Cook’s in the Kitchen: Chicken Tinga Street Tacos
Chicken Tinga Street Tacos
INGREDIENTS:
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup roughly chopped sweet onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1–2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3⁄4 cup canned crushed fire-roasted tomatoes
• 1⁄4 cup chicken stock
• 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 cups shredded cooked chicken (rotisserie chicken works!)
For Serving:
• 10 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• 2 ripe avocados, sliced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup diced red onion
• crumbled cotija
• 1 lime, cut into wedges
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Sauce: Heat a large skillet over medium. Once warm, add the oil and onion. Sauté for 4 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds more. Stir in the chipotles, oregano, and cumin, and toast for 1 minute. Add in the tomatoes, stock, and salt. Bring to a simmer, and cook for 7 minutes.
2. Blend: Place the tomato mixture in a high-powered or regular blender, and blend until smooth.
3. Chicken: Return the blended sauce to the pan over low heat. Add the chicken, and cook for 5 minutes. Taste and add more salt if necessary.
4. Serving: Prepare the garnishes. To assemble, top the tortillas with the chicken and garnish with the avocado slices, cilantro, red onion, and cotija. Serve with a lime wedge for squeezing.
NOTES:
The equipment section above contains affiliate links to products we use and love!
Instant Pot Chicken Tinga Tacos: Blend all sauce ingredients (I did not sauté them first). Add sauce to Instant Pot along with about a pound of chicken breasts. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Shred chicken in sauce and serve.
Spiciness: I like to use two chipotle peppers for optimal “medium” spiciness. If you want a mild version, just use one chipotle pepper. If you want it hot hot hot, go for three.
Avocado Mash: I found my avocados sliding out of the tacos because I am a taco monster and things got a little messy. To make sure I got every ounce of avocado goodness possible, I mashed up the avocado, squeezed in some lime juice, sprinkled in some salt and a super light dusting of garlic powder, and spread that on my tortillas before adding the chicken.
CHAR YOUR TORTILLAS PLEASE: Place directly over a gas flame to char the edges. Place on a plate, and cover with a towel to steam. (If working on an electric stovetop, heat the tortillas on a warmed pan, and cover to steam.)