Caldo de pollo estilo Yucatán (Yucatán-style chicken soup)

In Mexico, it doesn’t matter if it’s hot or not, it’s always time for soup! This broth with charred chicken, avocado and toasted tostadas is a hearty meal full of memories.

Yucatán-style chicken soup. Credit: Murdoch Books / Simon Bajada

• serves

  4

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  3:05 hours

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

Chicken stock

• 1 large chicken (about 2 kg/4 lb 8 oz)
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1 carrot, cut into chunks
• 1 celery stalk (it's okay if there are some leaves on the stalk)
• ½ small brown onion, cut into 2 pieces
• 1 tsp dried Mexican oregano
• 2 tsp black peppercorns
• 1 tbsp table salt

Recado rojo (Achiote marinade)

• 100 g (3½ oz) achiote paste
• 100 ml (3½ fl oz) freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp white vinegar
• ½ tsp dried Mexican oregano
• ¼ tsp cumin seeds

Soup

• Chicken from the stock (see Instructions)
• 50 g (1¾ oz) recado rojo
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

To serve

• 200 g (7 oz) cooked white rice (Mexican arroz blanco or other cooked rice))
• 1 white onion, finely diced
• ½ iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced
• ½ bunch coriander (cilantro), chopped
• 3 limes, halved
• 2 avocados, halved and cut into cubes
• habanero hot sauce (shop-bought or homemade)
• 12 oven-toasted tostadas (see Tips)

Making the stock will take at least 3 hours, but this can be done the day before.

Instructions

1. Start by making the stock with a whole chicken. This will take a couple of hours, so do this early in the day, or the day before. Begin by breaking down the chicken, taking off the leg quarters, wings and breasts. This way it’s easier to fit a whole chicken in a stockpot, and it will release more flavour.
2. Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat and fry the garlic and vegetables for a couple of minutes. Add 3 litres (12 cups) of water, the oregano, pepper and salt, and finally the chicken. While cooking, a greyish foam will form on the surface. Remove this with a ladle when it forms. The chicken will be cooked after an hour. When the chicken is cooked, Take it out of the pot and remove the chicken breast and leg quarters and set them aside. Return the frame, bones (see Note), skin and any leftovers into the pot and boil for a couple of hours over low heat. The longer you cook, the richer it will become. Add more water if needed and season with salt if necessary. Let the stock cool down and drain all the solids. The stock is now ready for use. Stock can be frozen for up to 6 months stored in freezer bags or sealed containers. I like to store it in 500 ml (2 cup) portions. Don’t forget to label with the date.
3. Meanwhile, to make recado rojo, place all the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. It should be quite thick. That’s it! You don’t have to do anything else but enjoy the fruits of your (very minor) labour! This makes about 250 g – more than you will need for the soup. I like to make a large amount of marinade and keep portions in the freezer for up to 6 months.
4. Use the recado rojo to cover the two cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts and leg quarters. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat and fry the meat until nicely charred. Let the chicken cool, then shred it. Set aside in a bowl.
5. Return about 2 litres (8 cups) of the stock to the empty pan over medium–low heat.
6. Get everything ready for serving. Place the tostadas, limes and habanero hot sauce on the table.
7. To each serving bowl, add a scoop of the white rice and a handful of the chicken, then fill the bowls with the boiling hot soup. Add some onion, lettuce and coriander. Finish by squeezing in some lime, adding some avocado cubes and a splash or two of habanero hot sauce – it needs to be spicy – then crumble a tostada in. Add more tostadas once you run out of these ‘Mexican croutons’.

Tips

• If you want to add more depth to your stock, roast the bones and frame in a 220–240°C (425–475°F) oven for about 30 minutes, until they are dark in colour, before returning the bones to the broth.
• For oven-roasted tostadas, preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F). This is a good way to use up stale tortillas that are a few days old. Place tortillas (shop-bought or homemade) on one or two baking trays with baking paper. Cover the tortillas with a sheet of baking paper and a second tray on top so they do not bend up. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove the tray that is sitting on top of the tortillas and flip the tostadas. Bake for another 5 minutes until they are golden brown. If the tostadas are not crunchy yet, bake for a few minutes more. Let them cool down before storing in a sealed container. You can make tostadas in advance, and they will keep crunchy for a day or two.

Author’s Note

This dish takes me back to when I first met my husband, Kor, at a marine research station in Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, in 1997. We had no car, just old bicycles. The only way we could get to the closest village, El Puerto, about 2–3 km (1–2 miles) away, was on our trusty bikes. The roads were horrible to ride on, but the scenery was beautiful. You’d never see cars, just endless mangroves and an abundance of animal life, including crocodiles, snakes, monkeys, migrating crabs and mozzies – lots of mozzies. It was always an adventure, and sweaty and humid. At around comida time – 2–3 pm – we would jump on our bikes and ride to El Puerto to eat a caldo de pollo at Antojitos Yucatecos El Tío, a tiny hole-in-the-wall with plastic tables and chairs near the old leaning Puerto Morelos Lighthouse, which nearly fell over in 1967 after a hurricane. Yes, we would eat soup on a hot and humid day after a bike ride! In Mexico, it doesn’t matter if it’s hot or not, it’s always time for caldos or sopas. This recipe is a whole meal. The soup is a hearty chicken broth with charred pollo adobado, lettuce, diced avocado and a side of toasted (not fried) tostadas, served in a cheap plastic bowl. Serve with half a lime and some habanero hot sauce to add more heat to the heat. Just thinking about caldo de pollo estilo Yucatán makes me time travel to the Mexican Caribbean in the ’90s. This is my spin on the soup, an ode to that time.

 

This is an edited extract from Provecho by Daniella Guevara Munoz, photography by Simon Bajada (Murdoch Books, RRP $45.00).

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.