15 Minute Chef: Chicken Taquitos

Recipe

Cooking oil, as needed

About 350 grams cooked chicken meat, shredded

1 large shallot, halved lengthwise then thinly sliced

2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced

60 grams canned tomato purée

12 corn tortillas, 16cm in diameter

Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the salsa and guacamole

250 grams red cherry tomatoes, diced

1-2 shallots, minced

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

1 red bird's eye chilli, chopped

Fresh coriander, roughly chopped

1 or 2 ripe avocados

• Heat about 15ml cooking oil in a skillet, add the shallot and garlic and cook over a low flame until soft.

• Add the chicken, tomato purée and salt and pepper, and cook over a medium flame until the liquid has evaporated but the meat is still moist.
• Pour oil to the depth of about 5mm in a skillet, and place over a medium flame. The oil should be hot enough so when you dip the edge of a tortilla into it, it sizzles gently but does not brown.
• Briefly dip each tortilla into the hot oil, just long enough to soften it.
• Stack them on a plate.

• Lay some of the filling in a straight line on each tortilla, about 2cm from an edge. Tightly roll the tortilla around the filling and put it seam-side down on a tray.

• Pour 1.5cm of oil in the skillet used to warm the tortillas and heat to 180 degrees Celsius. Place the taquitos seam-side down (so they don't unroll) in the hot oil. Turn them occasionally so they cook evenly. Fry until crisp and brown.

• Combine the tomatoes, shallots, garlic, chilli and coriander, then season with salt. Mash the avocado flesh roughly before mixing in some of the salsa.

• Serve the taquitos with the salsa and the guacamole.

Susan Jung

susan.jung@scmp.com