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Sesame Ginger Chicken Quesadillas
These chicken quesadillas come together in no time, making them perfect for busy evenings when you need a quick, family-friendly meal.
The sauce keeps well for a few days in the refrigerator, so, if you make the sauce ahead of time, you can have these ready in 10-15 minutes.
This recipe came for an old Southern Living Cookbook. The recipe was posted by Arthur Elizalde of Arturo’s in Austin, TX. I looked to see if Arturo’s is still open, and it is still open. I found that they are still serving these Sesame-Ginger Quesadillas, so they must continue to be a hit!
I used to make these when I was working full time, and had young boys at home, and we were going to soccer games, boy scouts, church activities, and school activities. I would make the sauce on the weekends, so that when we came in from school and extracurricular activities, late and tired, I could easily put a hot meal on the table. (I left off the onions then and did not add the pineapple salsa.) But now, my husband and I still love these, but with all of the extras!
Sauce Ingredients:
- Rice wine vinegar
- Soy sauce
- Canola or Avocado oil
- Toasted Sesame oil
- Honey
- Fresh ginger
- Minced garlic
About the quesadilla Ingredients:
- Sesame Ginger sauce (Make ahead to save time.)
- Cooked chicken ( I used a rotisserie chicken.)
- Shredded carrots (To make it easy, use the bagged shredded carrots.)
- Diced onion (Skip this if you don’t care for onions.)
- Flour tortillas
- Shredded Mexican blend cheese (Substitute your favorite cheese, if desired.)
I topped the quesadillas with fresh pineapple salsa, and it really takes the dish to the next level.
Sesame Ginger Chicken Quesadillas
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
Description
Quesadillas filled with chicken in a flavorful sesame oil, ginger, and soy sauce cooked in a skillet and topped with fresh pineapple salsa.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup canola or avocado oil
- 1/3 cup toasted sesame oil
- 3 Tbs. honey
- 2 Tbs. minced fresh ginger
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 5-6 Tbs. Sesame-Ginger sauce
- 1 cup chopped cooked chicken
- 3 shredded carrots
- 1/4 cup diced onion
- 4 (8 - inch flour tortillas)
- 1 (8 oz.) package shredded Mexican cheese blend
Instructions
Sesame Ginger Sauce Instructions:
- Whisk together all of the sesame ginger sauce ingredients listed above. Store in the refrigerator up to 1 week until ready to use.
Sesame Ginger Quesadilla Instructions:
- Heat the Sesame Ginger Sauce in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add chicken, carrot, and onion.
- Cook, 2 to 4 minutes until thoroughly heated. Stir occasionally.
- Spoon chicken mixture over half of each tortilla. Spread it out on each half.
- Top with a handful of shredded Mexican cheese blend.
- Lightly grease a skillet with oil.
- Place filled tortilla in skillet and fold over. Cook one side over medium-high heat until lightly browned (about a minute).
- Flip the folded tortilla and cook the other side until lightly browned.
- Top with fresh pineapple salsa. (Optional) Recipe:
Equipment
Notes
1. Substitute shredded Monterey Jack cheese or other cheese for Mexican cheese blend.
2. Omit carrots and onion, if desired.
3. Rotisserie chicken works great for the cooked chicken.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 2-4 minutes
- Category: Main
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mexican