Description
These are not your average tacos, we are blowing it up with an ultra-flavorful East meets West twist! These healthy Asian Rainbow Chickpea Tacos are so flippin’ delicious with feel-good ingredients bathed in amazingly bold Asian sauce, all piled high on a tasty tortilla; it just can’t be beat. Hearty chickpeas, zesty red onions, crisp red bell peppers, sweet carrots, and nourishing kale come together in the most flavorful way. This dish is sure to have the whole family seated at the table in a flash.
Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, gluten free, no highly processed ingredients.
Ingredients
- 1 small red onion, small dice
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 carrot, sliced into very thin matchsticks
- 1 – 15 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 3 cups chopped Tuscan (Lacinato/dinosaur) kale *
Sauce Ingredients:
- 2 Tablespoons organic maple syrup
- 3 Tablespoons reduced sodium tamari * (see notes)
- 1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon mirin *
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame seeds (optional)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon chili garlic sauce *
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch (or arrowroot powder)
Other Optional Ingredients:
- Taco shells/tortillas
- Chopped green onions
- Chopped cilantro
- Asian Mango Slaw
Instructions
- Place the Sauce Ingredients in a small bowl, whisk well to combine, set aside.
- Prep all veggies because this recipe comes together quickly, set aside. Remove the tough center vein on the kale before chopping.
- In a large ceramic/enamel lined Dutch oven/pot (or similarly large skillet) add the diced red onion, red bell pepper, and carrot, sauté over medium-high heat and cover with a tight-fitting lid for 7 to 9 minutes to soften the veggies. Add a tablespoon or so of water to prevent burning, if needed.
- Add the sauce mixture, chickpeas and kale, mix well to coat everything. Put the lid on for a few minutes to slightly soften the kale.
- Serve immediately in your favorite taco/tortilla shell with your favorite toppings.
Notes
*Kale: We love to use Tuscan kale for this recipe. Other types of kale will work for this recipe; however, you may need to massage it before adding it to the dish. Tuscan kale also known as Lacinato kale or dinosaur kale is a beautiful heirloom type of kale popular in Italy, especially Tuscany, hence Tuscan kale. It works really well for this dish because it is not quite as fibrous as other kales.
*Tamari: We used San J Tamari Soy Sauce Gluten Free, Reduced Sodium. You can substitute the tamari with reduced sodium soy sauce, Braggs Liquid Aminos, or Braggs Coconut Liquid Aminos.
*Mirin: We used Eden Foods Mirin, rice cooking wine. Check the ingredient label to make sure the mirin you use doesn’t include refined sugar.
*Chili Garlic Sauce: We used Huy Fong Foods Chili Garlic Sauce brand since the amount used is so tiny, or you can make your own by placing 4 spicy chili peppers, seeded (use gloves) into a food processor along with 1 heaping Tablespoon of minced garlic (about 4 to 5 cloves), 1 ½ teaspoons of maple syrup, 2 Tablespoons of white vinegar, ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 Tablespoon water, and a pinch of sea salt. Blend until smooth, do not puree, you want some texture. Place in a small pan and simmer over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes. Refrigerate in a tightly sealed jar. We used 4 Fresno peppers. If you use hotter peppers, cut back on the cayenne pepper.
*Toasted Sesame Seeds: If you cannot find toasted sesame seeds, you can easily make your own. Preheat a nonstick skillet over medium heat on the stove. When the pan is nice and hot, add the sesame seeds and gently push them around in a dry skillet, moving them constantly until they turn golden brown, then immediately remove the skillet from the heat, and remove the toasted sesame seeds from the skillet. Be careful, they burn easily. Note: You do not need to toast the sesame seeds for this recipe, but they do add a nice layer of flavor element.
*Serving: Makes about 10 tacos
*Storage: Refrigerate and use within 5 days.
*Nutritional Information: Only includes the filling, not the taco shell/tortilla. Does not include optional add-in of sesame seeds.