A flavourful and nutritional meal is a must-have during the week, especially after a hard day’s work in the summer sun. Among the popular summer choices are chicken fajitas—and it turns out one lesser-known ingredient could make them the best you’ve ever tasted.
The historic and easy-to-make dish, which originates from the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas in the US and northern parts of Mexico, is made from grilled meat, partnered with fresh salad. Best not to forget dips like guacamole, sour cream or perhaps some salsa that makes it a tastebud tickling delight.
One of the most important parts of making the perfect chicken fajitas is the marinade.
Many prefer to opt for seasoning packets instead, which is widely believed to be time-saving, requiring you to simply dump it on the chicken breasts, toss them into a pan and let the heat do its job.
But choosing to make your own marinade, however, isn’t the tiresome task it’s made out to be. Little Spice Bar has published a recipe to follow that is very modern with its ingredients, and is enough to cover enough chicken to feed six to eight people.
That one ingredient is actually pineapple juice. Yes, you read that right – something you’d typically drink can be added to a marinade to make your chicken fajitas “a billion times more flavourful”.
Store-bought fajita seasoning usually contains enzymes that help tenderise and break down the chicken, making sure you’re left with tender meat at every bite.
Pineapple juice does the exact same, plus it’s a natural ingredient. If you don’t like the taste of it, though, you don’t need to worry because you can’t taste it once the dish is cooked.
See a full breakdown of the ingredients needed for the perfect marinade below:
- 3 tablespoons each: lime juice AND pineapple juice
- 2 tablespoons each: Worcestershire sauce AND oil (any kind)
- 5 cloves garlic (pressed or minced)
- 2 teaspoon each: ground cumin AND chili powder (mild or hot)
- 1 teaspoon each: smoked paprika AND Mexican oregano
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1 jalapeño, sliced (optional for the spice lovers)
All you have to do is combine the ingredients for the marinade along with 1 ½ teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper.
Use a whisk to combine before adding the jalapeño slices and the chicken breast. Let marinate covered in the refrigerator for four to six hours, remove from the refrigerator and allow the chicken to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking.