Use any cooked chicken you have or a rotisserie chicken to speed up this already-fast recipe. I sometimes serve this soup with tortilla chips in the bowl and some diced avocado on top along with a squeeze of fresh lime juice to brighten it up. This soup reheats well so make a batch, freeze some for later and enjoy on a night when you are too tired to cook.
Serves: 4 to 6
Prep Time: 8 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
2 boneless skinless chicken breast, trimmed (1 pound)
2 Tablespoons kosher salt, divided
2 Tablespoons avocado oil or vegetable oil
2 medium white or yellow onion, chopped
fresh ground black pepper
4 garlic cloves, minced (1 1/2 Tablespoons)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
6 cups chicken broth
1 (30 ounce) can white hominy, rinsed and drained
1 (4 ounce) can diced mild green chilis
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1. Poach Chicken: In a medium saucepan, bring 3 cups water and 1 Tablespoon kosher salt to a boil. When water begins to boil, add chicken and reduce heat to a low simmer. Cover pan and simmer chicken until it registers 160 degrees when tested with an instant-read thermometer, about 18 – 20 minutes. When chicken is cooked through, transfer to a plate and set aside to cool.
2. Cook Onion: While chicken is cooling, cook onion. In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, add oil and heat until shimmering but not smoking, about 1 minute. Add onion and 2 teaspoons kosher salt and stir to combine. Cover pan and cook onion, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft, about 5 minutes.
3. Add Aromatics: Add garlic and oregano to the pan and stir well to combine. Cook until garlic and oregano become fragrant, about 30 seconds.
4. Simmer Hominy: Add broth, hominy and green chilis to the pan and stir well to combine. Cook until hominy has softened, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Shred Chicken: While hominy is cooking, shred cooked chicken into bite size pieces and set aside.
6. Finish & Serve: When hominy is soft, stir in chicken and continue to cook just until chicken is heated through, about 1 minute. Off heat, stir in cilantro leaves. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if needed. Serve and enjoy!