🫔 Chicken Tamales (Tamales de Pollo)

Name: Chicken Tamales (Tamales de Pollo)
Total time: 120 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Mexico · Southern Mexico
Ingredients: 500 g masa harina (nixtamalised corn); 600 ml warm chicken stock; 80 ml neutral oil; 1 tsp salt; 1 tsp baking powder; 500 g chicken breast or thigh; 300 ml salsa verde; 6 large pieces of banana leaf

Origin: Mexico · Southern Mexico

330kcal

per serving · 200 g

165kcal

per 100 g

14 gProtein7 g / 100 g

14 gFat7 g / 100 g

36 gCarbs18 g / 100 g

Tamales de pollo are soft parcels of corn masa filled with shredded chicken in tangy green salsa verde. This version is wrapped in banana leaves, as is common in southern Mexico, which keeps the dough moist and adds a faint grassy aroma. The texture is tender and herby, and they are served warm straight from the steamer.

Diets

✓

No porkfor halal, the meat must be halal-slaughtered

✓

Gluten-freeno wheat, barley or rye in a typical recipe

✓

Dairy-freeno milk, cheese, butter or yogurt in a typical recipe

Not vegetarianbecause of: chicken

Not veganbecause of: chicken

Not keto18 g carbs per 100 g

Allergens

None of the 14 major allergens in a typical recipe.

What it is made of

masa corn doughchickengreen salsabanana leaf

Recipe

6 servings120 min

Ingredients

500 g masa harina (nixtamalised corn)
600 ml warm chicken stock
80 ml neutral oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
500 g chicken breast or thigh
300 ml salsa verde
6 large pieces of banana leaf

Method

Poach the chicken in salted water for 25 minutes, then shred it and mix with the salsa verde.
Pass the banana leaves briefly over a flame or hot pan to soften them, and cut into squares of about 25 cm.
Beat the masa harina with oil, salt, baking powder and warm stock into a soft dough.
Spread masa in the centre of each leaf, top with chicken, and fold into a flat rectangular parcel.
Steam for about 60 minutes, until the masa is firm and comes away from the leaf.

How to make it lighter

Use skinless chicken breast for a leaner filling.
Cut the oil in the masa by a third: 1 tbsp oil ≈ 120 kcal.
Add extra salsa verde on the side for flavour instead of creamy toppings.

History

Steaming corn dough in leaves is a Mesoamerican technique far older than the Spanish conquest. Banana-leaf tamales are typical of Oaxaca, Chiapas and the Yucatán, where banana leaves are widely used for wrapping food.

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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →