I’m from Texas and descended from Mexican roots (on my Mother’s father’s side). San Antonio is my home town. It’s in south Texas, surprisingly diverse, and deeply rooted in a type of fusion cuisine that you can only find there. It’s this multi cultural exposure that has truly inspired my tastes for all things taco.
Today, after listening to my husband complain that “we have nothing…” to eat (show of hands, how many of you have this happen all the time?! 🤣), I perused the fridge and found a package of minced chicken meat and a few other random items, so i decided to throw together a kind of chicken larb with lettuce cups. About half way through cooking I found a package of fresh corn tortillas I had forgotten about, so I pushed the lettuce aside and crisped up some tortillas. *BAM*! Delish!!
This recipe takes about 15-minutes. From fridge to mouth!
Ingredients:
◦ 1/2 lb ground chicken per person
◦ 1/2 vidalia onion thinly sliced
◦ 4 cloves fresh garlic smashed and diced
◦ Two fresh jalapeños thinly sliced in rounds
◦ 1 fresh lime
◦ 1/2 cup freshly chopped cilantro (I used cilantro for this) or mint
◦ 1/2 cup Finely shredded cabbage
◦ 2 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
◦ 2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
◦ 1 Tbsp sriracha
◦ 2 Tbsp chili powder
◦ 3 tsp kosher sea salt
◦ 2 Tbsp soy sauce
◦ Olive oil for sauté
◦ Fresh lettuce for cups
◦ Fresh white corn tortillas
Mix 2/3 of the onion with the cabbage and squeeze 1/2 of the lime into it. Sprinkle 2 tsp of the salt and mix together well. Set aside to marinate.
Sauté the remaining onion, garlic, sliced jalapeños and ginger in olive oil and a pinch of the sea salt. Sauté until translucent and fragrant. It should smell amazing by now!!
Add the minced chicken and chili powder to the sautéed veggies. Break apart and cook for about 5-minutes stirring frequently.
Add the liquids; vinegar, soy sauce and sriracha to the chicken mixture and stir together. Turn to low and let simmer for 5-mins. Stir, then add the chopped cilantro and mix together. Cover and simmer for 3-5 more minutes. Then stir and turn off the heat. Let the cooked mixture set while you pan warm the tortillas! Also, IF you have sesame oil, I highly recommend using about 1tsp in the meat mixture. Add it after you turn the heat off as a finishing oil. It really pumps up the flavor!
My trick to warm corn tortillas (I prefer the texture of white corn) is to put a small amount of olive oil in a non stick skillet (I use spray olive oil). Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt to the pan as it heats up. Wait until the salt starts to bubble in the oil. Place your corn tortillas in the pan and let it sit for about 1-minute. Then, using the handle, vigorously move the tortillas around by shaking the pan back and forth. This takes about 20-seconds. Then flip the tortilla over and repeat. 1-minute sit… then shuffle for 20 seconds and flip! It should be a little crispy and browned on both sides. Watch the below video for easy directions on this step!
Serve the meat mixture with tortillas and/or lettuce cups. Use the lime onion/cabbage mixture as a garnish!
You can also serve with shredded carrots. I sometimes add water chestnuts (canned and chopped). This adds as awesome crunch.
You can also serve this with cooked ramen noodles…add some chopped peanuts and fresh chopped mint or chopped cilantro with a little lime on the side. 😋
The Food Guru: Food, Travel, Photography = Life 