How to Make Tinga de Pollo: Authentic Chicken Tinga Recipe

In the city of Puebla, the popular tinga taco, or stew taco, is often made from chicken braised in a mild chipotle-tomato sauce seasoned with garlic and a bit of piloncillo, or raw cane sugar. The meat is shredded, served in a tortilla, and topped with chopped onion, cilantro, and lime. You can also serve chicken tinga on top of tostadas or inside burritos or enchiladas.

Easy enough for a weeknight dinner, homemade chicken tinga is packed with flavor but only mildly spicy.

1. 1. Make the tomato-chipotle sauce. Using canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and fire-roasted tomatoes is a shortcut that allows you to have chicken tacos on a weeknight. Roughly chop the chipotle chiles and add them to a blender or food processor, puréeing along with diced tomatoes and chicken stock. You can add spices, like Mexican oregano, cumin, salt and black pepper, and garlic cloves. Sauté a sliced white or yellow onion in olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the sliced onions have softened, add the sauce to the pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat and simmer until flavors have melded.
2. 2. Add the chicken. Add whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts and simmer until cooked through and tender. Remove the chicken and set aside to cool slightly. Alternatively, use leftover cooked chicken, such as a rotisserie chicken.
3. 3. Shred the chicken. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, use a fork or your hands to shred the meat. Meanwhile, increase the skillet to medium-high heat and reduce the sauce slightly.
4. 4. Return the shredded chicken to the sauce. Lower the heat again and stir the chicken into the sauce to coat. Heat until chicken is warm and has absorbed the flavors of the tinga sauce.
5. 5. Serve. For chicken tinga tacos, warm up corn or flour tortillas and spoon a little chicken tinga into each tortilla. Top with avocado, chopped fresh cilantro, cotija cheese, and pickled red onions. For chicken tinga tostadas, make your own tostadas by baking or frying corn tortillas until crispy. Top with refried beans or mashed black beans, chicken tinga, and crema, sour cream, or queso fresco.