1/2 Tomato, diced

1 Avocado, diced

1 Jalapenos – for some heat (optional, i didn’t use it today)

1/2 Lemon Juice

2 tbsp Coriander Leaves

Salt to Taste

For the Salsa Sauce (medium fiery):

2 Tomatoes, grilled

1 Red Capsicum, small, grilled

1/2 Onion, diced

2 tbsp Green Capsicum, diced (optional)

2 Garlic flakes

Coriander leaf, few strands

1/2 Lemon

1 tbsp Chili Flakes

1/2 tsp Sugar

2 tbsp Olive Oil

Salt to Taste

Recipe:

For the Mexican Chicken:

1. In a bowl, take all the ingredients except oil. Toss them well so the chicken is well coated. And let it stand for half an hour.
2. Take oil in a fry pan over medium heat and stir fry the chicken until well cooked.
3. Note: If there is any liquid left in the pan after the chicken is cooked. Just turn the gas to high for 3 more minutes and keep tossing your chicken. the liquid should thicken/dry up and coat the chicken.

For the Salsa Fresca:

1. In a bowl, add diced tomatoes, onions,avocado, jalapeno and coriander leaves.
2. Gently toss them and leave it to rest in the fridge.
3. Just before serving add lemon juice and salt.

For the Salsa Sauce:

1. Grill tomatoes and red capsicum, and peel away its skin.
2. In a blender, take all the ingredients under salsa sauce and blend into coarse paste.
3. Take a small sauce pan and pour this paste. Bring it to boil and then simmer for 2-3 minutes. Check for the taste and adjust seasoning.
4. Cool and Serve.
5. note: You can also add 1-2 Jalapenos for some extra heat.

For Assembling the Tacos:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. Bake the hard shell Tacos for 5 mins as instructed on the packaging.
2. Divide the chicken and salsa fresca over the warm tortillas or tacos.
3. Add salsa sauce, lettuce and cheese. You can now grill for 5 minutes (optional). I didn’t.
4. Apply sour cream on top of your tacos and Enjoy..

Note:

1. If you don’t have sour cream available, then you can use sour hung curd or sour thick yogurt.
2. For vegetarians, you can skip the chicken and instead add the boiled red beans to the salsa fresca.
3. I haven’t tried making tacos at home. But you can use soft tacos/tortillas/roti too.
4. Kindly adjust the spices as per your taste.