Chicken tinga with tortillas

Name: Chicken tinga with tortillas
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 800g boneless chicken thighs or breast; 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 2 onions, halved and finely sliced; 4 garlic cloves, grated; 400g canned tomatoes, chopped; 1-2 canned chipotles in adobo, chopped; 2 tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp cinnamon stick or 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 1 tsp dried oregano; sea salt and pepper; handful of coriander leaves; tortillas, coriander, lemon, pepper and sour cream to serve

Jill Dupleix

July 1, 2016

Sexy Mexy: Chicken tinga with tortillas.William Meppem

Time:1-2 hoursServes:4

Chefs are reinventing the taco, seeking a truer Mexican cuisine than that offered by stodgy beans and melted yellow cheese. One uniquely Mexican ingredient helping their quest is chipotle in adobo, a rich, dark, smoky, spicy sauce of smoke-dried, ripe jalapeno chillies. With it, we can add smoke and fire to the simplest of dishes. Like this fabulous chicken tinga of shredded chicken and onions simmered in chipotle and tomato sauce, ready to serve with tortillas, tacos, tosta

Ingredients

800g boneless chicken thighs or breast
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 onions, halved and finely sliced
4 garlic cloves, grated
400g canned tomatoes, chopped
1-2 canned chipotles in adobo, chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cinnamon stick or 1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp dried oregano
sea salt and pepper
handful of coriander leaves
tortillas, coriander, lemon, pepper and sour cream to serve

Tip

Small cans of chipotles in adobo are available from gourmet food stores such as The Essential Ingredient and Thomas Dux.

Method

1. Place the chicken in a pot and add cold water to just cover. Add half a teaspoon of salt and bring gently to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes, then remove from heat, cover and leave to steep for 30 minutes.
2. Heat the oil in a frypan, and cook the onions over medium heat until golden, about five minutes. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Add the tomatoes, chipotle in adobo, cumin, cinnamon stick, oregano, sea salt and pepper. Add 400 millilitres of the chicken cooking broth, and simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Remove the chicken from the remaining broth (save broth for another dish), and shred the meat. Add the meat to the sauce and simmer for 15 minutes over low heat or until the liquid has almost evaporated, stirring occasionally.
4. Stir in the coriander, season well, and serve with hot tortillas (pan-fried on one side), coriander, lemon, pepper and sour cream.