Chicken Fajitas

Because I’m one of the cookingest guys in my friend group, people always ask me about my favorite meal to cook. My answer: chicken fajitas. While I was studying abroad in Tokyo, I wanted to share a little part of my food culture with my fellow study abroad students and new Japanese friends. So I’d host fajita parties at my tiny apartment, scouring the local international food markets for tortillas, the closest thing I could find to Oaxaca cheese, and spices like cumin, coriander, and ground chiles.

On the day of the event, I’d spend hours meticulously dicing tomatoes and mincing onions and chiles for pico de gallo, marinating chicken in citrus and spices, shredding cheese—the only thing I could never find was dried pinto beans for making refried beans. My recipe for chicken fajitas hasn’t evolved a lot since those days—the foundation is very much the same—and it remains one of my back-pocket meals whether entertaining a group or for just a quick and easy weeknight dinner. The marinade packs a big citrusy punch, which means you don’t have to let the chicken marinate for very long—a minimum of 20 minutes if you’re in a rush, or up to four hours if you’ve got the time. I usually get the chicken marinating before making a batch of pico de gallo, grating the cheese, and slicing the onions and peppers, and by the time I’m done, the chicken is ready to go. Personally, I prefer chicken thighs because they’re much more flavorful and, more importantly, less prone to drying out if you accidentally overcook them, but breasts also work well.