Makes 10 tostadas, serves 4 to 5. About 1 hour with store-bought tostadas, 1 hour 20 if you fry your own.
Decide first: buying tostadas or making them. Buying is fine and it's what most people do. If you buy them, skip step 5 and buy only 2 tbsp of oil instead of 2 cups.
For the tinga
- 2 chicken breasts, boneless (about 1.25 lb)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp salt
- 4 plum tomatoes
- 2 to 3 chipotle peppers in adobo, plus 1 tbsp of the sauce (from a 7 oz can — you'll have plenty left over)
- 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
For the tostadas — skip if buying
- 10 corn tortillas
- 2 cups corn oil (if you're buying tostadas, you only need 2 tbsp — see step 6)
For serving
- 1 cup Mexican crema (one small container)
- 8 oz queso fresco, crumbled (about one round)
- 1/2 small head iceberg or romaine, shredded — roughly 3 cups
Steps
- Poach the chicken. Put the chicken breasts in a pot and cover with water by an inch. Add 1 tbsp of the salt and 1 smashed garlic clove. Bring to a boil, drop to a bare simmer, and cook until the thickest part reads 165°F, about 20 minutes. Lift the chicken out onto a plate. Save 1 cup of the cooking liquid and pour off the rest.
- Boil the tomatoes. While the chicken poaches, put the plum tomatoes and the 2 remaining garlic cloves in a small pot of water. Boil until the tomato skins split and slip loose, about 10 minutes. Drain and let them sit 10 minutes until they stop steaming.
- Blend the sauce. Peel the tomatoes. Put them in a blender with the boiled garlic, 2 chipotle peppers, 1 tbsp of adobo sauce, and 1 tsp of the salt. If anything is still warm, take the center cap out of the blender lid and cover the hole with a folded towel. Blend smooth. Taste it — it should be sharply smoky and a little too salty on its own, since it will be diluted by the chicken. Add the third chipotle if you want more heat.
- Shred the chicken. Once it's cool enough to handle, pull it apart into thin strands with two forks. Don't chop it. Long shreds hold sauce; cubes don't.
- Make the tostadas. Skip this if you bought them. Pour the 2 cups of corn oil into a deep skillet, about 3/4 inch deep, and heat to 350°F. Fry the tortillas one at a time: slide one in flat, let it bubble for about 45 seconds until the bubbling slows and it stiffens, flip, and give it another 30 to 45 seconds. Pull it when it's pale gold and rigid — not brown. Drain on paper towels and salt while hot. Repeat, letting the oil come back to temperature between each one. Pour off all but 2 tbsp of the oil and keep the pan.
- Cook the onions. In that same pan with 2 tbsp of oil (or 2 tbsp of fresh oil if you bought your tostadas), cook the sliced onion over medium heat until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Let it go limp and sweet. Don't brown it.
- Fry the sauce. Pour the blended sauce into the onions. It will hiss. Cook it over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until it darkens from bright red to brick and pulls away from the pan when you drag a spoon through it. This step is what makes it taste cooked instead of raw. Don't rush it.
- Simmer the tinga. Add the shredded chicken and 1/2 cup of the reserved poaching liquid. Stir to coat. Simmer 10 minutes until the chicken has drunk up the sauce and the pan is nearly dry — moist, not soupy. Add more poaching liquid a splash at a time if it tightens up too fast. Taste and add salt.
- Assemble. Spread a spoonful of crema on each tostada. Pile on the tinga, then the shredded lettuce, then the crumbled queso fresco. Drizzle with a little more crema. Serve immediately — a loaded tostada goes soft within a few minutes.
Notes
- Make the tinga up to two days ahead. It gets better sitting in the fridge. Reheat it with a splash of water.
- Fry the tostadas the same day you serve them. Store them in a paper bag, never plastic.
- Leftover chipotles freeze well. Scoop them into a small bag, flatten it, and break off what you need later.
- If the sauce tastes harsh, a pinch of sugar rounds it out.
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