Chicken Carnitas Daikon Tacos

Chicken Carnitas Daikon TacosTrying new recipes is really the main purpose of this blog. Every week, I rummage around the web looking for new recipes for our meals. Sometimes we find a recipe that we use over and over, though even the most repeated of our recipes has only been re-used 4 times. I am constantly amazed by the variety of recipes out there, and that we’re closing in on 4 years of menus and there’s always more recipes to try.

When we find one that turns out well, I’ll make a note of it, perhaps snap a photo and, for some really great ones, write up the recipe, especially if I’ve modified it a bit. This recipe is one that I almost skipped over because the original is a pdf file (often problematic) and is written to make 48 tacos by a chef at a restaurant–all flags that this could go badly in my hands. But what we ended up with was so delicious that it had to be written up! The flavors and textures were amazing! The recipe below is probably a poor rendition of Richard Sandoval’s Duck Carnitas Daikon Tacos, but wow, they are delicious!

I simplified this a lot–perhaps too much?? Be sure to look at the original recipe and follow it where you want. I am sure duck would be delicious, and I’m not sure what Peking duck is, but sounds like it’s kind of orange-flavored, so I opted for chicken thighs and brushing with marmalade since we had some. You could steep the sauce overnight, but hadn’t read that part and it was fine without it, plus we used ground coriander, and finally grated orange zest, so no need to remove the solids.

Anyway, enjoy and let me know if you try it. I am sure we will do them again and I’ll update the recipe and add some more photos–this was a cell phone shot taken at the table when we realized just how delicious these were.

Chicken Carnitas Daikon Tacos

MealsWeLike.com
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Main
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 8 Boneless/skinless chicken thighs
  • 1/4 Cup Orange marmalade
  • 1/2 Daikon sliced thin ~1/8 in on a mandolin (probably even less--a few slices per taco is good)
  • 1 Green apple sliced thin
  • Orange Coriander Sauce below
  • Curry Aioli below
  • 1/4 Cup Cilantro chopped

Orange Coriander Sauce

  • 1/2 Cup Sugar
  • 1/2 Cup Water
  • Zest of 1 Orange
  • 1/2 tsp. ground corriander
  • 1/4 cup Sweet Chili sauce
  • 1 Orange cut the peal off, slice and remove seeds
  • 1 Tbs Corn starch
  • 1 Tbs water

Curry Aioli

  • 1 Tbs Curry powder
  • 1 Tbs Turmeric
  • 1 Tbs White balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 Tbs Lemon juice
  • 1 Tbs Honey
  • 1/4 Cup Mayonnaise

Instructions
 

Chicken

  • Barbecue the chicken thighs, brushing with the marmalade in the last 5 minutes or so.
  • Slice the daikon and apple with a mandolin

Orange Coriander Sauce

  • Bring the sugar and water to a boil
  • Stir in the orange zest and coriander powder
  • Add the hot sauce and orange segments
  • Make a slurry with the corn starch and water
  • Add cornstarch slurry to the sauce and simmer until thickened
  • Keep warm

Curry Aioli

  • Combine all the ingredients and mix well.

Assembly

  • On a tortilla, place a few pieces of daikon and then apple.
  • Add half a chicken thigh.
  • Top with Orange Coriander sauce
  • Top with Curry Aioli
  • Sprinkle with cilantro
  • Serve warm

 

2 thoughts on “Chicken Carnitas Daikon Tacos”

  1. Do you still have the original Sandoval recipe for the duck daikon tacos. It is no longer available on the web and I have lost my copy.

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