Chicken breast, bell pepper from the garden, onion, pepper jack, hash browns, eggs.
I made sure that the bell peppers and onions were almost crispy while still charred. This was so tasty that I might have to start stocking chicken breasts.
Cost per person, $2.15
Did you boil that chicken? It looks so white. There’s no seasoning at all?
It was salted, peppered and cooked in the same pan with the peppers and onions. I cooked the whole breast and then cut it up. So like almost all chicken that is cut after cooking and not served with a sauce it’s going to be white in the center.
A new taqueria opened nearby, so today I treated myself to “Mole de Pollo,” which I hadn’t had for many years. It was fine for what it was I guess, but was in effect just a blandly-cooked chicken breast with a bunch of mole sauce poured on top. And that’s not -nothing-, because traditional versions have a load of ingredients, and can take many hours (or even days) to slow-simmer.
But I’m thinking that if they’d used shredded chicken and let it cook in the sauce a bit, the whole dish would have been more interesting. Hate to say it, but this place has been distinctly mediocre for an ‘authentic Mexican’ place. *shrug*
That’s sad. If one has the time shredded chicken can be a flavor bomb. And I assume a restaurant has the time.
I think it’s kind of a philosophy issue in this case.
It’s funny; the previous place made little bones about being ‘merely a Tex-Mex joint,’ but overall they were much tastier, and more opportunistic about adding complementary American-style sides to almost all their dishes (like lettuce, pico, shredded cheddar & sour cream). This new, Oaxacan-style place seems to think that’s beneath them(?) But the overall point is, the old place was pretty genius about using a fairly small number of ingredients and lots of yummy spices & sauces to serve up a downright impressive, delicious menu.
Do you have any particular flavor bomb recipe you can recommend?
Take like eight chicken thighs and salt and pepper them. Cram them into a pot that has a lid. Brown them up on both sides. Add in a medium size diced onion and a roasted chili or a can of roasted chilies. Add some garlic, cumin and chili powder. Fill a stock or water up to about 2/3 of the height of the chicken. Put that lid on it and let it simmer for 2 hours. Remove all the bones and shred all the chicken and mix it up.
It’s simple and it’s tasty.
Thanks. My neighbor offered me an electric slow-roaster a month or two ago. If she still has it, I might take her up on it, as I’m trying to eat more protein, these days.
Most of them can’t sear or brown meat. I’d just use a pan. But get that thing and put in some beans, diced smoked hog jowel and a hot pepper into it. Lots of protein from the beans. Comfort food. I’m probably making that this week.
