This COVID quarantine has been difficult and we've been shoving food and beer in our faces like there's no tomorrow, trying to find some comfort. Unfortunately, it is showing and we have to pay the piper. We're officially trying to shed some of the excess blubber before cool weather hits and we are tied indoors for the rainy season. That means that we are trying to make really smart decisions not only about what we are eating, but about portion size.
I'm no fan of chicken breast, but it is a decent high-quality, low-fat protein and Ann likes it or is perhaps more willing to put up with it. I almost would rather not eat than eat chicken breast. One of the ways that I can make this boring cut of meat appeal to me is to smother it in tinga sauce, as tinga de pollo.
Tinga is one of those fundamental Mexican sauces that everyone should know, first because it is so tasty and second because it is so easy to make.
Tinga de Pollo |
Poached Chicken Breast |
Shredded Chicken Breast |
Two Large Onions Ready to Roast |
Tinga Sauce
Tinga sauce is so easy to make. I mixed half the roasted onions with the shredded chicken and put the other half in the blender along with two 28-ounce cans of diced tomatoes in juice, four chipotles, two big spoons of chipotle adobo, and some salt. After smoothing this out in the blender, I dressed the chicken with some sauce and we put the remaining sauce in the refrigerator to use as salsa on our tacos.
Often after blending, I will recook the sauce in a hot skillet with a bit of oil. This helps the sauce come together. I didn't do it this time to keep the sauce fat free.
I often will have a bit of garlic in my tinga sauce and a bit of cumin. Usually I dust the chicken lightly with cumin or a spice rub before cooking and usually I roast some garlic cloves along with the onions. I did neither in this case. Tinga sauce is flexible and you can flavor it as you desire, but at heart, it is a tomato-chipotle sauce.
If I have to eat boring chicken breast, tinga sauce turns it into something that I actually want to eat and that's a win.
Thanks so much for this post on Tinga de Pollo -- can't wait to try making it!
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely welcome. It's the simplest thing in the world and a real crowd pleaser.
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