Green Sauce Chicken Tamales
Chicken tamales in tomatillo green sauce: whipped masa with lard and the trick to keep the salsa a vivid, emerald green.
150 min
Medium
Mexicana
8 servings
The story behind
Wrapped in a husk and steamed, the tamal is one of Mesoamerica's oldest foods, eaten for more than two thousand years. Nahua and Maya peoples made them as ritual and travel food, portable and sturdy, and the word itself comes from the Nahuatl tamalli. These chicken tamales in green sauce keep that ancient logic, built on corn masa whipped with lard. The whipping matters: beating air into the dough until a small piece floats in water is what guarantees a light, fluffy tamal rather than a dense one. The green sauce comes from tomatillos and serrano chiles, simmered and blended; that vivid emerald hue depends on not overcooking the tomatillo, since prolonged heat dulls it toward olive. Steam cooks the tamales gently and evenly, setting the masa without drying it out. They are ready when the dough peels cleanly from the husk. In Mexico they anchor celebrations, posadas and Candlemas Day, when whoever found the figurine in the Kings' bread must provide tamales for everyone.
Instructions
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1Boil the tomatillos with the chilies and then blend them with garlic, onion, and fresh cilantro for a vibrant sauce.
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2Sauté the sauce in a skillet with a bit of oil and add the shredded chicken so they get to know each other and soak up the flavor.
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3Take a corn husk and spread a generous portion of dough, leaving space at the edges for folding.
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4Place a spoonful of the green chicken stew in the center and fold the husk carefully to wrap the filling.
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5Arrange the tamales upright in the steamer and let them steam for an hour and a half.
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6Turn off the heat and let them rest covered for about 10 minutes before serving so the dough finishes setting.
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