Chicken Street Tacos

Chicken Tacos — Mexico

Mexico City style: chile-lime chicken on warm corn tortillas with just onion, cilantro and a squeeze of lime. Nothing else is needed.

Ingredients

• 600 g — Boneless chicken thighs
• 6 g — Ancho or regular chili powder (2 tsp)
• 3 g — Ground cumin (1 tsp)
• 3 g — Smoked paprika (1 tsp)
• 12 pc — Corn tortillas, 5-inch
• 80 g — White onion, finely diced (¾ cup)
• 15 g — Cilantro, chopped (⅓ cup)
• 2 pc — Limes, cut in wedges
• 120 g — Salsa of choice (½ cup)
• 15 ml — Neutral oil (1 Tbsp)

Step-by-Step Method

1. Marinate 15 minutes. Chicken with spices, salt, oil and the juice of half a lime. Even 15 minutes beats none — overnight beats both.
2. Sear hard. Cast iron, high heat, undisturbed 5–6 minutes per side until charred at the edges. Rest 5 minutes, then chop into bite-size pieces.
3. Warm the tortillas. Directly over a gas flame or in a dry skillet until soft and spotty. Stack in a towel — this step is not optional, cold tortillas crack.
4. Build like the street. Double tortilla, chicken, onion, cilantro, salsa, lime. That's the formula — the toppings bar is a distraction.

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