Guava Chicken Tacos stuffed with shredded purple cabbage, melted cheese, fresh cilantro and chives.  Lightly breaded chicken strips tossed in a sweet heavenly perfumed guava barbecue sauce stuffed between melted cheesy tortillas and finished with a spicy habanero aioli and served with lime wedges. Mixing sweet with savoury for a tasty full of flavor summer inspired meal. 

Lush homemade guava jam simmered into a barbecue sauce made from tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, fresh minced garlic, lime juice, a touch of liquid smoke, dash of soy sauce and water. Each piece of chicken is fully coated in the guava barbecue sauce and added to the toasted cheesy tacos.  We like to add some cabbage to our tacos to given them some extra crunch and a pop of colour. Extra toppings are welcome here if you want to add fresh avocado and pico de gallo to fill these up even more and make them extra filling. 

GUAVA

Guava’s are tropical fruits either white or pink, most common is the pink guava which has a bright pink interior and is often used in juices, or cocktails giving off a subtle pink hue. Guava fruit has a high pectin content which makes it great for thickening when used for sauces or jams. When working with guava it can get a  little tricky because the seeds on the inside are so hard and small plus the fruit itself isn’t very big so it makes it a little challenging to pull the seeds out. Upon doing some research, we’ve come across people saying that you need to loosen the pulp and seeds and use a mesh strainer to separate. Well the guavas that we were using were a little tough so there was no way this was going to work. Instead we just scooped out all the insides with a spoon and threw it right into the saucepot seeds and all. From there we let it thicken into a jam until it reached the texture we wanted to use. It got really thick so we added some water as needed to thin it out a bit and increase the amount so that we would have enough for our sauce. After this we strained it through a mesh strainer and pushed the jam through with the back of the spoon until we were left with seeds. It was a little long to do this but we got most of the seeds out and were left with a smooth jam. 

The guava jelly or jam whatever you want to call it is so tasty. Once you’ve got the jam you can use it for loads of different things. Spread it on toast, use it for cocktails by adding a bar spoon sized amount into your drinks and mixing it in, or like us use it to make a tasty guava barbecue sauce for chicken, use it to glaze on meat that’s slow roasting like ribs or even add dollops into yogurt breakfast bowls, over smoothie bowls and parfaits. 

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Print Recipe

Guava Chicken Tacos

Guava glazed chicken strips, melted cheese, shredded cabbage, cilantro and chives folded into crisp tacos drizzled in a spicy habanero aioli.

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Course: Burgers & Sandwiches

Servings: 6

Author: the communal feast

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts cut into strips
• 1 large egg beaten
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• oil for frying
• 2 cups shredded cheese
• 1 1/2 cup purple cabbage shredded
• corn tortillas
• garnish: cilantro chives, lime wedge
• Guava barbecue sauce:
• 1 cup guava jam see notes
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 TBS tomato paste
• 1/2 lime juiced
• 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1/3 cup water
• pinch of salt
• Habanero aioli:
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 3 habanero chilies seeds removed
• 1/2 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 TBS lemon juice

Instructions

• Combine all the ingredients for the habanero aioli in a food processor or high powered blender. Blend until smooth and set aside.
• In a small saucepan over medium heat, add tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, liquid smoke, lime juice, soy sauce, and salt. stir to combine. Add half the guava jam and half the water, bring to a slow boil and reduce to simmer. Stir frequently and allow to thicken slightly. Stir in the rest of the jam and water and continue to stir and simmer until the sauce is ready. About 6 minutes.
• In separate shallow bowls, add the beaten egg and flour. Dredge the chicken strips through the egg followed by the flour, covering both sides. Set aside on a plate. Repeat until all the chicken is done. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Shallow fry the chicken strip until golden on each side. About 4 minutes a side. Dunk the chicken in the guava sauce to completely cover.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Brush the corn tortillas with a bit of oil, and lay them flat on a baking sheet. layer with cheese and chicken strips and then fold one half over the filling. Bake until cheese is melted and tortillas are crispy.
• Remove from the oven, peel open just enough to add the cabbage and close them up again. Garnish with cilantro, chives and spread some of the habanero aioli overtop.

Notes

Guava jam: 8-10 ripe guavas, cut in half and scoop out the centre. Heat in a small saucepan on low until thickened. Add a touch of water as needed to thin out. Pour the jam into a fine mesh strainer and push out the jam with the back of a spoon until only the seeds are left to discard. Yields 1 to 1 1/2 cups of jam.