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Shredded chicken has a lot of recipes that can be prepared within 40 minutes or less, you can use shredded chicken for sauce, sandwich, bbq sauce, shredded chicken salad or coleslaw, shredded chicken taco, shredded chicken shawarma, shredded chicken casserole, chicken fried rice, curried shredded chicken, chicken enchilada and the list goes on and on. All the above mentioned recipes can also be substituted with beef, goat meat and any other protein and with the same outcome.
Out of the many recipes, I am just going to describe few shredded chicken recipes in this article, which are:
- Shredded chicken shawarma– This is a type food made by combining shredded chicken with some crunchy vegetables like cucumber, cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, eggplants, and parsley and then seasoned with spices. It is mostly seasoned with ketchup; sauce (various kinds of sauces). Shawarma sometimes is served in a plate, with wraps, with bread and as sandwich. Other proteins such as lamb, chicken, turkey, beef, fish, buffalo or pork are also included in shawarma.
- BBQ pulled chicken taco recipe– Even though BBQ is mostly done outdoors, shredded chicken BBQ can simply be carried out right inside your kitchen with your crockpot. This is a type chicken recipe prepared by cooking your chicken breast in bbq sauce for more than 3 hours until fork tender, also try chicken a la king recipe. The chicken is then shredded with two forks and then returns to the sauce in which it was cooked to coat, and after that served with sandwich or any food.
- Shredded chicken casserole– Chicken casserole is an oven baked chicken meal which has been coated with a thick spicy sauce and garnished with vegetables and some spice. The outcome is usually very delicious as the ingredients used in baking this food are very spicy and the taste is different from unbaked version. This is usually prepared in a deep dish known as casserole dish and topped with rice, potato and with some creamy sauce and thereby served in the same dish in which it was prepared.
- Shredded chicken sandwich– Chicken sandwich is just like any other sandwich, the only the difference is the type of meat used. This is usually made by combining shredded chicken with different vegetables like cabbage, onions tomato slices and savoury spread to spread over sliced bread, two slices of bread are usually used as containers for sandwiches. Mayonnaise or, peanut butter and mustard are mostly used as the spread to enhance the flavour of the sandwich.
- Chicken enchilada– This is a tortilla rolled over different fillings (chicken, cheese or potato) and then covered with enchilada sauce, cheese and vegetables. This is usually baked until the whole food merged together before serving.
Shredded chicken
Shredded chicken is so simple to make into any dish, just like the above described recipes, all you just need is boneless chicken breast and two forks for shredding of the chicken, other things you might need are some spicy ingredient and sauce to add more flavour to your chicken. Todays recipe is going to be focused on one of the recipes shredded chicken- shredded chicken taco.
Chicken taco- taco is a typical Mexican food made from corn, flour or wheat tortilla; it is usually rolled over vegetables, beef, chicken, pork, cheese or sea food fillings to achieve different taste and varieties. The filling is mostly garnished with salsa sauce, chilli pepper, salt, onions, garlic, tomatoes, lettuces, cream and some spicy seasonings.
Chicken taco on the other hand is simply a taco or tortilla rolled over precooked spiced shredded chicken with some other garnishing in an elongated a cylindrical shape, it is then deep fried till crisp. Chicken taco is often eaten as finger food, it does not require spoon of fork, simply using hands to eat this food makes it even more fun and enjoyable.
Ingredients for shredded chicken taco
- 500g chicken breast
- Salsa sauce(as desired)
- 1 head lettuce for garnishing
- 2 medium red tomatoes for garnishing
- 4 tablespoons olive oil for browning of shredded chicken
- 1 large onion for seasoning of chicken
- 2 chicken stock cubes for cooking of chicken
- 1 teaspoon chilli pepper
- Sour cream or cheese for garnishing ( as desired)
- 3 cloves garlic, you will need it to cook the chicken and also when frying the shredded chicken
- 2-4 tortilla shells, either corn or flour tortillas
- Salt to taste
Some simple ingredients for chicken taco
Steps on how to make chicken taco
- Wash and season your chicken breast with onions, chicken seasoning cubes, pepper, salt, thyme and garlic.
- Cook the chicken until it turns out soft and tender
- When the chicken is cooked, drain from the broth and keep aside.
- Place the chicken on a flat surface or chopping board, use two forks to remove the flesh from the bones.
- When you have had enough of the flesh, keep the shredded chicken aside.
- Heat a frying pan on heat; add about 4 tablespoons vegetable oil to the pan.
- Start frying the chopped onions and the shredded chicken in the oil for 2 two minutes.
- Season the shredded chicken with salt, chilli pepper, and minced garlic and stir occasionally until the meat is completely brown.
- Reduce the heat to medium low and add a portion of salsa chunks to the shredded chicken and bring to a boil for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes pack in to a serving bowl
- Assemble your fried shredded chicken, sour cream or melted cheese, lettuce, chopped tomatoes and tortillas (taco shell) at on place. You can heat up your taco shells in a micro wave or pan especially if you are using store bought taco shell
- Line the centre of the taco shell with the lettuce, place chopped tomato on the side of the lettuce, scoop some shredded chicken to one side of the taco shell, and lastly drizzle some sour cream, mayonnaise or melted cheese over the fillings. You can still garnish your taco with fresh uncooked salsa if you want.
- Fold the taco shell vertically and use a tooth pick to clip the opposite sides together. You could use foil paper to wrap your chicken taco to avoid dripping juices on your hands.
- Repeat the same process to other taco shells, salsa, lettuce and cream depending on the amount of people you are preparing the chicken taco for.
- Enjoy your delicious shredded chicken taco with chilled soft drink.
Easy steps to make shredded chicken taco
- Season and cook your chicken until fork tender, add your desired spices to cook the chicken to make it very tasty.
Process of cooking chicken
2. When the chicken is cooked, drain from the broth and shred the meat into smaller chunks using two forks.
Shred the cooked chicken to your desired sizes using two forks
3. Heat a pan on a stove, add 4 tablespoon vegetable oil and start browning onions + the shredded chicken in the oil for 2 minutes
4. Season the chicken with chilli powder, salt and minced garlic and stir occasionally until it is properly fried and get ready to add your tomato salsa.
You can substitute this for store bought salsa or any sauce of your choice
5. Lower the heat and add some salsa sauce to the content and stir fry until the chicken is coated with the sauce for 5 minutes.
Salsa sauce is being added to chicken
6. After 5 minutes, empty it from the pan into a serving bowl.
You will need either corn or flour tortilla bread for the wrapping
7. Assemble your taco shells, chicken taco, sliced tomato, and cream and lettuce in one place
8. Line the centre of the taco shell with the lettuce, place chopped tomato on the side of the lettuce, scoop some shredded chicken to one side of the taco shell, and lastly drizzle some sour cream, mayonnaise or melted cheese over the fillings. You can still garnish your taco with some fresh uncooked salsa if you want. I choose to cook mine to reduce some of the liquid in it.
Just scoop all the prepared ingredients on the centre of the tortillas shell and level it well
9. Fold the taco shell vertically and use a tooth pick to clip the opposite sides together. You could use foil paper to wrap your chicken taco to avoid dripping juices on your hands.
Prepared chicken taco
10. Repeat this for the rest of the taco and tortillas.
Delicious homemade Taco ready for eating
11. Serve your loved ones with it and enjoy!
Lovely and sweet chicken Taco