Jerk Chicken Tacos

I made these tacos today and was going to wait until Monday to show them to you, but they were so fabulously delicious that I just had to show them to you today!  I just know that if you love tacos and you love chicken you will want to be making these for your family tonight!

 

Seriously these were the best tacos I have ever eaten.  I adapted them from a recipe I found on La Creme do la Creme.  You know me though . . . I can never leave well enough alone.

 

I turned the cabbage she used for the bottom into a pickled cabbage salad, flavoured with lime and coriander.  Todd is not fond of really hard vegetables.  He finds them a bit hard to chew, so pickling them a bit  made them easier, and to be honest it went really well with the chicken!



 I changed the spice mixture a bit. She used cayenne pepper, but I knew we wouldn't enjoy it as hot as that, so I used mild chili powder  instead, and we were very happy with that.



I also chose to poach the chicken breast meat first, which ensured that it stayed moist and tender.   I coarsely shredded it, leaving it a bit chunky and tossed it with some of the seasoning, and then reheated it a bit in some olive oil in a skillet which made a bit of crispiness without them being out and out fried.  It's so easy to dry out chicken.  This method took away that danger.

 

I used low fat mayonnaise in the drizzle coz  I am watching the calories.     I also used stand and stuff soft flour tacos that I simply heated iin the oven.



And finally I garnished them with some mustard cress.  Perfect!  These went down a real treat!

 

*Jerk Chicken Tacos*

Serves 4

Printable Recipe 

Delicious and simple.  You can't as for more than that! 

For the chicken:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 TBS garlic powder

2 tsp mild chili powder

2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp dried parsley

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp ground allspice

1/2 each black pepper, ground  nutmeg, crushed red pepper

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 TBS light olive oil 

For the sauce

75g low fat mayonnaise (1/3 cup)

2 tsp above spice mixture (when put together) 

For the salad:

1/2 small head each of green and red cabbage, finely shredded

2 TBS light olive oil

2 TBS lime juice

1 TBS soft light brown sugar

1 TBS dried coriander flakes

salt and black pepper to taste 

You will also need:

8 taco sized soft flour tortillas 

To garnish:

Mustard cress (optional)

(Could also use rocket or corainder leaf)

Put the chicken breasts into a large skillet and cover with water.  Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until cooked through.  Drain completely and shred coarsely.  Mix together the garlic powder, chili powder, onion powder, parsley, sugar, salt, paprika, allspice, pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon and red pepper.  Remove 2 tsp of the mixture and whisk it together with the mayonnaise and set aside.  Toss the chicken with the remaining spice mixture.

Put the cabbages into a bowl.  Measure the olive oil, lime juice and brown sugar in a beaker. Microwave on hight for 30 seconds until heated.  Pour over the cabbages, and toss to combine, along with the coriander flakes and seasoning to taste.  Set aside to macerate.

Heat the 1/2 TBS olive oil in a skillet.  Add the chicken and heat through, tossing, until bits start to crisp a little.  While you are doing this heat the tortillas as per the package directions.  (I use the stand and stuff ones, easy peasy.)

Fill the tacos as follows.  one eight of the cabbage salad on the bottom, topped with 1/8th of the not chicken.  Drizzle with some of the mayonnaise, and sprinkle with some mustard cress.  Serve immediately.



The tortillas I used for my tacos were these, Stand'n'Stuff ones from Old El Paso, and before you ask, they did not send them to me to use and they did not ask me to write about them, but I was so impressed with them that I just had to tell you about them!  I have always used the other kind of tortillas, the flat ones you can roll or fold, but the other day these were on offer and I figured I would buy a pack to try them out.  I have always resisted them in the past, thinking that they were just a bit of a gimmick.  Well, let me tell you . . .  I was so impressed with these, I will definitely be buying them from now on when I want to make tacos.  They were easy to hold and easy to eat.  The filling stayed inside instead of falling out all over the plate.  They also crisped up nicely in the oven.  I thought they were pretty fab and I think you would too.  Worth a try.

I wonder if they make corn ones?

Bon Appetit!