Are you looking to make the best chicken Tinga for this upcoming Cinco de Mayo? Do you want to serve your chicken Tinga with some legitimate facts about the recipe? If you’re looking to brush up on the history of Tinga taco recipes, you came to the right place.
In this guide, we’ll give you the history of chicken Tinga, Tinga tacos, and more. We’ve also included the recipe for making an authentic Mexican chicken Tinga. Keep reading to learn how Tinga Tacos came to be and how you can make an authentic serving of them.
What Is Tinga?
Chicken Tinga or “Tinga de Pollo” is a chicken Mexican dish made with a special sauce. The sauce contains tomatoes, chipotle chilis in adobo, and sliced onions. Most people know this unique dish as shredded chicken in a saucy, smoky, and spicy sauce.
The term Tinga is also applicable to shredded beef or pork. The key ingredients in Tinga are in its sauce. These are onion, tomatoes, and chipotle peppers. These ingredients give the dish its delicious flavor and its signature bright red color.
If you check online, you’ll find a large variety of Tinga Taco recipes there. It’s up to you to find a recipe that agrees with your preferences. If you are after an authentic recipe for chicken Tinga tacos, we’ve got it written below.
Before that, let’s get to the history of chicken Tinga.
A Short History of Tinga Taco Recipes
Did you know that the US celebrates Cinco de Mayo more than Mexico does?
People in Mexico celebrate it in a more low-key way. In the US, May 5 is the day for Mexican-Americans to celebrate their unique culture. It’s the time of the year to get a taste of Mexican drinks and food.
These Cinco de Mayo staple foods began in the state of Puebla, Mexico during the colonial period. At the time, France was in a battle with Mexico. The French wanted to establish a satellite state in the South American country.
At the time, the French had one of the best, well-equipped armies in the world. Mexico was poor and drowning in debt to European nations like Britain and Spain. If you looked at it from the facts alone, there is no doubt that Mexico would lose the French invasion.
However, the Mexican side rose victorious, despite the odds. These are the conditions that made Cinco de Mayo an epic and historic day. It is the day when they won what seemed like an impossible battle, led by General Ignacio Zaragoza.
In celebration of this victory, people made all kinds of food for their victory feasts. Most celebrate it with the help of alcoholic drinks, making it one of the events with the highest beer and alcohol sales. One of the most notable dishes that became the holiday staple is the chicken Tinga.
Ingredients: What Makes Delicious Chicken Tinga
Now, let’s get to the ingredients you’ll need for our authentic Mexican chicken Tinga tacos recipe. For this recipe, we’re cooking for a serving of four. First, gather the following:
- 1 lb. whole boneless chicken breast
- 4 plum tomatoes
- 1 1/4 large white onions
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 2 tablespoons chipotle
- 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons cooking oil
You can also add salt to taste. If canned chipotle peppers are the only available option, that is fine.
Also, prepare water for boiling the chicken in. This water in which you boiled the chicken will also become the broth for your sauce later. You’ll also need a blender for your sauce.
Recipe: Making an Authentic Mexican Chicken Tinga
This tacos de Tinga recipe involves two main processes: preparing the chicken and cooking the sauce.
Prepping the Chicken
Place your chicken in a large saucepan. Place water until it reaches up to an inch from the bottom. Cover the chicken and wait until it comes to a boil.
Don’t turn off the heat yet when the water boils. Instead, reduce it to low and let it simmer for 20 minutes or so. This is to make sure the whole chicken cooks well.
Remove the chicken from the water and turn off the heat. Don’t throw the water away yet because you’ll use it as broth. When the chicken is cool to the touch, cut it down to 1-inch pieces and pull it apart with your fingers.
With that, your chicken is ready, and the first step is complete.
Cooking the Chipotle Tomato Sauce
The next thing to do is to prepare your chipotle tomato sauce. Take the tomatoes and clean them. Remove the seeds and then chop them up.
Don’t worry about how large or small you need to chop the tomatoes. You’ll be placing them in a blender anyway. With the tomatoes, add:
- 2 tablespoons of chipotle peppers
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 tablespoon of Mexican oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
- 1 cup of the chicken broth
Blend the mixture for a minute or until it is smooth.
Next, cut 1 large white onion (which will yield 1 1/2 cups) into thin slices. Slice up the rest of your garlic cloves, as well. Take a large frying pan and preheat it over medium-low heat.
Add 3 tablespoons of cooking oil and let it warm-up, as well. Add the onions to the pan and cook until it becomes translucent but not brown. Add the sliced garlic and cook them with the onions for about 1 minute.
Change the heat to medium and pour the sauce into the pan with care. Let the mixture, garlic, and onions cook for around 5 minutes. The sauce will start to lessen during this time.
Afterward, turn the heat to low and then add the shredded chicken. Mix well and allow it to simmer for around 20 minutes to let the sauce coat the chicken and onion. Add salt to taste and serve your chicken tinga with corn or flour tortillas.
Create Authentic Chicken Tinga Today
We hope you enjoyed reading about the background of Tinga Tacos. We also hope you enjoyed cooking chicken Tinga with us. Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with the best chicken Tinga taco recipe around!
If you want to see more unique Tinga Taco recipes or other recipes, check out our other guides now.
