Peanut Chicken Burritos

Mexican food is my go-to for quick and easy weeknight suppers. Fish tacos (grilled tilapia topped with slaw and jalapenos), burrito bowls (rice and beans loaded with anything the veggie bin is holding), and simple quesadillas (a melted mountain of cheese and beans) are in constant rotation. Those are meals that don’t really require a recipe.

So, it’s no surprise I’m not someone that goes rogue when it comes to cooking. Most of the time I happen to be a strict recipe follower. A couple of weeks back we went to our first restaurant with Margaret. Up to that point, we’d ordered takeout, but hadn’t actually sat down at a restaurant table at night. I was craving my favorite burrito from here, called the Bangkok Burrito, but the place was packed and parking was nuts (yes, I’m officially old), so we ended up somewhere else.

In an attempt to create my own recipe, I’ve used parts of other dishes, so we can try it at home. I used the peanut sauce from here, and riffed the ingredient list from Raging’s amazing concoction as the burrito’s base. I did, however, make some tweaks like using broccoli slaw instead of plain carrots, and eliminating the red onion since the wee one cannot handle me eating those right now.

As if we need another reason to never leave our house these days, this burrito gives the restaurant version a run for its money.

Peanut Chicken Burritos
makes two really good-sized burritos

1 large grilled chicken breast (or 2 small) seasoned liberally with garlic powder, salt, pepper
¼ cup red pepper (sliced julienne)
¼ cup cucumber (sliced julienne)
Handful premixed broccoli slaw with carrots and cabbage
1 T cilantro (rough chop)
2 T sliced green onion
½ cup Basmati rice
½ cup black beans (works well with pinto, too, or a mix of both)
2 T peanut sauce (recipe here) plus, more for dipping
2 large flour tortillas

Method:
Warm tortillas for about 25 seconds in the microwave so they are pliable. Working on one side of the tortilla, fill with rice, black beans, red pepper, cucumber, slaw, cilantro, and chicken. Top with peanut sauce. Roll length-wise, tucking sides in as you go to form a tight burrito. I’m going go with the David Spade flight attendant scene in Tommy Boy here because the same holds true—if you don’t know how to fasten your seat belt on an airplane or need a tutorial on how to roll a burrito, you might have bigger problems than just those two learning curves. Add more peanut sauce on the side for dipping.