Chicken Shish Tawook - Classic Lebanese Recipe

Shish tawook is the classic Lebanese marinade for barbecue chicken and is my favourite wrap filling. The Lebanese love any opportunity to grill chicken and meat; we don't just wait for good weather like here in the UK.

I've seen people light the grill in the middle of winter and they see it as just another way of cooking rather than only at special occasions.

There are lots of variations of shish tawook especially when you go from one country to another in the Middle East, but the common factor is a creamy garlic flavour with an orange colour, which is a result of the paprika.

Some people like to use yoghurt, garlic powder, mayonnaise and ketchup but my chef friend who works at my favourite Lebanese deli said he uses traditional garlic sauce as the base which gives it a wonderful zingy flavour.

My garlic sauce recipe can be found here, you might as well make some to go with the chicken anyway. Though of course if you don't have garlic sauce you can replace it using mayonnaise or yoghurt.

Shish tawook should be subtly spiced so adding chilli would turn it into another thing altogether, white or black pepper is acceptable and a good paprika will also add depth and colour.

Though the classic way is to barbecue you can also shallow fry the chicken pieces and grill them in the oven, which I often do before I add chicken to curries or stews.

Finally, to make the perfect chicken wrap get some extra fresh Lebanese flat bread, hand cut and fry some chips, get some spicy (unsweet) pickles and a good dollop of fresh garlic sauce.

Make your chicken wrap with these ingredients and for a finishing touch hot press it in a panini grill for half a minute and then you will be on your way to becoming a wrap connoisseur, which is a life goal in itself 😝

📖 Recipe

5 from 3 votes

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Chicken Shish Tawook

Classic Lebanese chicken marinade

Course Main Course

Cuisine Lebanese

Keyword BBQ, Chicken, Grilling

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 4 people

Author Zaatar and Zaytoun

Ingredients

• 3-4 chicken breasts approx 500g
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 3 tablespoon yoghurt
• A squeeze of ketchup approx 1 tbsp
• 1 garlic clove crushed
• ¼ teaspoon white pepper
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• Pinch of salt
• Juice of ½ a lemon
• Drizzle of vegetable oil approx 1-2 tsp

Instructions

1. Wash the chicken breasts and cut into small cubes approx 1 inch wide
2. Add the vinegar to the chicken breasts and set aside while you prepare the marinade

3. In a bowl add the crushed garlic, yoghurt, ketchup, white pepper, paprika, salt, lemon and vegetable oil. Stir well

4. Add the chicken pieces to the marinade and refrigerate over night, or for a few hours at least
5. Skewer the chicken cubes and barbecue or grill in the oven. You can also shallow fry
6. Serve with chips, coleslaw, pickles and garlic sauce

Recipe Notes

You can substitute the yoghurt with garlic sauce or mayonnaise.

You can also substitute the garlic for ¼ teaspoon garlic powder

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