If you have a thing for spicy Mexican food, you are going to LOVE these chicken Tinga tostadas. My mom has lived in Mexico all her life, and this is her recipe.
I only recently learned to make this because maids are very cheap in Mexico and they did everything for me for eighteen years. Everyone there can afford a maid because a well-paid girl makes about fifteen dollars a day. These girls are not like the $800/hour maids here who show up in a shiny Mercedes to mop your floor and overlook the baseboards.
Maids in Mexico will do everything; they get groceries, cook, clean, and even braid your hair if you’re particularly useless (so I’ve heard). They will serve dinner and then go eat by themselves in the kitchen, like in Downton Abbey. They would probably help you move a body as well.
It was kinda nice, not having to do anything at all, but of course it was a disservice in the end. When I got married, I only knew how to make really dry scrambled eggs, like that useless Lady Mary.
I always loved the ladies who worked for us and even shared a room with one of them for years. Tina was more of a best friend to me than a servant. She’s known me all my life and it’s always good to see her again when we go back to Mexico, even though she doesn’t work for my family anymore.
I’ve been in the States for many years now, and although sometimes I still dream of having someone else clean the toilet, I know it’s never going to happen. So I’ve had to learn to keep my house in order (somewhat), feed my family and braid my own hair. It’s going pretty well. I even gave myself a haircut the other day, but it’s okay because I haven’t left the house.
When I realized no one was going to cook for me anymore, I asked my mom for her chicken Tinga recipe. She only cooks on very special occasions and these tostadas are everyone’s favorite.
Tinga is a mix of shredded chicken, tomatillos, diced potatoes, onion, chorizo, and chipotle peppers, usually served on tostadas, over refried beans. My mom would top all this with shredded lettuce, salsa, avocados, sour cream, and queso fresco.
Tinga is not as fun if it isn’t spicy, but you can omit the chipotle if you can’t handle spicy food.
If you’re not familiar with tomatillos, they look just like green tomatoes once you remove their sticky papery peel. They are naturally a bit sour and I always use them for making salsa and guacamole.
Tinga freezes really well and I made a huge batch of this as I was getting ready for our home birth, which was a great way to keep me from thinking about the state of my bellybutton…which, coincidentally, looked a bit like this:
You can tell it’s an authentic Mexican recipe when there are no specific measurements or instructions. One time I asked my sister in law to send me a recipe, and she just sent me a list of ingredients. When I asked for the instructions she laughed and then said, “Wait, you’re serious?”
I am a nice lady and I have figured out specific measurements so my non-Mexican lady friends can make this at home without the assistance of my mom or sister in law. You are welcome.
Chicken Tinga Tostadas
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
Ingredients
3 Boneless chicken breasts
5 Cups diced potatoes (about 4 large potatoes)
1.5 lbs. Tomatillos
9 oz. Beef chorizo
2–3 Tbsp. canned chipotles, minced
1.5 White onions
2 Garlic cloves
1 Bag tostadas
Toppings:
Refried beans
Sour cream
Shredded letuce
Avocado slices
Queso fresco
Salsa verde
Instructions
- In a large pot, place chicken breasts, half an onion, two garlic cloves, and a tablespoon of salt. Add water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer on very low heat for 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and falls apart with a fork. Shred chicken and set aside.
- Meanwhile, steam the potatoes, taking care not to overcook them. Once they are done, dice them and set them aside. Pulse peeled, washed tomatillos in a blender until chunky (don’t blend). In a separate pan, saute onion rings in vegetable oil until soft.
- Cook the chorizo in a large pan for ten minutes, add tomatillos and let simmer for another ten minutes. Add shredded chicken, diced potatoes, and onion rings. Stir in the chipotle chiles and season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until heated through.
- Spread refried beans and sour cream on tostadas, then add tinga and top with lettuce, avocado, queso fresco, and salsa.
Notes
This recipe will feed about 8 people (3 tostadas each, approx.). It goes a long way, and you can freeze whatever you don’t use.
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 45
- Method: Stove top
- Cuisine: Mexican
Pin this for later 🙂
4 Comments
Leave your reply.