Change of Menu: how Thai Tacos became hand tossed pizza

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So, Thai Tacos and Asain Nachos for dinner Friday night?













First the chicken was marinated, cooked and resting for the tacos and the rise was cooking for the nachos. Next came the shredding of the red and green cabbage, and slicing the cucumbers and onions. This job is easily done with a mandoline. A mandoline is a very sharp utensil with an adjustable blade for slicing food thinly and evenly. You should always use the hand guard when using a mandoline. I always teach my guest that at my classes and shows. Yet I, like you, do not always do the right thing. I was just making this meal for my husband and I so there was not a large quantity to shred and slice so I grabbed my small hand held mandoline instead of my Pampered Chef larger mandoline with a built in stand. The Pampered Chef mandoline is very safe because the blade only works with the hand guard engaged. The one I used you have a choice of using the hand guard or not. As I grabbed the mandoline my thoughts were, “always use the hand guard” and yet my next thought took precedence, “I just have a little to do, I’ll be fine”. I started with the red cabbage. I cut a wedge from the head and ran it over the blade of the mandoline, all was going well and then the wedge sticks in the blade. What did I do? I flexed my muscles and ramped up speed and forced it through the blade.

And as I did, I saw my thumb going through the blade along with the cabbage. Yes a large, deep slice of my thumb is now missing. I am home alone so I have to figure out what to do next.

I am a chef so I keep band aids in the kitchen. Cuts are not uncommon when using large sharp interments at high speeds. So I grab the band aid box and dump it out to find the largest one. I unwrap it and put it up to my open wound and find that this is not a job for a band aid. By now I am bleeding heavily. I find the gauze, wrap my thumb and head to my neighbor Kelly’s house for advice. Kelly is an ER nurse so I was very happy she was home. By the time I got to her house, a three minute walk, I had bled through the gauze. Kelly took one look at my thumb, redressed it, instructed me to keep pressure on it and if it did not stop bleeding in a few minutes to go to the ER.

So, Thai Tacos and Asian Nachos for dinner Friday night? No, it was Pizza Hut’s hand tossed veggie lovers with chicken pizza and a glass of wine. But just because we didn’t get to have the tacos and nachos does not mean you shouldn’t. Today I am sharing my recipe for Tai Tacos. Next time, Asian Nachos, hopefully without injury.

First. Here is the mandoline you should use; you can find it here:

Thai Tacos

4 boneless skinless chicken breast, marinated

8 – 10 flour tortillas

Thinly sliced cucumber

Shredded red and green cabbage

Thinly sliced red onion

Peanut sauce

Marinade

½ cup veggie or canola oil

¼ cup honey

2 Tbs. cider vinegar

3 Tbs. soy sauce

1 clove garlic, pressed

2 tsps. fresh parsley, chopped

½ tsp. fresh ground pepper

1 tsp. fennel seed, cracked

Peanut Sauce

½ cup creamy peanut butter

1/3 cup water

2 Tbs. soy sauce

2 Tbs. rice vinegar

1 Tb. Honey

1 Tb. Asian sesame oil

1 ½ tsp. grated fresh ginger

1 tsp. garlic, pressed

Cayenne pepper or chili sauce (optional)

Here are your instructions, click on any of the links to see the tools I used:

Make the Marinade; Whisk together the oil, honey, vinegar and soy sauce. Press the garlic, chop the parsley, grind the pepper and *crack the fennel seeds and mix with the whisked mixture.

Trim all fat from the chicken breast and place into a zip top bag. Pour marinade over the breast and refrigerate 4 – 24 hours.

Make the Peanut Sauce; (you can use bottled peanut sauce if you prefer) Combine the peanut butter, water, soy sauce, vinegar, honey, sesame oil, grated ginger and pressed garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade an d process until smooth. You can season with a pinch of cayenne pepper or a dash of chili sauce if you want to add some heat.

Pre heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil. Please marinated breast on sheet pan and roast 6 minutes on one side, turn breast over and roast until thermometer reads 160 degrees in center of breast. Remove from oven and lightly cover with foil and let rest at least 10 minutes.

While the chicken is roasting, shred the cabbages and thinly slice cucumber and onion. Arrange on a platter so that each person can build there own taco.

Slice the chicken breast into about ½ inch slices. Arrange on the platter with the veggies.

Place tortillas on a small plate and cover with a damp paper towel. Warm the tortillas in the microwave for about 30 seconds or until just warm.

*a little tip from the chef: to crack your fennel- place in a ziplock baggie & pound it a few times to simply crack your seeds.