Last Updated on June 13, 2024
This chicken tampiquena recipe is unbelievably tasty. Today, we’ll make chicken tampiquena, refried beans, and cheesy enchiladas from scratch.
This recipe is quite versatile and you can easily mix and match elements together. It can be a quick and easy dish, or something a little more elaborate. And, it works great as a meal or side dish.
What Is Tampiquena?
Tampiquena, also known as Carne a la tampiqueña, is an extremely popular and well-known meaty dish from Mexico. It originated in Tampico back in 1939 by two brothers.
Each ingredient in this dish has been added with a symbolic meaning. The tampiquena plate (an oval dish) onto which the ingredients are served represents the region, Huasteca.
The strip of roasted meat on the plate represents Rio Panuco. And the green enchiladas its’ fields. The white cheese showcases the purity of the people of Huasteca, the guacamole the fruits, and the black beans the fertility of the land.
Quite beautiful. But, that’s not the only thing that makes this dish unique. It is incredibly flavorful and packed with a bunch of different textures.
This chicken tampiquena recipe is a variation of the traditional dish. There isn’t a ton of set-in-stone recipes out there for it. And it seems like most households just improvise it.
But, what we can say with certainty is that it has to include the following: pan-fried chicken, an onion and jalapeno relish, and refried beans. Then, some popular add-ons include enchiladas, guacamole, sour cream, and white cheese.
Today, we will share a chicken tampiquena recipe our Mexican friends taught us to make. And again, there are many variations for chicken tampiquena, so feel free to experiment with different versions you see online.
I really love these Serving Bowls. They look perfect for serving.
What You Need For Our Chicken Tampiquena Recipe
Ingredients for the chicken
- 2 pounds chicken fillets, boneless, skinless
- Olive oil, for frying
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 Jalapeños, stemmed, deseeded, and quartered
- Sea salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Ingredients for the refried beans
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 cans (30 ounces total) of pinto beans
- 1/2 cup of water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
Ingredients for the chicken tampiquena
- 4 corn tortillas
- 1 cup enchilada sauce
- 1-2 cups queso fresco
- Guacamole
- Mexican red rice, cooked
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Mixing bowls
- Rolling pin or meat mallet
- Saucepan
- Wooden spoon
- Potato masher
- Skillet
- Tongs or spatula
- Frying pan
Step By Step Instructions
Step 1: Tenderize the chicken
To start, tenderize the chicken with a meat mallet or use a rolling pin. Once tenderized, slice each fillet into long strips (about 4-5 per fillet).
Then, leave the meat at room temperature for 10-20 minutes. This will make it come up to room temperature, at which it will cook much better and absorb flavors well.
Step 2: Make the refried black beans
While the chicken is resting, make the refried beans. To start, heat olive oil in a saucepan. Then, saute the onions and garlic until they soften, about 5 minutes. Add the spices and mix them in well.
Next, add the beans and water. Stir the ingredients so everything is uniformly mixed. Cover the pan with a lid and allow it to cook for 5 minutes.
Then, reduce the heat and remove the lid. Mash the bean mixture until it becomes a chunky mash. Continue cooking the pinto beans for about 3 minutes to help excess water to evaporate.
Then, stir in the lemon juice and fresh chopped herbs.
Step 3: Make the enchiladas
Heat the enchilada sauce and tortillas slightly. Then, submerge a tortilla into the sauce until it’s completely coated.
Set it on a plate. Fill the soaked tortilla with queso fresco cheese and roll it up. Repeat this process until all your tortillas have been made.
Set them directly onto the oval plate. Cover them with more sauce and top them with queso fresco cheese.
Step 4: Make the onion-pepper mixture
Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a skillet. Add the sliced onions and garlic. Allow the onions to saute for about 2-3 minutes, or until they become translucent.
Add the sliced jalapenos, salt, and pepper. Cook the ingredients for another couple of minutes until everything is nice and soft. Set it aside for later use.
Step 5: Cook the chicken
Season the chicken strips with salt and pepper.
Add olive oil to a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken strips to the pan and fry them for roughly 3-4 minutes per side. They should pull away from the pan and be completely cooked through.
Remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside.
Step 6: Assemble your chicken tampiquena recipe
To assemble this tasty meal, add the chicken strips next to the enchiladas. Then, top it with the onion and jalapeno mixture.
Serve this with your freshly made refried beans, guacamole, and some rice.
Expert Tips And Tricks
- Feel free to buy premade refried beans to save yourself even more time. Or, make larger batches in advance so you can easily thaw and heat them in the future.
