Shish Taouk — country by country
Yogurt-and-garlic marinated chicken skewers, charred and always chased with toum.
Every country brings its own touch. Here's how they differ.
⚔️ Head to head
Pick two kitchens and see exactly where they part ways.
🇱🇧 Lebanon
✨ Lemon-yogurt marinade with plenty of garlic and paprika; served in markouk with toum and pickles, pressed till crisp.
Only in Lebanon
- chicken breast, cubed
- garlic, crushed
- lemon, juiced
- paprika
- white pepper
- olive oil
- toum, pickles, and markouk to serve
🇸🇾 Syria
✨ Tomato paste and Aleppo pepper stain the marinade red; often finished with a butter baste on the grill.
Only in Syria
- chicken thighs, cubed
- tomato paste
- Aleppo pepper
- garlic
- seven-spice
- butter, melted
🤝 Both use
- yogurt
🇱🇧 Lebanon
⏱ 35 minThe Sunday-barbecue king of Lebanon: cousins around the manoual, bread flattening the skewers, toum disappearing fast.
✨ What makes it special
Lemon-yogurt marinade with plenty of garlic and paprika; served in markouk with toum and pickles, pressed till crisp.
🇸🇾 Syria
⏱ 35 minIn Damascus and Aleppo, taouk is restaurant craft: redder, spicier, and stacked over bread that catches every drip.
✨ What makes it special
Tomato paste and Aleppo pepper stain the marinade red; often finished with a butter baste on the grill.