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Shish Tawook

Hello, my dear friends! It’s so nice to be here at the party. And to make up my absence, I am bringing you something so new to me and I know everyone will love this…

Trying out foods that originated from other countries was never my thing. The thing is, if I didn’t grow up eating that kind of stuff or anything from such country, I don’t REALLY try it. I don’t know – maybe I am just not used to it. Or, maybe I am afraid that I will not like how it tastes.

Although there are existing restaurants which serve dishes I am not familiar with, I have not really tried eating anything alien to me. During dining out with friends or family, some of them ask for Middle Eastern or Indian food. As for me, I order anything Filipino, Italian or Chinese food. I haven’t even tried eating Malaysian food when I went to Malaysia. While some others are enjoying their foods, I did not even bother to take a bite, regardless of how I love food. I am weird, I know. Haha! Anyway, so while they are enjoying every bite, there I was – watching them with amazement as I can see how they love the food so much.

Last week, I stayed at home for the whole week for some… let’s say I needed to rest for a bit. So while at home, I had the time to chat with my friends and relatives who work in the Middle East. As always, I asked them about food. Some of them suggested that I need to try this and this, mentioning that the smell and taste is not that strong… blah, blah, blah! After chatting, I tried Googling (is this a new word?) Shish Tawook because that was the first thing they ever told me to try. According to Wiki, the dish originated from Lebanese and Syrian cuisine. And as what I have understood, they are just chicken skewers. Well, in that case, I would need to find the recipe, I thought.

Googling. Googling. Googling. (Here’s that word again!)

After I saved one recipe, I imagined how the combination of the ingredients will taste. Well, maybe not that bad. Just chicken skewers, I kept thinking. How shall I know if I wouldn’t try, right? So I did take the risk and made some.

Shish Tawook

Ingredients:

  • Chicken breasts, skinless and boneless, cut into cubes
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
  • 2 tsp garlic, minced
  • ¾ tbsp yellow mustard
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp plain yogurt
  • 1 tbsp paprika
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Bellpeppers & onions, chopped & cherry tomatoes

Instructions:

  1. In a bowl, mix everything except the veggies, making sure to coat very well.
  2. Keep in the fridge to marinate at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.
  3. When ready, skewer the chicken pieces and veggies.
  4. Grill all sides until chicken are cooked through (about 3-4 minutes each side).

Note: This can be grilled on the grill pan, electric grill or over a charcoal.

Source recipe: Shish Tawook by Chef in Disguise

Since one of them knows that I am not a huge fan of outside grilling and she knows that I will be doing the grilling on the pan, she taught me a trick – a very helpful one – to get that ‘charcoal’ smell and take note – the TASTE, too. You get what I mean? So, here’s the trick:

  1. Top left: get a charcoal and set on fire as shown below.
  2. Top right: arrange your Shish Tawook in the same pan or in any pan that could handle heat and put butter or oil in aluminum foil as shown below.
  3. Bottom left: when the coal is smoking hot, put it immediately together with the butter; don’t close the foil.
  4. Bottom right: cover with aluminum foil, making sure that no smoke is coming out. Leave for 10 minutes.

The Shish Tawook was really delicious and instantly became another favorite of mine. 😀 Despite not being a huge fan of chicken breasts, I was amazed how moist and soft the chicken pieces were and if I am not mistaken, that was because of the yogurt. And believe me, the trick was really awesome.

I hope you make this and let me know your thoughts. 🙂 Wishing everyone a yummy Fiesta Friday and have a safe weekend!! xx

Thank you, Angie, for bringing us all together!! <3

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