If you don’t know, I have a secret love affair with Mediterranean food. I tend to go for the more lebanese/Israeli food, but it’s all good to me! I was going to say it’s all Greek to me, but I don’t want people to think I don’t know the difference between the food. I take my food very seriously. Back to the point, we love Chicken Shawarma and we’ve been trying to find a good recipe. We’ve tried this particular recipe a couple of times, but I really think the flavor profile was off just a bit. So I adapted the recipe to make it work for our palates.
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp sirachi
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp red pepper flake
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp allspice
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp of cayenne
Salt (optional) and black pepper
Nonstick cooking oil spray
What to do:
Slice the chicken breasts into 5-6 pieces each and the thighs into 3-4 pieces each. Place them in a marinating dish or large plastic zipper bag. In a small bowl, whisk together 1 tsp olive oil, the spices, vinegar, sirachi, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Pour the spice marinade over the chicken pieces. Stir with a spoon till all the chicken pieces are evenly coated in the marinade. Cover the marinating dish with plastic wrap, or close the zipper bag. Place chicken in the refrigerator and let it marinate at least 1 hour, up to overnight.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Spray the foil with nonstick cooking oil. Place the chicken pieces on the sheet, evenly spaced. Place the chicken in the oven. Let it roast for about 15 minutes till cooked through, turning the chicken pieces once with tongs halfway through cooking. Take chicken out of the oven and let it cool slightly. Use a sharp knife to slice the meat into small, thin shawarma-like pieces. Spray cooking spray in a skillet on the stovetop over medium. Pour half of the chicken into the skillet and sauté for 3-4 minutes till the smallest pieces of chicken turn brown and crisp. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste, if desired. Remove the cooked chicken from the skillet. Heat another 1 tbsp of oil and sauté the remaining chicken in the same way. Serve warm.
