Shredded chicken sopes

Sopes are a traditional Mexican dish that are a staple in many family homes. Consisting of small, crisp corn tortillas with a raised edge, sopes are topped with a variety of ingredients that can include beans, meat, cheese, lettuce, onions and sauces.

Credit: Jiwon Kim

• serves

  3-4

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  30 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 4 cups shredded roast chicken
• 2 cups cooked pinto beans, puréed
• Crumbled Cotija (or pecorino) cheese, sliced lettuce, pickled onions (see Note), thinly sliced radishes, to serve

For the sopes 

• 2 cups masa harina
• 2 cups (500 ml) hot water
• ½ tsp sea salt
• Grapeseed oil, for deep-frying

For the caldillo sauce

• 2 Roma tomatoes, quartered
• ½ brown onion, roughly chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• ½ cup (125 ml) water
• 1 chile de árbol, stemmed, deseeded (see Note)
• 2 tsp dried Mexican oregano
• Salt

Instructions

1. To make the caldillo sauce, combine the ingredients in a medium saucepan and mix well to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, or until softened, then remove from the heat. Allow to cool slightly, then transfer the ingredients to a high-speed blender or food processor. Blitz to a smooth paste, then season to taste with salt. Set aside.
   
2. To make the sopes, heat a large, non-stick frying pan or comal over medium-high heat.
   
3. In a large bowl, combine the masa harina, water and salt and mix well to form a dough. Roll into 115 g balls (or golf-ball sized portions), then place into the centre of a plastic wrap-lined tortilla press. Press down to make 6 mm thick tortillas. Carefully peel away from the plastic and place directly into the heated pan.
   
4. Cook for 2 minutes, then flip and repeat until light brown on all sides. Remove to a towel-lined baking tray, allow to cool slightly, then gently pinch the edges around the tortilla to form the ‘masa’ wall. Repeat with remaining dough, covering the cooked sopes with a damp tea towel.
   
5. Heat enough oil to deep-fry in a medium saucepan to 175˚C. Deep-fry the prepared sopes in batches, turning as they cook, for 3-4 minutes, or until golden-brown and crisp. Remove to a paper towel-lined tray to drain, upside down.
   
6. To serve, top each sope with shredded roast chicken, puréed pinto beans, caldillo sauce, cheese, lettuce, pickled onion and radishes and serve.

Notes 

• You can substitute guajillo or pasilla chiles for chile de árbol.
• To make the pickled onions, combine 1 thinly sliced red onion with the juice of 1 lime and a generous pinch of salt. Allow to stand to pickle, before using.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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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.