Such a Fun Age: Jerk Chick'n Tacos with Pineapple Salsa

Such a Fun Age - Recipe 6

Like my last post (Piña Coladas), this one is based on the food served at Emira’s birthday gathering at Tropicana 187.

In a red squishy booth, Emira’s three friends sat around her in tight dresses and heavy bronzer. The table was covered in Piña Coladas, fish tacos, pineapple salsa, and pulled jerk chicken. Everything reeked of sugary mai tais and fried coconut shrimp, and every song that came on was another killer. — (Excerpt from Ch. 22)

Ingredients:

For the Marinade:

• 5 scallions

• 1 medium-large onion, quartered

• 4 Scotch Bonnet peppers, seeds intact but stem/top cut off

• 6 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 inch fresh ginger, diced

• 1 lime worth of juice

• 1 bunch cilantro

• 2 Tbsp soy sauce

• 1/3 cup brown sugar

• 1/3 cup ground allspice

• 2 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

• Vegan chick’n of choice (I used No Evil brand shredded chick’n)

For the Salsa:

• 1 cup pineapple, diced

• 1 red bell pepper, diced

• 2 small-medium tomatoes, diced

• 1/3 cup cilantro, chopped

• 1/4 cup red onion, chopped

• 1 jalapeno, diced

• 2 limes’ worth of fresh lime juice

• Salt and pepper, to taste

For the Tacos:

• Soft corn tortillas

• Sliced Avocado

• Cilantro to garnish

Instructions:

1. To make the marinade, blend all ingredients in a food processor until homogeneous.

2. Coat your vegan chick’n and marinade for 4+ hours.

3. Combine all salsa ingredients in a large bowl and stir well.

4. Place marinated vegan chick’n in a saucepan or skillet and cook according to package instructions (I sauteed over medium-high for about 5 min).

5. Heat tortillas in a pan for 1 min on each side, and assemble tacos with chick’n, salsa, and avocado slices. Garnish with cilantro.

6. Enjoy!