Tinga de Pollo
Poached, hand-shredded chicken simmered in a blended chipotle-and-tomato sauce with thin-sliced onion left visible rather than pureed smooth. A defining Pueblan dish for tostadas and tacos, its smoky depth comes from real canned chipotles in adobo, not a generic hot sauce or plain chile powder.
Meat
Ingredients
- 700g boneless chicken breast or thighs
- 1 white onion, half for poaching and half thinly sliced for the sauce
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 ripe tomatoes (or 1 can, 400g)
- 3-4 chipotle chiles en adobo, plus 2 tbsp adobo sauce
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil or lard
- Salt, to taste
- Tostadas, crema mexicana, queso fresco, sliced avocado, and shredded lettuce, to serve
Steps
- Poach the chicken in a pot with water to cover, the onion half, garlic, bay leaf, and salt for 20-25 minutes until cooked through. Remove the chicken and shred with two forks, reserving 1 cup of the broth.
- Blend the tomatoes, chipotles, and adobo sauce until smooth.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet, add the sliced onion, and cook until translucent and starting to soften, 6-8 minutes.
- Pour in the blended tomato-chipotle sauce and simmer 10 minutes until slightly thickened.
- Add the shredded chicken and a splash of the reserved broth, and simmer 10-15 minutes until the chicken absorbs the sauce and the onions are fully softened.
- Season with salt and serve piled on tostadas or in tacos with crema, queso fresco, avocado, and lettuce.