It’s Taco Tuesday y’all! Why not celebrate with these delicious, seasoned, seared Chicken Tacos. They’re super simple to put together and with some fresh homemade flour tortillas they’re definitely unbeatable! Tacos are so easy to customize once you have the base ingredients so why not give these tacos a spin and add your own flair to it! Now, let’s get on with the recipe, shall we?
Ingredients:
Chicken:
- 1 pound boneless chicken
- 2.5 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt, to taste
- Juice of half a lime
Taco Sauce:
- 5 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 5 tablespoons yogurt
- 2 teaspoon sriracha
Taco Filling:
- 12 large soft tortillas
- taco Sauce
- chicken, chopped
- lettuce, roughly chopped
- guacamole
- cilantro, to garnish
- lime wedges, on the side
Directions:
Remember those soft shell tacos I made last week? Well, this week I thought I would give you a fun idea on how to fill them. How’s that for a callback? Now, I won’t delay because I’m sure you are anxious to make these tacos! The biggest step is making the chicken. It’s fairly simple. In a bowl rinse and dry your chicken thoroughly. Cut the chicken into strips or chunks (whatever you prefer) and make sure they are fairly thin so they can cook faster. You want them to be similar thickness so they will cook evenly.
Once the chicken is cut add in all the chicken ingredients. Mix everything together thoroughly and then cover and set aside for 30-40 minutes to let the flavors marinate.
While it marinates why not put together the nifty little taco sauce. Its nice and mild and it compliments the chicken very nicely. Simply mix the mayo, yogurt, and sriracha together and you’re done! That was simple, right?
Now, the chicken has been marinated its time to sear it up. Heat up a pan with enough oil to coat it. I used a cast iron because it gives a nice sear. On medium heat make sure the pan gets hot and then lay the chicken pieces on. If they are a fairly thin and an even thickness it should take about 5 minutes per side to cook through. If you happen to have some thicker chunks you can keep them in the pan longer and cover the pan to trap the heat. It will help the chicken cook through it’ll just take a couple more minutes per side.
Once the chicken is cooked, probably in two or three batches depending on the size of your pan, put it on a cutting board to rest. After 2-3 minutes you can chop the chicken into strips. Add it all into one plate and now the tacos can be assembled! I would recommend having it as making your own tacos as you go because if you assemble them all at once they will get cold faster.
Now, to assemble take one warm, fresh soft flour tortilla and first put down a bed of lettuce, then on top add some guacamole, put a healthy amount of chicken on that, and then top it all off with some sriracha taco sauce. Garnish with cilantro if you like and maybe a squeeze of lime! And you have yourself a wonderful chicken taco from scratch! Wow, give yourself a hand! I am too proud! Let me know how your tacos turned out down below!
Seared Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 1 pound boneless chicken
- 2½ teaspoons cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ¼ cup plain yogurt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt to taste
- Juice of half a lime
Taco Sauce:
- 5 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 5 tablespoons yogurt
- 2 teaspoons sriracha
Taco Filling:
- 12 large soft tortillas (or 24 small)
- taco Sauce
- cooked chicken chopped
- lettuce roughly chopped
- guacamole
- cilantro to garnish
- lime wedges on the side
Instructions
- Start by preparing your chicken. Wash and pat dry thoroughly. Cut chicken into even thin strips or chunks that are fairly similar in thickness.
- In a bowl mix together chicken with all the "Chicken" ingredients. Mix thoroughly so they are coated. Cover the bowl and allow to marinate in refrigerator for 30-40 minutes.
- Once marinated it is time to cook the chicken. In a large cast iron pan or stainless steel skillet heat up enough oil to lightly coat the pan. Heat up on medium heat. Once oil is hot add in enough chicken to fill pan. Allow to cook for about 5 minutes per side or until you see it is seared (not burned). If you have larger chunks keep them in the pan longer and cover pan to trap heat. Cook them for a few more minutes until cook through.
- Cook the remaining chicken in the same way, should take about 2-3 batches depending on size of pan.
- Once chicken is cooked place on cutting board to rest for 2-3 minutes. Once rested, chop chicken into small strips.
- Put all the chicken in one place so it is easy to assemble. I recommend assembling at the table so each taco is fresh and warm.
- Make taco sauce by combining all taco sauce ingredients in a bowl.
- To assemble, taco one tortilla place a bed of lettuce, add guacamole on top, then place chicken on top, and lastly put taco sauce. Garnish with cilantro and sprinkle with fresh lime juice, if you please.
- Enjoy!
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