Spicy Asian chicken tacos

These spicy shredded chicken tacos with Asian slaw will blow your mind! Your mouth comes to life with the burst of flavour in these tacos – sweet, sticky, spicy shredded chicken; crunchy slaw and a tangy dressing packed in a warm corn tortilla. What could be better than that?

When I feel like tacos, I love thinking up new fillings. I’ve put an Asian twist on a popular Mexican street food, inspired by my Asian chicken patties & Asian slaw. This is all the rage at the moment, the Asian-Mexican fusion, combining the two flavours together. And the two aren’t all that different – coriander for freshness, chilli for spiciness and lime for a splash of zing.

Using chicken thighs is my preference for any shredded chicken recipe as they keep moist while being poached. I try to find bone-in chicken thighs but it works perfectly with boneless thighs. The easiest way to shred chicken is with your hands but while the chicken is still warm, use two forks. To save time, instead of poaching chicken, why not buy a roast chicken. Then all that needs to be done is reducing the sauce.

What’s great about this recipe – anything to do with tacos is great – is that it’s so simple to make, and more often than not, everyone loves them. There’s never any leftovers for lunch the next day 😉 I loved these tacos so much that I’m already looking forward to making again very soon.

PREP: 25 minutes     COOK: 45 minutes     MAKES: 10 tacos, feeding 2-4 people
INGREDIENTS:
SAUCE:
1 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp Shaoxing cooking wine
1 cup water
1 tbsp minced chilli
1 garlic clove, smashed
2 tsp (2½cm piece) fresh ginger, grated
2 dried chillies

CHICKEN:
670gms chicken thighs

ASIAN SLAW:
¼ red cabbage, finely sliced
1 large carrot, julienned
2 spring onions, finely sliced
3-4 sprigs coriander, leaves only

DRESSING:
100mls lime juice
1½ tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp chilli flakes

TO SERVE:
Corn tortillas, warmed
Coriander leaves
Spring onions, finely sliced
Lime wedges

METHOD:
In a saucepan big enough to fit the chicken thighs, mix the sauce ingredients together. Add the chicken thighs in, cover with lid and turn to high heat. Bring to the boil then reduce to simmer for 25 minutes. Remove the chicken, covering with foil to cool slightly. Once cool, shred the chicken. Set aside covered in a bowl.

Strain the sauce through a fine colander and return the sauce to boil. Boil gently on medium-high heat for 20 minutes. You want the sauce to thicken slightly to coat the chicken. Mix half to ¾ of the sauce to the shredded chicken to coat thoroughly.

While the sauce is reducing, combine the slaw ingredients in a bowl.

In a small jug or jar, combine the dressing ingredients until the sugar has dissolved. Pour over Asian slaw.

To serve, place everything in the middle of the table and construct your own tacos.

COOKS TIPS:
To warm the tortillas, heat the oven to 180°C. Place foil in between each tortilla then completely cover with foil. Place in the oven for 10 minutes, or until warmed through.

If you don’t have any Shaoxing cooking wine, use sherry instead.

To take the spiciness away, add sour cream or avocado to the tacos.