Ginger & Garlic Marinated Chicken Soft Tacos

We must be in a taco mood because we made them again; last time with tilapia and this time with ginger and garlic marinated chicken. Actually, I must put the blame on Whole Foods as we were there when I spotted these foulish beauties. Yes, I consider marinated chicken breasts "beauties" because a) they're already packed with flavor and, b) it means less work for me! Of course you can use any marinade you enjoy most – I personally prefer Lawry's Baja Chiptole, Sesame Ginger and Caribbean Jerk marinades – but that day, the ginger and garlic was calling my name.

We decided to grab some corn tortillas, grill up some chicken, bell peppers, onion and mushroom and top the tacos with homemade guacamole and pico de gallo. The whole meal took about 30 minutes – I've got my homemade guacamole recipe down pat – and we were enjoying tacos and beer in no time.

Homemade chicken soft tacos!

Here's our recipe:

Ginger & Garlic Chicken Soft Tacos

• 8 corn tortillas
• 1 pound marinated boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of fat and cut into thin strips (Note: you can also slice them after the breasts are grilled)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• Canola oil spray
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
• 1 large green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
• 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup prepared hot salsa, plus more for garnish
• 1/2 cup prepared guacamole
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Spray large heavy skillet or griddle with canola oil (or use 1 tablespoon canola oil). Heat over a high flame until very hot. Add chicken and cook, stirring until browned on all sides, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. If you have grilled whole chicken breasts, let rest for a few minutes before slicing into strips.

Whole Foods ginger & garlic marinated chicken breasts

After it rests, slice your marinated & grilled chicken

In the meantime, reduce heat to medium and re-spray the griddle (or add another tablespoon or canola oil). Add onion, bell peppers and mushrooms in a single layer and cook about 3 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and cumin and flip, continuing to cook another 3-5 minutes, until the vegetables start to soften and brown around the edges. Remove from heat and set aside.

Add bell pepper, onion and mushrooms to grill

Grill vegetables until soft and brown around edges

While all the your cooking is going on, don't forget to warm up your tortillas! You can either warm them in the oven (wrap tortillas in foil, warm at 300 degrees for 10-15 minutes) or in the microwave (wrap tortillas in a damp cloth, microwave for 1-2 minutes...then wrap in foil to keep warm).

Heat tortillas until warm, then keep wrapped in foil

Now it's time to assemble the tacos! Bryan and I have slightly different taco-making styles, so we put our ingredients in separate small bowls, making ourselves our very own taco bar! That way we can make the tacos however we want, with the items that we like. Personally, I top a corn tortilla with a few slices of chicken, then with the veggies, then with guacamole and salsa. You can add whatever you want, like scallions, sour cream, etc. The taco world is your oyster!

Optional: If you're working in a skillet, you can combine the vegetables and chicken in the skillet and stir in the spicy salsa. Cook, stirring, until chicken is heated through, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro. Spoon into warmed tortillas and garnish with guacamole.

What's for dinner? Chicken soft tacos!