Flour tortillas packed with moist and spicy shredded white meat chicken get a trip through the deep fryer then are sliced in segments, stood on end, arranged in a circle, smothered with melted cheese and served with guacamole salad and your favorite accompaniments. Great as a meal, but also great for sharing and popping as appetizers.
enough low-sodium chicken broth to barely cover them in a pan
heavy pinch of salt
¼of a sweet onion, roughly chopped
For the Chicken Tinga
2Tablespoonsolive oil
¼of a sweet onion, diced
pinch of salt and several grindings of black pepper
1/2-1teaspoonground chipotle
½teaspoonground cumin
1small can Ro-Tel
1chipotle in adobo plus any sauce that clings to it
all the poached chicken
To Make the Chings
10" or 12" flour tortillas
enough vegetable oil to fill a deep 12" skillet to a depth of abut 1"
To Garnish and Serve (all optional except for the cheese)
Sharp cheddar cheese, grated
your favorite guacamole
your favorite salsa
sour cream
black olives
diced tomato
pickled jalapeno
Instructions
For the Chicken
Place the chicken breasts in a small pan just big enough to hold them. Pour enough chicken broth (or stock, if you have it) to barely cover the chicken. Toss in the onion and a bit of salt.
Bring the heat up until the chicken reaches an active simmer and then turn the heat down until the broth is barely bubbling. Slowly poach the chicken to an internal temperature of 165F. You will want to turn the pieces of chicken a few times to ensure even cooking. The whole process should take maybe 15-20 minutes
For the Chicken Tinga
While the chicken is poaching, heat a large skillet over medium heat.
When hot, add the oil. When the oil shimmers, add the onions and spices. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the onion starts to brown and the spices darken a bit, about 7 minutes.
Put the onions in the jar of your blender. Add the can of Ro-Tel (tomatoes and green chiles) and the chipotle in adobo.
Puree and add back to the skillet. Turn off heat if the chicken isn't ready.
Once the chicken has reached 165F, remove from the poaching liquid and place in the tomato mixture in the skillet. (Strain the poaching liquid and save it to cook rice or something).
Using two forks, thoroughly shred the chicken and let simmer in the sauce until most of the juices are absorbed and the chicken is nice and moist but not at all soupy, about 10 minutes.
Spread the chicken on a sheet pan and place in the fridge or freezer to chill quickly. If you're not making chings right away, refrigerate the chicken until ready to cook.
To Make the Chings (instructions from TC owner Joel. My notes are in parentheses)
Start with a 12" flour tortilla. (I could only find 10" tortillas, so that's what I used)
Steam it well so it's pliable and easy to work with. (I wrapped my tortillas in damp paper towels and steamed them in the microwave for 30 seconds on high power)
Fill it with 5 to 6 ounces of COLD (40 degrees) cooked shredded chicken and roll it up tight. (For 10" tortillas, I used 4 oz of the chicken). Use a couple of lubricated tooth picks to keep the tortilla closed. (I just dipped mine in the oil before it got hot. They were easy to remove once the chings were done.)
Put the whole thing in a deep fryer or pot of vegetable oil and cook at 350 degrees for about 4 min or until outside is golden brown. Make sure it's completely submerged in oil. (I shallow fried mine for 2 1/2 minutes per side)
Remove from oil, place on cutting board, REMOVE TOOTHPICKS, (Yes!)
Cut into 10 sections and arrange on a plate. (The meat on the ends of my chings were black from the oil, so after trimming off about 1" from either end, I was able to cut each remaining length into 6 pieces.
Sprinkle shredded cheese generously on top and put the plate in the oven on broil, high. Careful not to burn, shouldn't take but a min to melt the cheese. (Since I didn't want to burn my wooden plates and I doubt my regular plates are broiler safe, I arranged the chings on foil-lined sheet, topped them with cheese, broiled everything and then transferred them to my serving plate with a spatula.)
To Garnish and Serve
Put what u like in the center of the plate, we garnish it with a guacamole salad in the center. (I used the obligatory guacamole, some salsa and sour cream. I meant to use black olives but I totally forgot).
The Chings Junior Style were spectacular. You will love them!