The Thing about Tinga

Tinga is a dish I grew up eating at a potlucks and picnics. Now that I can cook it myself, I realize why it was such a common dish to bring, it's easy to make and delicious served warm, and maybe even more delicious served cold. Imagine a chicken salad that has been bathing in a broth of spices, tomatoes, onions, with just a hint of smokiness from chipotle peppers. That's Tinga. The other great thing about it, is that it's so versatile. You can eat it in taco, on a tostada, gorditas, sopes, or quesadillas (as pictured above). Tinga can also be made from shredded pork or beef, so feel free to make substitutions.


Tinga de Pollo
Serves 3-5


Ingredients

3 cups of cooked shredded chicken
1 tbs of vegetable oil
 2 large tomatoes, roughly diced
1/2 large yellow onion, sliced
1/2 tbs ground cumin
1/2 tbs dried Mexican oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chicken stock
1 canned chipotle pepper, roughly chopped
1-3 tbs of adobo sauce from the chipotles
Salt and pepper to taste

 Directions 

 Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the diced tomatoes and cook until they begin to soften and fall apart, about 5 minutes, stir occasionally. Add half of the chicken broth and let simmer for 2 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients (except the adobo sauce), chicken, cumin, oregano, thyme, chipotle, salt and pepper , and remaining chicken stock. Stir well, making sure everything mixes together. Stir in the adobo sauce, 1 tablespoon at a time. The more you add, the spicier it is. Taste and adjust any seasonings. Bring to a boil and then lower heat and let simmer for 20 minutes.

You can serve warm or cold. Some great topping suggestions are your usual suspects, sliced avocados, queso fresco, salsa, sour cream, radishes, diced onions and cilantro.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I'm tempted to go on a quest/rant and figure out why chicken tortilla soup is not called its rightful name, Aztec Soup. Perhaps the name suggests that it is a soup made from Aztecs? Well, whatever the reason is, there is one thing that is clear, this soup is delicious and one of my go to meals when I'm sickies (the spiciness will clear your sinuses!) or need some comfort food.

This is a recipe that I did not learn from my mom. I've developed this recipe from trial and error and taking ideas from other people's versions. The one that most inspired me was served at my brother's wedding, which took place in my hometown in Mexico. It was one of the million courses that resulted in me having eaten the equivalent of three days' worth of meals, and although it is Aztec soup, I was lucky that Montezuma did not take revenge on me.


Chicken Tortilla Soup
Serves 6

Ingredients

4 cups of shredded chicken (I use both breast and thigh meat)

4 medium tomatoes, roasted (instructions for roasting to follow)

2 dried pasilla, guajillo, or ancho peppers, stemmed, seeded

1 cup yellow onions, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 bay leaf

½ tbs ground cumin

1 pinch of dried oregano

8 cups of chicken stock

1-2 tbs of salt

1 tsp pepper

3 tbs of olive oil

1 cup of vegetable oil for frying

10 tortillas, cut into strips

Directions

In a large soup pot, heat 2 tbs of olive oil over high heat. Tear the pepper into pieces and add to pot, cook for about 1 minute. Remove the pepper pieces from pot and set aside. Remove pot from heat and let cool for about a minute. Return to heat and lower to medium, add the onions and garlic, cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add oregano and bay leaf and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and discard. Remove the onion-garlic mixture and put in a blender (try to get as little oil as possible. Do NOT clean pot). Lower heat.

In a blender, add the cooked onions and garlic, roasted tomatoes, and puree.

Turn on the heat to high, add 1 tbs of oil, add the blended mixture and fry for about 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth and cumin, let simmer for about 25 minutes. Add the chicken and simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat, cover and let sit.

Heat vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Once oil has reached frying temperature (350 degrees F or test it out with a piece of tortilla, it should start to fry immediately), add the tortilla strips in batches. Fry for about 1-2 minutes or until golden and crispy. Remove each batch and let drain over a paper towel-lined plate.

Serve in bowls. Garnish with fried tortilla strips, a lime wedge, and your choice of toppings!

Topping suggestions: Cheese (queso fresco, Monterey jack, cotija), cilantro, sliced avocado, finely shredded cabbage, corn, beans, and sour cream.