Fideo seco with chicken (Mexican dry noodles)
Toasty little noodles simmered in a smoky tomato-chipotle sauce until the liquid disappears, topped with chicken, crema and avocado.
- 30 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.32 a serving
- 540 calories
- Good the next day
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 8 oz angel hair pasta
- ½ yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can tomato sauce, 8 oz
- 1 chipotle peppers in adobo, minced
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups rotisserie chicken, shredded
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 avocado, sliced
- ½ cup queso fresco, crumbled (optional)
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp salt
Each serving has about 540 calories, 28 g protein, 53 g carbs and 25 g fat, and costs about $2.32 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No tomato sauce? Crushed tomatoes work.
- No chicken broth? Vegetable broth or bone broth works.
- No sour cream? Plain Greek yogurt works.
- No avocados? Guacamole works.
- No queso fresco? Cotija cheese or feta cheese works.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Put the angel hair in a zip-top bag and break it into 1- to 2-inch pieces with your hands.
Heat the oil in a large over medium heat. Add the noodles and constantly 3 to 4 minutes, until and toasty.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium heatTimer: 3 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Keep them moving. They go from golden to burnt quickly, and a toasty smell is your cue.Add the onion and garlic and 1 minute.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Medium heat
in the tomato sauce, chipotle, broth, cumin and salt, turn the heat to high and .
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Dolly’s tip: One chipotle gives a gentle, smoky heat. Add a spoonful of the adobo sauce from the can if you like it hotter.Cover, turn the heat to low and 8 to 10 minutes, once halfway, until the noodles are tender and the liquid is absorbed.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Low heatTimer: 9 min
in the chicken, cover again, and cook 2 minutes, until it’s hot.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Low heat
Food safety: Rotisserie chicken, deli meat, canned tuna and cooked shrimp are already cooked. Keep them cold until you use them, and heat them until steaming hot if the recipe warms them.
Serve topped with spoonfuls of sour cream, avocado slices, queso fresco and cilantro.
Food safety: If you’re pregnant, buy queso fresco labeled “made with pasteurized milk,” and for extra care, warm it until it’s steaming hot.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
