Spicy chicken tinga tacos

Perfect for using up leftover chicken, this spicy filling is found at every street-food stand in Mexico City.

by Thomasina Miers

This spicy filling can be found at every street-food stand in Mexico City. Simple to make, it can be used to fill burritos, tortas, tamales and enchiladas, and to top tostadas or even baked potatoes. It is a yummy recipe for using leftover chicken.

Feeds 2
Cooking time: 35mins

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
A small knob of butter
½ large onion, sliced
Sea salt and black pepper
½ tablespoon brown sugar
A generous pinch of ground allspice
A generous pinch of ground cinnamon
1 fresh bay leaf
1 fat clove of garlic, chopped
1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon chipotles en adobo (adobo sauce)
300-400g leftover chicken from a roast, shredded
8 small corn tortillas or 4 larger ones

Method

Heat the olive oil and butter in a pan, and add the onion, salt, pepper, sugar, spices and bay leaf.
Cook over a medium-high heat for 15 minutes, then add the garlic. Cook for a further 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and chipotles, and simmer for at least 15 minutes over a low heat – the longer the cooking, the better the taste.
Finally, add the shredded chicken and season to taste.
Serve in a warm bowl at the table with bowls of rice and guacamole, sour cream, grated Lancashire and Cheshire cheese, and tortillas.

Comments (33)

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10 months ago

petesjoy

Quick, easy and a great staple recipe to adapt. I too didn't have chipotles en adobo, but just added smoked paprika and cayenne pepper instead.
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12 months ago

marcus

amazing recepie, definitely one to be used again!
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1 year ago

kez

my partner allergic 2 tomatoes. is there anything i can use 2 replace this
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1 year ago

Bob

I got my Chippotles from here on line. They are a London Store and only £2.40 a tin plus P&P. I also use these when making Pulled Pork too :) http://www.casamexico.co.uk/products/mexican_groceries-40-4-40.html
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over 1 year ago

Snaz

I make this fresh, using uncooked chicken breast, I make the sauce first then poach the chicken breasts whole in it, once cooked I remove them, shred them and add them back to the sauce, delicious!
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over 1 year ago

Pookabun

Tip: instead of leftover roast chicken to shred, try boiling a couple of chicken breasts in water with salt, garlic (one or two whole cloves and onion added. When done, remove it and shed when cool. It'll be moister and taste better in the recipe. SO much better!
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over 1 year ago

Beagle

You can get chipotles in adobo sauce on-line or at their shops in Edinburgh & Glasgow from www.lupepintos.com
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over 1 year ago

Sur

I bet the "tacos" you show taste good, but Mexican food as any other long history food in the world is a result of a long process, it is not only a mixture of peppers and tortilla. In fact the "taco" you show in the picture are an invention, like that one makes rapidly in the night when there is nothing prepared to eat..
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over 1 year ago

Craig

@Sally It's called Spicy Bird Tacos in the cookbook page 112 in the Street Food section
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over 1 year ago

sally

why can't i find this recipe in her recipe book?
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over 1 year ago

glypo_

Tesco sell proper dried Chipotles in their ethnic/world food section - took me 30 mins to find though. I just added some oregano and paprika to emulate the adobe sauce. Also, Discovery do a chipotle paste, available in Waitrose and Sainsbury. I use a mix of the dried and paste, tastes wonderful . I love this recipe.
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over 1 year ago

hallie-jay

could anybody tell me were you could buy chipotles en adobo from?
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over 1 year ago

Leann

I have bought a packet of Mexican spices dried from Aldi of all places so gonna use them and adapt the recipe slightly it already smells fab, good old Aldi now I have a big bag of Mexican spices to keep in my cupboard and I dont have to by the dinner kits anymore.
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over 1 year ago

Lyn

can you freeze this sauce once it is cooked?
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over 1 year ago

dm

i bought cholula hot sauce as replacement for adobo sauce
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over 1 year ago

crystal

just about to start this dish for tea, thought i had it sorted in my head but had to resort back to the recipe for the forth time!! thanks for the tip about using large chilli peppers inside of the chipotles en adobo, my in town supermarket is naff
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over 1 year ago

Veeozz

Made this tasty dish for husband tonight using quorn meatballs it was yummy!
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over 1 year ago

gruff

Thankyou, ppl, for the chipotle adobo tips.) I'll give it a try :-)
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over 1 year ago

Gef

Where can you get chipotles en adobo?
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over 1 year ago

Odette

The corn tortillas from discovery are not proper tortillas. They taste terrible. You can get proper tortillas from: http://www.coolchile.co.uk/ and I don't know why MISSION doesn't have corn tortillas if it is a Mexican company?
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over 1 year ago

Bookey

You can also buy chipotle paste from most supermarkets, this should also very similar.
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over 1 year ago

Pippa

@Gruff: just buy red chubby jalapenos from the supermarkets, flame grill them till it turns dark to make your chipotles. See the internet for adobo sauce recipes.
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over 1 year ago

Gruff

Where do you get chipotles in adobo sauce from?
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over 1 year ago

Kevin

Discovery do corn tortillas in Sainsbury's
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over 1 year ago

Ana

Where do you get corn tortillas from?
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