Quick and easy crispy chicken tacos made with soft corn tortilla shells filled with flavourful lemongrass chicken and crispy tortilla chips! Best of both worlds, crispy and soft taco in one!
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Tacos are one of my favorite things to eat and honestly one of the most fun things you can experiment in the kitchen with. The flavors are endless depending on how you spice your protein and garnish it! I personally love drizzling my spicy sriracha mayo all over it to give it a spicy kick!
I know what you're thinking, the shells are not crispy! How can you call this a crispy chicken taco? That's because this taco has the best of both worlds. It uses the soft corn tortilla to wrap the taco and the crispy part comes from with the crispy tortilla chips which are chopped with the chicken right after it is cooked.
Personally, I find the soft tacos easier to fill with delicious toppings and easier to eat than hard tacos but I love the crispiness of the hard tacos as well so I just combined it into one recipe.
The best part of this crispy chicken taco recipe is how easy it is. The chicken is basically pan-fried after it has been marinated, and you're ready to assemble the taco!
Ingredients for Crispy Chicken Tacos
Chicken - For this recipe, I used dark meat chicken. For simplicity, I will usually use boneless chicken thighs or debone them at home. Adjust the cooking time if you are cooking the chicken with the bone-in. If you want to make it a super easy meal, you can use a rotisserie chicken as well.
Lemongrass - You can use either fresh stalks of lemongrass or pre-ground frozen ones. If you are using fresh lemongrass, use only the bottom of the lemongrass stalk and discard the dry tips. You can find frozen pre-ground lemongrass in the freezer aisles of Asian grocery stores.
Soft Shelled Tortilla - For soft tortillas, we found that corn tortilla was the most flavourful and it tastes best when it was warmed up in a frying pan, however you can go with your favorite brand or type of tortillas (or use flour tortillas) and it will be just as good.
Tortilla Chips - Any kind of tortilla chips will work for this recipe. I found that lightly toasting them for about 3-5 minutes in the oven before using them gave them an even better flavor and texture!
Soy Sauce/Balsamic/Garlic - These three trio gives a lot of flavor to the marinade for the chicken. The balsamic helps with the caramelization of the chicken as well.
Green Onions - I love using green onions for that light onion flavor which adds a lot of extra flavor to the crispy taco at the end.
How To Make Crispy Chicken Tacos
- Chop the garlic and lemongrass (use the bottom of the stalk only, the thick white part. Discard the dried tips).
- Finely chop the green onions and set it aside for the end.
- Marinate the chicken with soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, chopped garlic and chopped lemongrass for a few hours
- In a large skillet pan, set the heat to medium heat.
- Add the chicken to the pan, skin side down first, sear the chicken for 3-4 minutes a side. To get the brown skin, leave it untouched skin side down for a few minutes. (If you are using boned chicken, you will need to cook the chicken longer)
- Once the chicken is done, transfer it to a cutting board and place some tortilla chips on top of the chicken and chop it up together
- Add the chicken and tortilla chip mix into your taco shells and garnish!
Taco Toppings Ideas
One of the best parts of having tacos is playing around with the toppings and garnishes. Switch it up and you got yourself different flavors every bite!
Here are a few ideas of toppings we love to use:
- Lime pickled red onions - (Slice up a red onion, add lemon juice and a pinch of salt to it, and let it sit and meld for about 30 minutes until soft)
- Cheeses! - You can add any type of cheese to tacos but the ones I find with the most flavor are feta, cotija (which is very similar to feta), and cheddar cheese (especially old or medium cheddar cheese).
- Sour cream - If you love a bit of tang with a bit of butteriness, you definitely need to try adding sour cream to your tacos. It elevates the flavors and gives it a nice creaminess as well.
- Chives and green onions (scallions) - Green onions add a TON of flavor to tacos. It also gives it a bit of freshness as well.
- Cilantro - This one is a hit or miss for some people. I find parsley gives tacos a bit of a refreshing kick.
- Guacamole - I love adding guacamole in everything, especially in tacos. It adds creaminess and a bit of garlickiness as well and it pulls the taco flavors together. In a pinch, I will use my toasted sesame guacamole recipe which takes about 5 minutes to put together.
- Salsa - All tacos need an element of tang and salsa does the job. I personally love sweet and tangy salsas, and will always use my Sweet & Spicy Pineapple Salsa' recipe to give my tacos a sweet and sour flavor.
- Vegetables - If you want to keep it simple, you can add classic vegetables like shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes, avocado, and pepper
- Freshly squeezed lime juice. It's a simple ingredient that will do magic to your chicken tacos.
More Recipes You Might Like
- Sweet and Spicy Pineapple Salsa
- Toasted Sesame Guacamole
- Sweet & Smoky Pineapple Chipotle Chili
- Spicy Sriracha Mayo
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Recipe Card
Crispy Lemongrass Chicken Tacos
Recipe Notes
- For this recipe, I used dark meat chicken. For simplicity, I will usually use boneless chicken thighs or debone them at home. Adjust the cooking time if you are cooking the chicken with the bone-in.
- Any kind of tortilla chips will work for this recipe. I found that lightly toasting them for about 3-5 minutes in the oven before using them gave them an even better flavor and texture!
- For soft tortillas, we found that corn tortilla was the most flavourful and was best when lightly toasted on the stove, however you can go with your favorite brand or type of tortillas (or use flour tortillas) and it will be just as good.
Ingredients
- 6 boneless chicken thighs (or any dark meat)
- 3 cloves garlic (finely minced)
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 6 soft corn tortilla shells
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1-2 stalks green onion (finely chopped)
- 1-2 stalks lemongrass (approximately 2.5-3 tablespoons, finely chopped)
- handful tortilla chips
Instructions
Preparation
- Finely chop green onions and set aside for garnishing at the end
- Finely chop the garlic and lemongrass (If you are using fresh lemongrass stalks, use the bottom half of the stalk only, which is lighter. Discard the dried tips)
- Marinate the chicken with the garlic, soy, lemongrass, balsamic vinegar for 2-3 hours
Cooking the Chicken
- In a large skillet, add some oil and set the heat to medium heat
- Add the chicken to the pan, skin side down first, and sear the chicken for 3-4 minutes a side. To get the brown skin, leave it untouched skin side down for a few minutes. (If you are using boned chicken, you will need to cook the chicken longer)
Making the Crispy Tacos
- Once the chicken is done, transfer it to a cutting board and place some tortilla chips on top of the chicken and chop it up together
- Add in the green onions
- Add to tacos with toppings and enjoy!
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is calculated using online tools and is an estimate*
Emily says
These sound perfect for Taco Tuesday!
Dannii says
I love any kind of tacos and I love lemongrass too, but I have never had them together. A great idea for our next taco night.
Valentina says
These tacos look and sound delish! Lemongrass is one of my favorite ingredients and I'm always looking for new ways to work it into recipes. Thanks!
Emily says
Lemongrass is such a delicious flavor! These chicken tacos look so amazing!