Hot summer days Tacos are my food escape because of how easy they can be prepared. Taco is a traditional Mexican tortilla dish with various kinds of spicy toppings and fillings. Mexican cuisine is known for its combination of spices with meat and fish, so there are many variations of taco recipes. The variation of meat for the best tacos are beef, pork, and chicken. The most popular are spicy tacos with chorizo sausage and vegetables, that perfectly convey the spirit of national culture. Vegetarian tacos are cooked with fried beans, cheese, and the stew of Mexican cactus, but at home, you can make the best tacos with any veggie fillings. The most important thing is to keep the balance of spices and not to forget that real Mexican tacos always energizes, have different shades of tastes and bold combinations. The best homemade tacos are not to compare with the fast-food ones. They are served with guacamole or cilantro sauces, salsa and of course chili (Jalapeño or Serrano). My favorites are Spicy Chicken Tacos, especially for it’s flavorful and colorful aspect. Juicy meat, zesty toppings and 30 minutes from start to finish, make your tacos be perfect for dinner. These Easy Chicken Tacos recipe will make you be back to them more and more.
How to season Chicken for Tacos
The Authentic Chicken Tacos start with qualitative and freshly cooked chicken. You can take those parts of a chicken that you love. I prefer boneless chicken thighs but this time I found in my fridge some chicken breast and cooked it. To make the meat be tender firstly you will have to marinate it. Stir together some oregano, salt, pepper, olive oil and ground garlic and season chicken for tacos. It would be great if you have time and leave to marinate chicken thighs or chicken breast for at least one hour. If you do not have time just leave it until you prepare the vegetables. If time is not on your side, do not place the marinated meat in the fridge. Room temperature will fasten the fermentation process, thus, your meat will tender faster. Do not leave it at room temperature overnight, you don’t want to wake up with tainted meat.
How to cook Chicken for Tacos
Heat your grill pan or regular skillet at high temperature. Pour one tablespoon of olive oil with some mashed garlic gloves. Add meat to the olive oil and garlic and fry it on each side until it becomes golden. The beautiful color is reached in about 4-5 minutes, that will make a total of 10 minutes for both sides. Be careful not to overcook chicken breast as it will dry out. Remove it from the skillet and leave it to rest for a few minutes.
How to prepare Guacamole
Guacamole recipe does not require special skills to be prepared. It is very quick and a hit appetizer of all parties. For this Authentic Chicken Tacos recipe, I usually prepare the guacamole without tomatoes and chili, saving them for later. I will get to that point shortly.
Grab one smooth avocado, cilantro, olive oil, salt and some drops of freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice. I personally do not like the taste of fresh cilantro and sometimes I substitute it with parsley. Blend together all the ingredients in your kitchen robot. You can also mash avocado with a fork or spoon, especially if you like it slightly chunky. I prefer it in tacos as a cream. Then chop one medium size of red onion, and add it to blended veggies. Mix them all together.
How to prepare Pico de Gallo
Pico de gallo, also called “salsa fresca,” is the fresh Mexican recipe good to be served as a perfect finishing zesty topping for many dishes like tacos, burritos, meat, fish as well as separately. Pico de Gallo is invigorating and refreshing, very simple to make, and requires just a few ingredients to be done.
Chop small cubes of some juicy tomatoes, red onion, fresh cilantro, chili peppers (any kind of peppers will do here, just remove the seeds). Toss everything together in a bowl, add some fresh lime or lemon juice, and some drops of olive oil. Red onion will give the dish a nice look and great taste. To avoid watery mess add salt before filling your tacos.
Method
- Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat. Slice precooked one chicken breast into medium slices and put it on a half side of your skillet.
- Take 2 bell peppers, clean them from the stalks and seeds, and slice them the same size as the meat. Add them to the other side of the skillet.
- Cook everything together for about 5-7 minutes.
- At the same time prepare 6 corn tortillas. Heat them on all sides in a frying pan.
- Wash and dry 6 leaves of the salad. Chop them.
- Assemble tacos by adding pieces of fried chicken breast to the tortillas. Top meat with some tablespoon of Pico de Gallo and Guacamole. Layer bell pepper and leaves of the salad. At the top add a good drizzle of sour cream.
- Bend half of the tortilla and enjoy the colorful taste of Mexico!
Tips:
- Use fresh and quality chicken meat, perfectly boneless chicken thighs because they are more tender and juicy.
- Prepare the guacamole before filling tacos to save the freshness and the aroma it so nicely emanates.
- For the Pico de Gallo sauce, I love to use cherry, grape tomatoes or Roma tomatoes, since they contain fewer seeds than other ones. The sweet/sour freshness of tomatoes are the most important part in this recipe. That is why try to avoid those tomatoes that fill the stores, and try to buy natural ones.
- If you want to store for lately some Pico de Gallo sauce scoop out the seeds pulp before chopping the outer layer of the tomato and fridge it for some days.
Tacos are known as a meaty snack, but there are many traditional vegetarian options that will make your tacos be healthy, nutritious, and delicious. I like all kinds of tacos as they remember me of the finest days I have spent in Mexico.
Chicken Tacos
Equipment
- skillet
Ingredients
- 6 tortillas
- 1 chicken breast
- 6 tbsp sour cream
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic
Guacamole
- 1 avocado
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- cilantro
- salt
- pepper
- 1/2 lemon juice
- 1/2 red onion
Pico de Gallo
- 2 big tomatoes
- 1/2 red onion
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- fresh cilantro
- chile peppers
- lemon juice
- salt
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat. Slice precooked one chicken breast into medium slices and put it on a half side of your skillet.
- Take 2 bell peppers, clean them from the stalks and seeds, and slice them the same size as the meat. Add them to the other side of the skillet.
- Cook everything together for about 5-7 minutes.
- At the same time prepare 6 corn tortillas. Heat them on all sides in a frying pan.
- Wash and dry 6 leaves of the salad. Chop them.
- Assemble tacos by adding pieces of fried chicken breast to the tortillas. Top meat with some tablespoon of Pico de Gallo and Guacamole. Layer bell pepper and leaves of the salad.
- At the top add a good drizzle of sour cream.
- Bend half of the tortilla and enjoy the colorful taste of Mexico!
