Cheesy Sweet and Sour Pomegranate Thai Chicken Enchiladas
I really try to bring you original content on a daily basis. I get inspiration from magazines, TV shows, other bloggers and everyday life to create and invent new recipes. I test them on my loved ones (Jacobs is a hard critic) and then post the best ones here.
When I found THIS RECIPE for Cheesy Sweet and Sour Pomegranate Thai Chicken Enchiladas on halfbakedharvest.com I intended on just using it as inspiration and then creating my own. I was so intrigued by the combination of flavors though that I made it exactly as directed (so unlike me). I am so glad I did ... THEY. ARE. INCREDIBLE!
These enchiladas host an amazing combination of flavors: sweet, savory and spicy. I love the hint of pomegranate juice in the sauce and my favorite part has to be the garnish—fresh pomegranate seeds, green onions, cilantro and avocado. Well, my favorite part next to the ridiculous sweet-and-sour sauce that tops it all (which will be amazing on chicken wings, Thai chicken and rice and so much more).
This dish has a really complex combination of flavors but is surprisingly easy to make. I used a grocery-store rotisserie chicken (which cuts out the step of cooking the chicken), and all you really have to "make" is the sauce. Everything else is just slicing vegetables and assembling the actual enchiladas.
So here is the recipe straight from halfbakedharvest.com. Thanks Tieghan! LOVE your blog!
Cheesy Sweet and Sour Pomegranate Thai Chicken Enchiladas
Sauce
1 1/2 cups sweet thai chili sauce
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3/4 cup pomegranate juice
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 lime, juiced
1 teaspoon fish sauce, this is optional, but it adds great flavor
2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Enchiladas
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (about 1 pound)
1 red pepper, sliced thin
1 orange pepper, sliced thin
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded (or more!!)
8-10 flour tortillas
for serving: diced avocado, pomegranate arils, chopped cilantro, green onions, queso fresco
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
To make the sauce. Combine the sweet thai chili sauce, soy sauce, dark brown sugar, peanut butter, tomato paste, pomegranate juice, rice vinegar, lime juice, fish sauce, garlic, ginger, crushed red pepper and pepper in a medium sauce pot. Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes or until sauce has thickened slightly. Remove from the heat and set aside.
In the meantime, add the shredded chicken, sliced bell pepper, cilantro and 1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese to a medium size mixing bowl. When the sauce is done pour in about 3/4 cup or just enough to coat the chicken and make it saucy. Mix well to coat.
Wrap the tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave for one minute. Now spoon a little of the chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla, tuck and roll, placing the tortilla seem side down into the baking dish. Pour and spread the remainder of the sauce over top of the enchiladas and top with a good handful or so of shredded mozzarella.
Bake for 30 minutes, until the cheese is melted. Remove and top with diced avocado, pomegranate arils, cilantro, green onions and queso fresco.