Chicken Tacos
What ruins a taco is not the filling but a cold tortilla: it cracks and tastes of cardboard. Thirty seconds on a dry hot pan and it turns soft, foldable and smells of corn. The second condition is thigh meat: breast in a sharp marinade dries out in the same five minutes.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Rest
- 30 min
- Total
- 1 h 15 min
- Servings
- 4
- Level
- Easy
- Per serving
- 420 kcal
Ingredients
The chicken
To assemble
Makes: 12 tacos, 4 portions
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
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Step 1: Marinate the chicken
Toss the strips with lime, oil, spices, garlic and salt and leave 30 minutes at room temperature. Longer in acid and the meat turns woolly.
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Step 2: Get the pan properly hot
A cast-iron or heavy pan should be hot enough to shimmer. That heat is what gives the charred edges a taco tastes of.
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Step 3: Cook in batches
Lay the chicken out in a single layer, leave it 2 minutes untouched, then turn and give it 2–3 more. Crowded, it releases juice and steams.
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Step 4: Rest the meat
Tip it into a bowl and cover for 5 minutes. The juices redistribute and the filling stops leaking through the tortilla.
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Step 5: Warm the tortillas
Thirty seconds a side in a dry pan, until soft and spotted brown. Stack them in a towel to stay warm.
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Step 6: Build the tacos
Chicken, onion, coriander, a slice of avocado and a dab of sour cream. Serve with lime: the acidity finishes the flavour rather than decorating it.
Tips & variations
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Tip
Corn tortillas are more authentic and gluten-free; wheat ones are softer and sturdier. Either works, but corn must be warmed or it cracks.
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Tip
A lime marinade works fast: 30 minutes is enough, an hour is the maximum. Acid cooks protein, and after two hours the chicken is dry and grainy.
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Variation
Fish tacos: swap in pan-fried cod with the same spices and add a cabbage slaw. Vegetarian: roasted squash with black beans.
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Storage
The filling keeps two days. Assemble only at the table: within ten minutes the tortilla soaks through and tears.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 4 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 420 kcal | 1,680 kcal |
| Protein | 30 g | 120 g |
| Fat | 18 g | 72 g |
| Carbohydrates | 35 g | 140 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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