Who could resist the burst of flavour and spice from these grilled chicken skewers? It is tender and juicy marinated with yogurt, garlic and olive oil making you come back for seconds.
What is Shish Tawook
Shish Taouk is a Middle Eastern marinated chicken shish kebab. It also goes by the name, Shish Taouk. It is incredibly popular in Turkey, Azerbaijan, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine, Iraq, and Israel.
There is a similar Persian dish called jujeh kabab. It is made up of chicken cubes that are marinated, skewered and grilled to perfection. It has a wide flavour palette with different spices such as allspice, garlic, cinnamon, oregano, and parsley.It is eaten either in a sandwich or vegetable platter, and sometimes it will be with rice.
The Turkish dish is served with rice, yogurt, and grilled vegetables. The Syrian and Lebanese version is served with toum which is a combination of garlic paste sauce, hummus, and tabbouleh. For the sandwich version, they come in a flatbread and is served with lettuce, tomatoes, and pickled turnips. Other versions of kebabs are with beef, lamb, and swordfish.
What is Behind the Name?
Shish or sis means skewer in Turkish. Scholars have said that it is borrowed from the Persian word, Sikh with others saying that it is from the root word, si which means “to cut” in Turkish. Kebab comes from the Arabic word which means roasted meat.
The shish kebab was first mentioned in English in the novel, Our Mr Wrenn by Sinclair Lewis. The cooking of animal goes back as far as 250,000 years. Although the word kebab or shish kebab is a culinary term referring to small meat chunks on a skewer, it has also been referred to as different meat dishes in Persia and Turkey.
The cuisine has now been made famous all around the world with Muslim influences. It has since been adopted into many local cooking styles including satay, a typical street snack in Southeast Asian Countries.
Nutritional Information For Shish Tawook
Shish Tawook generally contains about 259 calories for one skewer. It has about 1 gram of carbohydrates, 17 grams of fat and 23 grams of protein. Although shish tawook uses lean meat like chicken, it is high in fat because of the olive oil and yogurt in its recipe. However, fats are not entirely bad. Olive oil is high in mono-unsaturated fats that aid in weight loss.
Yogurt, on the other hand, provides the nutrients for your body’s needs and requirements. It is very high in calcium, vitamin B, and minerals. It is considered a low-calorie dish, so you don’t have to worry about it affecting your diet.
Like any other chicken dishes, shish taouk is high in protein. It has about 23 grams of protein, providing you with the necessary building blocks for tissue and muscle growth. It is recommended by medical experts that we should consume between 10-35% of protein for our daily calorie intake.
Shish tawook does not contain a ton of carbohydrates. For anyone who is on a low-carb diet, you can include this dish as part of your fuel source. You may include rice, pasta or potatoes as sides to increase your carbs intake, if needed.
Where To Find Shish Tawook In Malaysia
Shish Tawook can be easily found at any Lebanese restaurants in Malaysia. Here is a list of restaurants you can visit to have a taste of the flavours of shish tawook and other varieties of kebabs.
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