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Traditional Mexican Tortilla Soup

TRADITIONAL MEXICAN TORTILLA SOUP


  • Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
  • Yield: 6 persons 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale

FOR THE CHICKEN BROTH:

  • 1 whole chicken (about 4lbs)
  • 8 cups of water
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 4 sticks of celery
  • 1/2 white onion
  • 1 large carrot
  • 3 tbsp kosher salt
  • 1 tbsp oregano
  • black pepper to taste

FOR THE TOMATO CHILE SAUCE:

  • 2 dried guajillo peppers
  • 2 dried ancho peppers
  • 5 roma tomatoes
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1/2 white onion, peeled
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 cups of water

FOR THE CRISPY TORTILLAS:

  • 1lb white corn tortillas, cut into small strips (about 1cm or less than 1/2″)
  • 1liter canola oil for frying (sunflower oil is a good substitute)

FOR THE TOPPINGS:

  • 3 cups shredded chicken
  • 10 oz. soft white cheese, cut into small cubes (fresh panela is traditional, but good substitutes are Oaxaca cheese or mozzarella)
  • 1/3 cup cotija cheese, crumbled (queso fresco is a good substitute – if you can’t find either, just omit)
  • 6 tbsp, Mexican crema (substitute with creme fraîche or sour cream)
  • 1 avocado cut into 6 sections or into small chunks
  • fresh cilantro leaves for garnish
  • optional: 2 pasilla chiles cut into tiny pieces and fried in the same oil as the tortillas. (these burn fast, so flash fry for just 2-3 seconds)

Instructions

FOR THE CHICKEN BROTH:

  1. In a large pot, add the whole chicken along with 8 cups of water and the rest of the chicken broth ingredients. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Reserve the chicken and strain the broth through a colander, reserve. Once the chicken has cooled down, shred the meat and reserve.

FOR THE TOMATO CHILE SAUCE:

  1. In a cast iron skillet set over medium heat, add the guajillo and ancho chiles and toast them for 2- 3 min, turning them occasionally to prevent them from burning, until they get a little bit brown and have developed more flavor. Remove from the pan, chop off the tops & remove the seeds.
  2. In a medium pot set over medium heat, add the whole roma tomatoes, the toasted & de-seeded chiles & 2 cups of water. Boil until the tomatoes are soft and the chiles have hydrated completely, about 10 minutes.
  3. Strain the tomatoes and peppers, reserving about 1/2 cup of the water. In a blender, combine the cooked tomatoes & chiles, 3 garlic cloves, 1/2 white onion and blend until smooth (add some of the reserved water if needed to achieve a smooth texture). Pass the sauce through a strainer into a medium bowl, using a spatula to push all of the liquid through the strainer.

FOR THE TORTILLA STRIPS:

  1. In a deep pot, add the canola oil and heat up to 370*F. Cut the tortilla into little strips ( around 1cm ). Fry the tortillas, one handful at a time, until nice and lightly golden (about 1-2 minutes). Reserve on a tray with some paper to absorb the oil, reserve.
  2. On high heat in a deep pot, combine 4 cups of chicken broth along with the tomato chile sauce, and an additional 2 cups of water. Let this boil for 15- 20 min. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

TO SERVE:

  1. In a soup bowl add some shredded chicken, a generous amount of crispy tortilla strips, a small handful of cubed cheese, a light sprinkle of cotija. Pour about 1 1/2 cups of hot broth into the bowls, top with avocado, crema and a few sprigs of fresh cilantro. Enjoy!

Notes

While nothing quite compares to homemade chicken broth, you can substitute with store-bought chicken broth or bone broth to make this soup in less time. Lorena also recommends using day old corn tortillas rather than fresh ones, because they will fry up crisper if they have less moisture to begin with.

  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 2 hours
  • Category: DINNER, LUNCH, SOUP
  • Cuisine: Mexican

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 bowl