In honor of Cinco De Mayo tomorrow, I decided to make a "Mexican" inspired dish. This isn't an authentic Mexican dish but just a potpourri of ingredients and flavors that I think are 'Mexican-ish." The dish features the wonderful commonly used spices such as Adobo, sazon and features herbs such as cilantro and scallions. The chicken is cooked so tender that it literally falls of the bone while maintaining a rich wonderful tomato based flavor.
Since its a bit time intensive, I rarely make this dish
Ingredients
- 5-7 pieces of Chicken thighs or drumsticks
- 2 packets of Sazon seasoning
- Adobo seasoning
- 1 Small Red onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 jalapeno
- 2 sprigs of cilantro
- 2 scallions
- 1 can of pasta sauce (26.5 oz)
- 1 can of whole kernel corn, salted
- 1 can of beans (black or kidney)
- 4 Strips of thick cut bacon
- 2 oz of red wine of choice, I used Shiraz
- Hot sauce to taste
- Optional: Shredded Cheddar or Mexican Cheese
- 1 Box of Goya Spanish Rice or white long grain rice
Preparation
I marinated chicken thighs for 2 days using Sazon and Adobe seasoning generously.
Prepare box or bag of rice separately. I cooked Carolina long grain white rice with chicken stock and Sazon seasoning in my Cuckoo rice cooker and set aide.
In a large skillet, heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Sear chicken on both sides to a golden brown.
In another skillet, add chopped red onions, bell peppers (I only had orange) , 1 jalapeno and 2 cloves of garlic.
After a few minutes, remove from heat and add set aside.
In a large sauce pan, add 1 can of tomato sauce, 1 can of chicken broth, and 1 can of water and bring to a boil, 1 packet of Sazon seasoning.
Add the vegetable mixture and continue to simmer on low heat.
Cook 4 slices of thick cut bacon and coarsely chop. Wash and cup up 2 sprigs of cilantro and scallions.
Add all the ingredients into the pot including and placing the chicken thighs evenly in the sauce. Let the chicken simmer in the sauce for 1 Hr.
After 1 Hr, add 1 can of corn and 1 can of beans. Let it simmer for another 30
minutes. Gently stir occasionally so the beans do not stick to the bottom of the pot.
After 30 minutes, plate the chicken, sprinkle cheese and serve with rice. The chicken should be "fall of the bone" tender.
