Savour this unique Achiote Chicken where tangy citrus and aromatic achiote blend with succulent chicken. With balanced flavours, the marinade adds an earthy touch, complemented by a hint of a spicy kick, smoothed out by creme fraîche. Try this dish and elevate your dining to a new level!
I love this achiote chicken because of its versatility. Achiote chicken makes a fantastic filling for tacos or burritos. Serve it with your preferred toppings such as with this salsa morita, salsa verde, and/or red pickled onions.
Achiote chicken pairs well as well with traditional rice and refried beans. Prepare a flavourful pot of rice and Mexican refried beans, and serve the achiote chicken on top or alongside. The vibrant color of the chicken adds visual appeal to the dish, and the flavors harmonize wonderfully.
Recipe Ingredients
You'll need the following ingredients:
Ingredient Notes
- Achiote paste or ground can be found at almost any Latin American store or order online.
- Some recipes call for substituting achiote with saffron, but I don't recommend it because it imparts a different flavour.
How to Make it - Step by step
Step 1: Cook the tomatoes until soft and skin starts to peel off. Take skin off and set aside.
Step 2: Cook the cauliflower florets until when pinching with a knife, it goes right through with only a bit of resistance.
Step 3: Place the cauliflower florets in ice cold water for only 2 minutes.
Step 4: Blend the tomatoes, achiote, garlic cloves, sugar, oregano, cumin, chipotle and salt.
Step 5: To a pan, add in the chicken and cook until semi-cooked.
Step 6: Add in the sauce and cook for 10 minutes.
Step 7: Incorporate the cauliflower florets to the pan. Mix in to combine.
Step 8: In a small container, mix in 2 tbsps of the warm sauce with the creme fraîche and incorporate in to the pan. Bring to a boil. Taste for salt and add in more if necessary.
Step 9: Warm up your tortillas. Put some achiote chicken in the middle of a tortilla. Eat with red pickled onions or your favourite salsa. Eat it also with rice and refried beans.
Recipe Tips
Be careful to not boil for too long the sauce after adding in the creme fraîche as it might curdle.
Have your ice cold water ready before cooking the cauliflower florets and do not leave the cauliflower florets for too long in the ice water as they might wilt and become mushy.
Storage and Reheating
Store in an airtight container in the fridge. It will last for 4 days. Reheat in the stove or in the microwave.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, it's mildly spice because of the chiles chipotles. You can omit the chiles chipotles, but you'll miss on the smoky flavour that the chipotle brings.
It has an earthy, smoky, middle spicy, rich taste. The cauliflower florets bring some texture to the dish.
Yes, instead of using chicken as in this case, you can marinate pork or meat with this sauce.
Achiote is a food condiment and a colouring agent native to the Caribbean and Mexico. Its name achiote comes from the náhuatl achiotl which means red tincture. It can last very long, up to three years.
Achiote is readily available at almost any Latin American grocery store. It's mostly sold in paste form although it can also be bought as powder.
I highly recommend eating it in tacos or burritos. You can also eat it with some rice and Mexican refried beans for a delicious meal.
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Achiote Chicken
Equipment
- 1 Pot
- 1 pan or skillet
- 1 blender
Ingredients
- 2 tomatoes, stems removed mine weighted 280 grams
- 220 grams cauliflower florets
- 15 grams achiote paste or ground
- 2 garlic cloves
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon cumin ground
- 2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 350 grams chicken, bite-size diced
- 3 tablespoon creme fraîche
- 1 ½ teaspoon Salt
- Ice cold water
- Tortillas
- Red pickled onions optional
- Fried beans optional
Instructions
- To a pot at medium to high heat, add in the tomatoes. Cook until soft and skin starts to peel off, approximately 10 mins. Remove from pot and wait until cold enough to touch. Peel off the tomatoes skin and set aside.
- In the same pot with warm water, add in the cauliflower florets and cook until you pinch through them with a knife and it goes right through the cauliflower florets with only a bit of resistance.
- Place the cauliflower florets in ice cold water to cut down the cooking process. Leave for only 2 minutes, remove from ice cold water and set aside.
- To a blender, add in the tomatoes, achiote, garlic cloves, sugar, oregano, cumin, chipotle, and salt (1 tsp). Blend well as we are not straining.
- To a warm pan or skillet, add in the vegetable oil. Incorporate the chicken, add in the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt. Cook for 5 mins until medium cooked. Incorporate the sauce. Cook for 10 more minutes.
- Add in the cauliflower florets to the pan and mix in to combine.
- In a small container, mix in the creme fraiche with 2 tbsps of the warm sauce and add in to the pan. Mix to combine. Bring back to a boil.
- Taste for salt. Turn off the heat.
- Warm up your tortillas. Fill them with the achiote chicken filling. Top it up with some red pickled onions and fried beans on the side.
Notes
Nutrition information is just an estimate provided by Nutrifox.
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