Traditional

Chicken Tinga

Name: Chicken Tinga
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 10 tacos
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 1 1/2 lb Boneless, skinless chicken thighs; 5 Roma tomatoes; 3 Chipotles en adobo, plus 1 tbsp of their sauce; 1 large White onion, thinly sliced; 4 Garlic cloves; 1 tsp Mexican oregano; 1 Bay leaf; 2 tbsp Lard or neutral oil; to taste Salt; 10 Corn tortillas; 1/2 cup Crema; 4 oz Queso fresco, crumbled; 1 Avocado, sliced; 1/2 cup Cilantro leaves

Shredded chicken folded into a smoky tomato–chipotle braise with sweet strands of onion — Puebla's great weeknight guisado. It simmers until the sauce clings to every shred, then piles onto warm tortillas under crema and queso fresco.

Time: 50 min
Heat
Yield: 10 tacos
Region: Puebla

Ingredients

Tinga braise

To build

Method

Cover the chicken with salted water, add half the garlic and the bay leaf, and poach at a bare simmer until just cooked through. Reserve the broth and shred the meat.
While the chicken poaches, blend the tomatoes, chipotles, adobo sauce, and remaining garlic into a smooth purée.
Heat the lard in a wide skillet and cook the sliced onion until soft and golden at the edges.
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Pour in the chipotle–tomato purée with the oregano and simmer until it darkens and thickens slightly.
Fold in the shredded chicken with a splash of the poaching broth and simmer until the sauce coats the meat. Season with salt.
Warm the tortillas on a comal and top each with tinga, a drizzle of crema, queso fresco, avocado, and cilantro.