Pulled Chicken Tinga

Ingredients

• 900 g boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 200 ml chicken stock
• corn tortillas or flour tortillas, to serve
• 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• soured cream, sliced avocado, pickled jalapeños, to serve
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp chipotle paste
• Lime wedges, to serve
• Fresh coriander, to serve

Method

1. Season the chicken thighs generously with salt before they hit the pan — this is your only chance to get salt INTO the meat rather than onto it. Lay them in a large pan, cover with the chicken stock, and bring to a bare simmer over a medium heat. Cover and poach gently for 22–25 minutes — you want a lazy shimmer on the surface, not a rolling boil, or the thighs go stringy. Lift the chicken out, set aside to cool, and reserve the poaching stock.
2. While the chicken poaches, heat the vegetable oil in a wide, heavy-based casserole over a medium heat. Add the sliced onions with a pinch of salt and cook slowly for 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until deep golden, jammy, and starting to catch at the edges. No shortcuts here — pale onions mean a pale tinga.
3. Add the garlic and cook just until fragrant — 30 seconds, no more. Don't burn it: bitter garlic will haunt the whole pot.
4. Stir in the chipotle paste, smoked paprika, oregano, and cumin. Bloom the spices in the oil for 60 seconds until fragrant and the chipotle has darkened a shade — raw spices taste dusty, bloomed spices taste of themselves.
5. Pour in the chopped tomatoes along with 150ml of the reserved poaching stock — the stock breaks the tomatoes down so the sauce tastes of smoky fruit, not heated tin. Add the cider vinegar and sugar, stir well, and simmer uncovered for 12 minutes until the sauce has thickened and turned a deep, glossy brick-red.
6. Take it off the heat and partially blitz with a stick blender — mostly smooth, with a little onion texture left for body. Or blend half in a jug, then stir it back in.
7. Shred the cooled chicken with two forks into thick, generous strands. Tip into the sauce, stir to coat every piece, and warm through over a low heat for 5 minutes so the chicken drinks the sauce in.
8. Taste, season, taste again — more salt, more chipotle for heat, a splash of vinegar for brightness, a pinch more sugar to balance. Adjust now, not at the table.
9. To serve, pile the smoky chicken into warm corn tortillas, spoon over soured cream, lay slices of avocado on top, scatter with pickled jalapeños and fresh coriander, squeeze a lime wedge over each, and finish with a pinch of chilli flakes.