Technically, fajita translates as “little belt” and referred to the cut of beef from which the original Rio Grande dish was made. So unless your dish is made from a skirt-steak, you don't have a fajita, and there is no such thing as a chicken fajita. Of course, over time, the names of traditional dishes take on new meaning, and you can find a “chicken fajita” on bar and diner menus across the country.
So this layman's interpretation of fajita usually only means a sizzling plate of thinly-sliced fixins to be tossed in a tortilla wrap. The platter will usually be brought to the table still crackling as the strips of meat, along with ubiquitous bell peppers and onions are seared. Other fixins such as cheese, sour cream, salsa, and pico de gallo are served on the side. Assembly is usually done at the table.
This latter interpretation of fajita was the inspiration for tonight's dinner. A fairly light, easy dish that is especially enjoyable on a warm summer evening, but which can be enjoyed year-round of course.
I started with a large onion, skinned, and then halved. Cut in half from top to bottom, rather than around the waist of the onion. The grain of the rings should now be “c” shaped. I reserved one half of the large onion for later use. The other half, I layed flat side down, and sliced into thin strips. Again, look at the grain of the onion before slicing, and then slice so that you wind up with a big pile of half-rings which will flatten into nice strips with a little canola oil in a hot frying pan. But not just yet. First we have to slice up the bell peppers to go along with the onion in the hot pan.
You could get away with using only one color of bell pepper, but I prefer the variety in flavor and appearance of using both a red and a green bell pepper. Adding an orange bell pepper to the mix could be fun too. (Don't use yellow for this though, it takes on a sort of sickly color when fried.) Halve each pepper lengthwise, de-seed, and rinse. Make sure you get that little sticker with the PLU number off too. Now halve each half again lengthwise, then each quarter, then each eighth so you wind up with a nice pile of thin pepper strips.
In a large frying pan, pour in a fair amount of canola oil (or perhaps some other cooking oil if you prefer) and crank up the heat. But how do we know when the oil is hot enough? Here's a little trick. I rinse my hand under water and then give a good shake toward the hot pan. If the water droplets crackle and pop real good when they hit the oil, it's hot enough for frying. If nothing happens, give it another minute or two and try again. Be careful you don't get splattered though. Cold water in hot oil will crackle like Pop-Rocks and you really don’t want any of that hot oil to hit your skin.
When the oil is hot, slide in all your strips of pepper and onion for some good sizzle action. Stir occasionally. I find it preferable to leave them slightly undercooked, a little more firm rather than mushy. They will continue to soften a bit after being removed from the heat as well.
Next we have the chicken strips. I used some chicken tenderloins that I had in the freezer and thawed out. One or two packages, depending on how many servings you will need. I always like to cook enough to have plenty of leftovers anyway, so two packs is probably what you will need. Each tenderloin I sliced lengthwise into four strips. Tenderloins can be expensive, so feel free to substitute with thinly sliced strips of whole boneless chicken breast. I am actually a big fan of dark meat chicken, but for this recipe white meat is preferable.
Now we are going to fry the chicken strips in a a nice layer of canola oil the way we did the peppers and onion. Or at the same time in another pan if you can multitask a little. Fry until fully cooked, or do like I did, and kick things up a little bit with some seasonings. Give a good dusting of chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, crushed black pepper, oregano, and parsley. Depending on what you have on hand and how spicy you like things, you might also try adding other herbs and spices such as cilantro, cayenne pepper, ancho chili powder, chipotle, etc. I try to stay away from salt for the sake of a salt-sensitive family member, but a few shakes might make it a little more savory as well.
With the chicken fully cooked, I went ahead and fried some flour tortillas in another pan of hot oil. Some folks might prefer just a warm steamed tortilla wrap, but I like the taste and crispiness of a lightly fried tortilla. This is how I fry tortilla for my more traditional tacos too.
Lay the tortilla in the pan, and fry until golden brown. The tortilla may puff up, not to worry. You can stick a fork in it if you really find that unnerving, or you are getting an uneven fry. Keeping an eye on the edges will help you gauge how done it is on the first side, but peeking will do no harm either. Be careful not to overcook. We are looking for it to be a little crispy, but not actually crunchy. Don't forget, we still have to fold this thing when it is done. Some people choose to only fry one side for this reason, but I go ahead and fry both sides, using a regular metal (not plastic) pancake turner to flip them. Fried to a nice golden-brown, fold the tortilla over in half as you lay it on a paper towel to cool and drain.
Now the assembly. You can either serve already assmpled, or just put out the fixins and let the family and/or guests put them together themselves. Take a nice spoonful of sour cream and smear it inside the folded tortilla. Lay in a few of the seasoned chicken strips next. Top that with shredded cheese. I used cheddar tonight, but Monterrey-Jack would be great no doubt, or maybe something like the Mexican 4-cheese blend that I can get pre-shredded in a bag at my supermarket. Top that with some jarred salsa, or maybe some fresh pico-de-gallo if you prefer, maybe even a few rings of sliced jalapenos for more kick. Then top all of that now with strips of peppers and onion.
There you have it, fajita-style tacos. Not too time consuming, not too much skill required, and fun at the dinner-table while everyone puts their tacos together. And as I said earlier, though very flavorful, it's not a very rich and heavy dish which makes it ideal for a summertime meal, lunch or dinner.
Now go git your sizzle on!
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