Cilantro – A Journey from Hate to Love
I love chicken street tacos! Sadly that wasn’t always the case. A few years back, well many years back, I had the pleasure of visiting a Mexican border town. For lunch I ordered a couple of chicken tacos from a street vendor. It was the first time I had eaten fresh cilantro and at the time I thought it was vile. It ruined the whole taco for me. Fast forward to today. After living in Texas for quite some time I have acquired a passion for cilantro that I never would have imagined back then. Consequently, I sprinkle it in my Pho when I get Vietnamese and I love it in a Thai summer roll. It adds that certain je ne sais quoi to salsa. It adds so much to so many things – and these slow-cooker chicken street tacos wouldn’t be the same without it.
Mini Corn Tortillas are Perfect for Chicken Street Tacos
On a recent shopping trip I found mini corn tortillas and they immediately reminded me of the street tacos I had had so many years before. I decided to create a recipe to recreate the chicken street tacos from my memories. Preparing the chicken in a slow-cooker allows the chicken to infuse with flavor. Furthermore, they stay moist and tender, which makes it easy to shred the chicken once cooked.
Give them a try:
- ½ pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ⅛ teaspoon ground chipotle
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- Bouquet of fresh cilantro, rinsed on stalk
- ½ cup of fresh cilantro, rinsed, stems removed, loosely chopped
- ½ onion, chopped
- Mini Corn Tortillas
- Cotija cheese (optional)
- Avocado (optional)
- Cooking Spray
- In a slower cooker, add broth and spices, stirring to combine.
- Submerge chicken in broth.
- Add bouquet of cilantro, rinsed on stalk.
- Cook on low for 4-6 hours until chicken cooked through and tender.
- Remove chicken to large bowl and shred with a fork.
- Discard broth with cilantro bouquet.
- In a small bowl, combine fresh chopped cilantro and onions.
- Heat a frying pan on medium high with cooking spray,
- Place tortillas in pan until underside is golden then flip and do the same with the opposite sides.
- Remove tortillas to plate and add chicken and cilantro mixture to each.
- Top with avocado slices or cotija cheese as desired.
I made these yesterday for a party and they were a hit! Thanks!
So happy to hear that! 🙂