- You can use regular black beans instead of pinto beans. You can also cook the beans from scratch (using dried beans) or use tinned beans. Tinned beans are already softened and ready to mash, which is why we chose them for this recipe
- If you aren’t able to find queso fresco cheese, you can always buy one of these alternatives. In our opinion, feta and ricotta work the best.
- To keep all the elements for this chicken tampiquena recipe warm while others are still being prepared, keep them in an oven-safe dish or plate. Set the oven to a low temperature. This will prevent the food from cooking and drying out while keeping it warm.
Servings And Preparations
| Preparation Times | Cooking Times | Servings |
| 35-45 minutes | 20 minutes | 2-4 |
In Conclusion – An Uber Tasty Chicken Tampiquena Recipe
As you can see, this chicken tampiquena recipe is extremely flavorful and contains a ton of different elements.
And as we have mentioned before, there isn’t a specific recipe of combination of ingredients that has to be used. You can play around with elements as much as you’d like.
Easy Hearty Chicken Tampiquena Recipe With 4 Sides
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Mixing bowls
- Rolling pin or meat mallet
- Saucepan
- Wooden spoon
- Potato masher
- Skillet
- Tongs or spatula
- Frying pan
Ingredients
Ingredients for the chicken
- 2 pounds chicken fillets, boneless, skinless
- Olive oil, for frying
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 jalapenos, stemmed, deseeded, and quartered
- Sea salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Ingredients for the refried beans
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 cans, 30 ounces total of pinto beans
- 1/2 cup of water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons fresh cilantro,chopped
Ingredients for the chicken tampiquena
- 4 corn tortillas
- 1 cup enchilada sauce
- 1-2 cups queso fresco
- Guacamole
- Mexican red rice, cooked
Instructions
- Tenderize the chickenTo start, tenderize the chicken with a meat mallet or use a rolling pin. Once tenderized, slice each fillet into long strips (about 4-5 per fillet).Then, leave the meat at room temperature for 10-20 minutes. This will make it come up to room temperature, at which it will cook much better and absorb flavors well.2 pounds chicken fillets, boneless, skinless
- Make the refried black beansWhile the chicken is resting, make the refried beans. To start, heat olive oil in a saucepan. Then, saute the onions and garlic until they soften, about 5 minutes. Add the spices and mix them in well.Next, add the beans and water. Stir the ingredients so everything is uniformly mixed. Cover the pan with a lid and allow it to cook for 5 minutes.Then, reduce the heat and remove the lid. Mash the bean mixture until it becomes a chunky mash. Continue cooking the pinto beans for about 3 minutes to help excess water to evaporate.Then, stir in the lemon juice and fresh chopped herbs.4 garlic cloves, minced, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 onion, chopped, 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin, 2 cans, 30 ounces total of pinto beans, 1/2 cup of water, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 4 tablespoons fresh cilantro,chopped, 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- Make the enchiladasHeat the enchilada sauce and tortillas slightly. Then, submerge a tortilla into the sauce until it's completely coated.Set it on a plate. Fill the soaked tortilla with queso fresco cheese and roll it up. Repeat this process until all your tortillas have been made.Set them directly onto the oval plate. Cover them with more sauce and top them with queso fresco cheese.4 corn tortillas, 1 cup enchilada sauce, 1-2 cups queso fresco
- Make the onion-pepper mixtureHeat the olive oil over medium heat in a skillet. Add the sliced onions and garlic. Allow the onions to saute for about 2-3 minutes, or until they become translucent.Add the sliced jalapenos, salt, and pepper. Cook the ingredients for another couple of minutes until everything is nice and soft. Set it aside for later use.Olive oil, for frying, 1 medium onion, sliced, 2 jalapenos, stemmed, deseeded, and quartered, Sea salt, to taste, 4 garlic cloves, minced, Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Cook the chickenSeason the chicken strips with salt and pepper.Sea salt, to taste, Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Add olive oil to a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken strips to the pan and fry them for roughly 3-4 minutes per side. They should pull away from the pan and be completely cooked through.Remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside.Olive oil, for frying, 2 pounds chicken fillets, boneless, skinless
- Assemble your chicken tampiquena recipeTo assemble this tasty meal, add the chicken strips next to the enchiladas. Then, top it with the onion and jalapeno mixture.Serve this with your freshly made refried beans, guacamole, and some rice.Guacamole, Mexican red rice, cooked
Notes
Nutrition
My name is Ania, and I am very glad to see you here. I have always loved cooking; even some of my earliest memories are flipping through a cookbook and making pudding standing on a stool because I was too small to reach the stove.
You should know that I am not a professionally trained chef, just a big food lover who grew up in a family obsessed with cooking and focused on what we eat.
