Shish-taouk chicken marinade recipe

Shish-taouk is a classic Syrian and Lebanese street food dish found on the menus of many Middle Eastern restaurants. Perfect for dinner with tabbouleh and garlic sauce.

Since we are not all equipped at home with a vertical rotisserie similar to those found in Middle Eastern fast-food restaurants, we instead cook our shish-taouk chicken on skewers (on the barbecue, in the oven or even in the pan!).

Our shish-taouk marinade recipe, ideal for roasted or grilled chicken, is based on yogurt and olive oil enhanced with a mixture of garlic and shish-taouk spices

Ingredients

4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
125 ml (½ cup) plain yogurt
60 ml (½ cup) lemon juice
3 tbsp. tablespoon of olive oil
½ tsp. tablespoon of shish-taouk spices (recipe p. 95)
½ tsp. teaspoon of salt
3 large chicken breasts (800 g), cut into large 2.5 cm (1 in) cubes

Preparation

In a bowl, combine the garlic, yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil, shish taouk spices and salt. Add the chicken cubes, mix, cover and refrigerate. Leave the chicken to marinate for 5 to 6 hours or overnight, then thread the cubes onto flat metal skewers.

Heat the barbecue. Oil the grill.

Grill the skewers for 5 to 6 minutes on each side or until the chicken is cooked and nicely grilled.

Serve with the garlic sauce (recipe p. 156).

Note
You can accompany your shish-taouk with grilled vegetables or chili pita bread (recipe p. 139).

Excerpt from the book “Syrian cuisine, a cuisine of the heart” p.155

Our shish-taouk mix