How to Make Sopes de Pollo

If you are taking a tour on the streets of Mexico, you might have come across ‘Mexican antojitos,’ also known as little bites from the locals. Sopes de Pollo (Chicken Sopes) is one of those little bites which is a famous traditional dish in Mexican cuisine, a tart with savory, meaty toppings. If you want to satisfy your savory cravings, you should check my recipe on how to make Sopes de Pollo at home.

How to Make Sopes de Pollo

While making Sopes de pollo, there is a big room for customization as per one’s taste. However, this guide shares the most common recipe to make sopes de pollo practiced by locals for years.

Ingredients

• Masa harina
• 2-3 pieces of chicken breast
• Tomatoes
• Jalapenos
• Onions
• Garlic Cloves
• Salt
• Pepper
• Seasoning Powder/ Marination Powder
• Cream
• Greek Yoghurt
• Lettuce
• Radish
• Bean paste
• Queso Fresco

Step #1: Cook the Chicken

In a medium saucepan, put chicken along with the chicken stock. Cook your chicken breast pieces on medium to high flame for about 20 minutes until the chicken pieces turn white. Take out the cooked chicken pieces from chicken broth and let it cool down.

Step #2: Knead the Dough for Sopes

Preheat the broiler to high while the chicken cooks. If you are wondering what sopes are and is it challenging to make them? Well, you will be surprised to know that making sopes is a child’s game, and anyone can master it within a few minutes.

Sopes are similar to tortillas with raised boundaries. They resemble a tart that has a delicious savory topping. To make sopes, do as follows:

1. In a large mixing basin, combine masa harina and salt. With a spoon, swirl all the ingredients.
2. Take boiling water and olive oil in a mixing bowl and stir until all the water has been absorbed.
3. Knead the dough thoroughly using your hands. When you touch the dough, it should feel firm and springy, not dry or overly sticky. If the dough is too dry, add a little more water at a time until it is bouncy and holds together.
4. Cover the dough ball with a clean kitchen towel or cellophane wrap and keep it in the bowl. Let the dough mix rest for 15-20 minutes. It will help in the absorption of all of the water.

Step #3: Cook the Vegetables

Take the tomatillos, poblanos, jalapenos, garlic, and onion on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Bake them for about 10 minutes or till they get gently brown on all sides, and the veggies are soft.

Once the veggies have been baked, and the chicken has been cooked, combine the baked vegetables, cilantro, and 1 cup of the leftover chicken stock in a blender (You can drain the stock or use the rest for another purpose).

Mix them thoroughly until they get entirely smooth—season vegetables with salt to taste. Remove the salsa from the heat and set it aside to cool.

Step #4: Cook Your Sopes

1. Cut the dough into 14 equal halves. Place each piece in the bowl and mix by rolling it into a ball with your palms. To keep the balls moist as you work, cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap.
2. Preheat a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium-high heat.
3. Cut the seams on each side of a gallon-sized zip-top storage bag so that it becomes one giant rectangular piece of plastic. Alternatively, you can use two big sheets of parchment paper.
4. Place the cellophane (or both pieces of baking parchment) inside a tortilla press, covering the upper and lower parts of the tortilla press.
5. Put one dough ball in the tortilla press center, close the top, and press gently to smooth it out. To transfer the tortilla to your hand, open the tortilla press and peel aside the cellophane bag (or parchment paper).
6. Cook for 30-45 seconds on the flattened dough in the hot skillet and another 30-45 seconds on the other side. Cook for the final time until beautiful brown markings appear.
7. Place the cooked dough on a plate and set aside for 30 seconds to cool. When the dough is cool enough to handle, squeeze the edges together with your thumb and index finger to form a rim.
8. Place a towel over the sope and continue until all of the sopes are produced.
9. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit for baking. To thoroughly cook the sopes, transfer them to two big baking pans and bake for 5 minutes.
10. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat vegetable oil. Once the oil is hot, cook the sopes 2 or 3 at a time for about 2 minutes, regularly flipping, until light golden brown. Using paper towels or a metal rack, place the sopes on the cooking platform and let it cook for a while.

Refer to this detailed video on how to make sopes at home.

Step #5: Assemble the Components

1. To spread on sopes, you’ll need mashed beans. There are many fried bean recipes that are wonderful for sopes, but if you don’t want to make one by yourself, you can also use canned fried beans to make a simple purée. It’s entirely up to you! Thus, take your fried sopes and spread a thick layer of mashed beans over them.
2. Next, shred the chicken into 1-inch bits and move it to a medium skillet or pan once it has cooled enough to handle. Stir in 1 cup salsa verde and mix it well. Season the shredded chicken pieces with salt to taste. Place the juicy shredded pieces of chicken coated with tomato salsa on the bean paste.
3. To make your sopes de Pollo even tastier, use queso fresco- a type of cheese. It will be cherry on top if you can make queso fresco at home. This fresh cheese will add an extra dimension to your dish.
4. But, just in case you don’t have it, you can use feta cheese to top the shredded chicken. Or simply, you can use any fresh cheese that you can find in your area.
5. Next, slice some onions and radishes into small thin slices and place them over the cheese.
6. Then, combine 1 part of ordinary cream (not sweetened!) with 1 part greek yogurt, a few drops of lemon juice, and a pinch of salt in a mixing bowl. Allow  a 10-minute cooling period before using and layer it over the vegetables.
7. Finally, nothing beats iceberg lettuce for Mexican snacks, especially these sopes de pollo. However, you may use any variety of lettuce you prefer because this dish will still be excellent. Grab some fresh lettuce leaves and put them over the top of your sopes de pollo, and that’s it! Your sopes de pollo is ready to eat.

Conclusion

The origins of Mexican food can be traced back to the year 7000 BCE when Mexico and Central America were yet undiscovered.

Since then, Mexico has had one of the most diverse street food cultures in Latin America, with Mexico City ranked as one of the best places in the world to eat on the street by Forbes.