This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Arts & Entertainment

Tacos with Asian Slaw and Hot Chili Sauce

A twist on a simple dish, these tacos are sure to set your mouth ablaze and give you a fantastic combination of flavors.

All week, I have had a craving for tacos. For this article, however, I couldn’t throw meat, cheese, and lettuce together (how creative would that be?). So, I decided to put an Oriental twist on a common dish. These tacos are sure to satisfy your palate while giving you an extra kick of spiciness sure to make you sweat.

Ingredients

Cole slaw dressing:

Find out what's happening in Kennesawwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

3 tbsp white wine vinegar

2 tsp sugar

Find out what's happening in Kennesawwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

2 tsp sesame seeds, toasted

2 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Cole Slaw:

2 cups finely chopped napa cabbage

1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/4 cup coarsely shredded carrot

Taco Sauce:

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 cloves finely minced garlic

1 small onion, minced (1/2 cup)

1/2 cup ketchup

1/4 cup Sriracha hot sauce (if the store is out of Sriracha as they were for me, any chili hot sauce will work)  

1 tbsp vinegar

1 tsp soy sauce

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1-1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast

taco shells (hard or soft, I prefer soft)

rice (I used “boil in a bag,” one bag was plenty for two people.)

salt and pepper (to taste)

Process

(Asian Slaw) Combine all ingredients for the slaw dressing and set aside. Combine ingredients for slaw. Add the dressing and put the finished slaw in the refrigerator to chill.

(Hot Chili Sauce) In sauce pan, heat the vegetable oil on medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion and garlic. Stir the onions and garlic until they are golden brown (so the flavors are released into the pan). Then add the ketchup, chili hot sauce, vinegar, soy sauce and cumin. Stir well and let simmer for about three minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.  

(Chicken) Slice the chicken breasts into desired thickness and size. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook on medium heat until fully cooked.

(For soft tacos) Steam the taco shells and serve.

Taste Test

I tasted the sesame oil and seeds of the slaw first but then came the complimenting flavors of the sauce which brought the whole taco together. There was a good amount of heat from the chili sauce, so I wouldn’t recommend this for people who don’t like spicy foods. The sauce definitely put some sweat on my forehead, but the heat didn’t linger in my mouth like a lot of spicy foods do.

I always forget how tasty salt and pepper are by themselves. The chicken, seasoned with only these two ingredients, was delicious; it added light flavor but the texture was the biggest addition to the taco. Combined with the crunchy texture of the slaw, these tacos had great texture.

Leftover Quality

The sauce and chicken were fine the next day but the slaw lost a lot of consistency. It became slightly soggy which took away from the taco’s overall texture.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Kennesaw