Tostadas de Tinga de Pollo
Antojitos & La Cena – Late-Night Bites and Street Food at Home
Tuesday at seven p.m., a supermarket rotisserie chicken gets torn to shreds, a skillet hits the heat, and the kitchen fills with the smell of white onions yielding to the earthy punch of chipotles. Tinga is a beautiful, chaotic mess. You simmer the shredded chicken, use a splash of golden broth to soften the tomatoes, blend it all with a can of chipotles in adobo, and reduce it until thick. Slap it onto a crisp tostada with a protective smear of refried beans and a drizzle of crema, and eat it fast, before you lose the snap of a tostada shell.
Ingredients
- boneless, skinless chicken breasts1 1/2 lb
- white onion1/2 med
- garlic2 small clove
- bay leaf1 med
- kosher salt1 tsp
- Roma tomatoes4 med
- canned chipotle peppers in adobo2 med
- adobo sauce1 tbsp
- garlic2 small clove
- Mexican oregano1/2 tsp
- ground cumin1/4 tsp
- neutral cooking oil2 tbsp
- white onion1 large
- corn tostada shells10 med
- refried pinto or black beans15 oz
- iceberg lettuce2 cup
- Mexican crema1/2 cup
- queso fresco1/2 cup
- avocado1 med
- lime1 med
Method
- 01
Poach the chicken to build the foundational broth.
Place the chicken breasts in a medium pot with the onion half, two cloves of garlic, bay leaf, and salt, covering with about an inch of water. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes until the meat is tender.
- 02
Shred the chicken and boil the tomatoes in the reserved broth.
Transfer the chicken to a board to cool and shred, but keep the cooking liquid in the pot—this is your golden elixir. Bring the broth back to a boil, drop in the whole Roma tomatoes, and cook for 5 to 8 minutes until their skins begin to split, then transfer them to a blender with a slotted spoon.
- 03
Blend the chipotle sauce until smooth.
To the blender with the tomatoes, add the chipotles, adobo sauce, the remaining two cloves of garlic, oregano, cumin, and exactly one cup of the hot chicken broth from the pot. Blend on high until completely velvety.
- 04
Sauté the sliced onions with absolute patience.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add the thinly sliced onions. Cook them slowly for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they melt into sweet, translucent ribbons—do not let them brown or burn.
- 05
Combine and aggressively reduce the stew.
Pour the blended chipotle sauce over the soft onions, cook for 5 minutes, then fold in the shredded chicken. Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes until almost all the liquid has evaporated; a proper tinga must be sticky, not watery, or it will immediately destroy the tostada.
- 06
Assemble the tostadas.
Spread a thin, protective layer of warm refried beans across a crisp tostada shell, then pile on a generous mound of the chicken tinga. Top with shredded lettuce, a drizzle of crema, crumbled queso fresco, a slice of avocado, and a squeeze of lime.
Notes
The rotisserie shortcut.
If you only have 20 minutes to get dinner on the table, shred a store-bought rotisserie chicken. Boil your tomatoes in a cup of high-quality boxed stock instead of making the poaching liquid from scratch.
Sourcing authentic crema.
Mexican crema is thinner, less acidic, and richer than American sour cream. If you can't find it, whisk standard sour cream with a splash of whole milk and a pinch of salt until it reaches a pourable, velvety consistency.
From Cook Mexican in America.