Chicken Enchiladas Rojas

Chicken Enchiladas Rojas, Step by Step

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1. Toast the dried chillies in a dry pan for 30 seconds a side, then cover with boiling water and soak 20 minutes.

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2. Char the tomatoes, onion and garlic in the same dry pan until blackened in patches, about 8 minutes.

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3. Blend the drained chillies with the charred vegetables, stock, cumin, oregano, vinegar and salt until completely smooth, then pass through a sieve.

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4. Heat the 2 tablespoons of oil in a wide pan until shimmering and pour in the sauce — it will spit. Fry it for 8 minutes, stirring, until it darkens and thickens. Frying the sauce is a non-negotiable step in Mexican cooking; it transforms the flavour from raw to round.

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5. Mix the shredded chicken with the diced onion, half the grated cheese and 150 ml of the sauce.

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6. Heat the 80 ml of oil in a small pan and dip each tortilla for 5 seconds a side until pliable and just blistered. Drain on paper.

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7. Dip each softened tortilla in the warm sauce, fill with chicken, roll, and set seam-down in a baking dish.

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8. Pour the remaining sauce over, scatter the rest of the cheese, and bake at 190°C / 375°F for 20 minutes until bubbling.

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9. Finish with queso fresco, soured cream and coriander, and serve straight away.

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Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.

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Notes for Getting It Right

• Poach the chicken in stock with onion and bay, then shred — it is far juicier than roast chicken for this.
• The sauce freezes perfectly. Make double and enchiladas become a 30-minute meal.
• Sieving the sauce is worth the extra two minutes; chilli skins never fully break down.

Swaps and Variations

• Dried chilli flakes can stand in for the chillies. Heat varies a great deal between chillies and between jars, so start with a small pinch and add more to taste.
• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.
• Fresh herbs work in place of the dried oregano at roughly three times the quantity — a teaspoon of dried is about a tablespoon of fresh, chopped.

What to Serve with Chicken Enchiladas Rojas

• A cold lager or a hibiscus agua fresca
• Serve with Mexican rice and refried beans
• Finish with flan or churros

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Refried Beans, Cilantro Lime Rice, Instant Pot Black Beans.

Leftovers and Storage

Assemble and refrigerate unbaked for 24 hours, or freeze 3 months. Bake from chilled adding 10 minutes, or from frozen adding 30.

Questions About Chicken Enchiladas Rojas

What's in a Serving

No nutrition figures are given for this recipe: they cannot be worked out reliably from its ingredient list (how much frying oil the food takes up cannot be known from the recipe). Why some recipes have none.

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