La Petit Chef: Tequila fired chicken tacos/ Grilled chicken with Mango salsa.

Grilled chicken tacos marinated in a delicious spice rub and tequila, served with a mango salsa and chilli mayonnaise dressing. Its hot, tangy, sweet and spicy all at the same time. Move over Taco Bell, this is here to stay!

Grilled chicken marinated in a delicious spice rub and tequila, served with a mango salsa and chilli mayonnaise dressing. Its hot, tangy, sweet and spicy all at the same time. This is going to become your favorite chicken dish ever!

Its celebration time!! Yay... Cinco de Mayo is here... Get those margarita shots ready, put on your sombrero, get the music started coz S is here, and she likes nothing better than an excuse to party!!

I bet you have been hearing about it this past week.. Cinco de mayo.

If you are from my part of the world, and not very attuned to world cuisine, you are probly baffled by this foreign sounding term.. Fear not, you have S to enlighten you !! ;)

Cinco de Mayo is quintessentially a Mexican celebration, and of course its widely popular in the United States, especially in the South. Cinco de Mayo is a holiday that’s celebrated on—wait for it—the fifth of May!

See, so simple.. Didn't I assure you I can explain these things to you? :P :P

Okay, so you probably knew that Cinco de Mayo was on May 5. But what you might not know is that Cinco de Mayo—in all its celebratory Mexican glory—is largely celebrated to commemorate the surprising victory of the Mexican army over the French forces (whose numbers were double that of the Mexican troops) in a huge battle in a town called Puebla, in 1862. It was an unexpected victory and became the source of much excitement and pride, not just in Mexico, but also in America. This unexpected victory was celebrated by firing rifles into the air and singing patriotic songs, and helloo... of course by eating delicious Mexican khaana, and drinking way too many margaritas ..and dancing till wee hours of the morning.

Its recently become one of my favorite celebrations..mostly coz I would do anything for good Mexican food, and to dance and party.. but also coz I can't NOT love anything where the underdogs come out as winners.

We could be heroes-me & you is the song playing in my mind as I quickly write this down for you and get to making my batch of mango margaritas (up soon)!!

I have a few Cinco de mayo recipes I hope you will like..but if we are talking Mexican food, how can tequila be far behind..or tacos!!!??

I decided to combine the two and make you a rather potent and dangerously delicious Cinco de mayo, or juno dish. Haha. I am so funny ain't I. NOT.

Pomegranate Margarita , Home made tomato salsa , Corn Pico de gallo, Go uda and grape tart Watermelon Breezer White wine sangria Nutella Hand pies

So here's what we are going to talk, deliberate, discuss and drool over now..

All you need is a mind that's ready to party..and tastebuds that are willing to jump up and down!!

Tequila Drunk Chicken Tacos with Mango salsa!! Its a mouthful. One Big, scrumptious, delicious, addictive mouthful. ;)

People often think that tacos are time taking and way too much work, but hey, its also very easy work. All you gotta do is grill some premarinated chicken, dice up some veggies,pickle onions, and toast the taco shells. Obviously I used store bought shells coz I am not tied to my oven all day long, and believe it or not I have other things to do. A thousand of them. As do you I am sure. So go ahead, buy the shells..its all about the filling anyways.

The grilled chicken can be served as a chicken platter for dinner with some blistered charred tomatoes, sautéed mushroom, glazed carrots, a herb pesto and the mango salsa over it.

And you can also use the same grilled chicken and salsa to load up your taco shells along with some chilly mayo and pickle onions. Its so so good which ever way you want to eat them.

Talking of drunken chicken, have you tried my Drunken Chicken Marsala yet?? No?? You must! Please. Its out of this world good.

A delicious dish with cubed chicken cooked in Marsala wine and cherry tomatoes..Fun, Fast & fabulous midweek dinner option.

The chicken in itself is delicious. Its juicy and tender, with just the hint of tequila , tang from lime ,a tinge of sweetness from the honey and heat from the sriracha. Now if that doesn't seem exciting, I don't know what will!! We fire up the tequila and pour it over the chicken and let it marinate..and then we simply grill it. Ah...the smoke ...the aroma of the chicken being grilled will make you realize you are starving...with a bang!!

Now, imagine taking a bite of this perfect flavourful "drunk" chicken and topping it up with contrasting flavors of season fresh ripe mangoes and red bell peppers!! Wow... That's all my sinful longings met in one big bite.

The crisp taco shells look so so inviting...and one can taste every distinct flavor in the filling. The perfect chicken, the sweetness of mangoes in a sudden burst upon your tongue, the heat and creaminess from the chilly mayo, tang from the pickled onions it all comes together perfectly, making this the BEST EVER CHICKEN TACOS and a fitting celebration for the much loved Cinco de Mayo.

Cheers my lovelies....
S :)

RECIPE:

Servings: 2

Time taken : 30 minutes + 4-6 hours for marination.

Ingredients for the Tequila fired chicken:

Chicken breasts 2
Tequila 1/4 cup
Grated Cheese- 1/4 cup
Shredded Lettuce - 1/2 cup
Pickled Onion - 1 onion

For the spice rub:

Dijon Mustard - 2 tbsp.
Sriracha Sauce - 2-3 tbsp.
Honey - 2 tsp
Lime juice from 1 lemon

For the Taco seasoning:

1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

For the Mango salsa:

Diced mango - from 1 ripe mango
Diced Red Pepper - 1/2 pepper
Diced yellow pepper - 1/4th pepper (optional)
Cilantro - 2 tbsp chopped fine
Lemon Juice- 1/2 tsp

For the dressing of chilli- mayo:

2 tbsp Mayonnaise
2 tbsp Sour Cream
2 tbsp cup Salsa
1 tsp tobasco sauce

METHOD:

1. Marinate the Chicken:

Lets start by marinating the chicken. You need to do this 4-6 hrs beforehand, so keep that in mind.
Wash and pat dry the chicken breasts,
Make the Taco seasoning.
Directions:
In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Store in an airtight container.
Mix the other ingredients under the spice rub in a bowl.
Rub the breasts well with the spice rub making sure its coated well on both sides.

2. Next, its time for fun with tequila!!

Fire it up.. Really easy but you have to promise to be very very careful . Alcohol is highly inflammable and I suggest not having children around the kitchen when you do this. Keep an extinguisher close by, and a steel lid that fits the pan, just in case things go wrong.
Which it wont, but its better to be safe than sorry.
So take a saucepan, pour the tequila and put it over a flame. Let it flame out for 30 secs, remove from heat and let it cool for 2 mins. Next pout that on the chicken, and rub well into the meat.
Cover and refrigerate till ready to use.
When ready, preheat the oven or grill to 220C. Don't forget to oil the grates well or the chicken will stick. Using tongs, add the chicken on the grill and let it grill for 8 mins on one side. Turn and grill for 7 mins on other side. Remove, tent with foil (cover it completely) and let it rest for 10 minutes before cutting.

3. Make the Mango Salsa and the Chilli- mayo dressing.

4. Build the tacos:

Bake for 2 -3 minutes or follow the instruction mentioned on the box.
Stuff the lettuce really well into the shells.
Add the shredded chicken, followed by cheese and some dressing. Top with the mango salsa, pickled onions , a drizzle of chilli mayo dressing and a sprinkling of crushed nachos if desired. Serve alongside salsa and margaritas for a perfect Cinco de Mayo dinner!!
Enjoy :)