Tomatillo Pulled Chicken & Rice with Roasted Corn Salsa

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Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are cooked in Roasted Tomatillo Sauce until falling-apart tender, then spooned over rice, topped with a fried egg, and chili roasted corn salsa.

Pulled Tomatillo Chicken and Rice Bowls with fried eggs and roasted corn salsa

Tomatillo Pulled Chicken and Rice Bowls with Fried Eggs and Roasted Corn Salsa

The truth about this recipe is that if you did nothing but make the pulled tomatillo chicken and spoon it over rice, you'd have an absolutely delicious satisfying meal.

Adding a simple fried egg, with the yolk spilling out like butter over the chicken, and then topping the whole thing with roasted corn salsa, turns an already delicious dish into something worthy of being made over and over and over again.

How to Make Tomatillo Pulled Chicken

I originally made the simple roasted tomatillo sauce in this dish with the short-sighted intention of using it in this recipe and this recipe only. But, the sauce is sooooooo good, I started putting it on everything and realized it needed to be its own thing.

So, before you dive into this recipe, whip up a batch of Roasted Tomatillo Sauce. It's super easy to make and makes a fantastic sauce for pulled chicken.

Roasted Corn Salsa

Like Tomatillo Sauce, Roasted Corn is one of those things I created specifically for a recipe (Pan Seared Scallops with Chorizo, Green Chilies, and Creamy Roasted Corn) before deciding that it was so delicious and versatile that it also needed to be its own thing.

Roasted corn is especially delicious in the late summer months when fresh sweet corn is in season. But, you can easily make it year round by using frozen corn.

Simply toss some corn with olive oil, butter, Tajin Seasoning, salt and pepper and put it in the oven to roast. If you can't find Tajin Seasoning at your local market, you can order it, or substitute any kind of Mexican seasoning blend or chili powder.

For this dish, a couple of diced chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, roasted poblano peppers, onions, cilantro, and lime are tossed together for a sweet, spicy and savory salsa that offers the perfect contrast to the tangy tomatillo chicken.

Spooning roasted corn salsa over Tomatillo Pulled Chicken and Rice Bowls with fried eggs

If You're Feeling Skeptical About the Fried egg...

Cook the eggs gently so that the yolk is still runny when you slide it from the pan over the chicken in your bowl. The yolk will spill out over the chicken and rice like a rich silky, butter sauce.

Eggs are kinda magical, aren't they? I mean, what else is so versatile that you can beat it into cake batter one minute and spoon it over tomatillo chicken the next?

Tomatillo Pulled Chicken and Rice Bowls with fried eggs and roasted corn salsa

Taking a bite of Tomatillo Pulled Chicken and Rice Bowls with fried eggs and roasted corn salsa

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If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or take a picture and tag it #alittleandalot on Instagram.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Tomatillo Pulled Chicken & Rice Bowls with Roasted Corn Salsa

Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are cooked in Roasted Tomatillo Sauce until falling-apart tender, then spooned over rice, topped with a fried egg, and chili roasted corn salsa.

Prep Time 50 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

4 poblano peppers
2 large yellow onions, peeled and chopped into 8 wedges (slice each onion in half, then slice each half into 4 pieces)
1 recipe Roasted Tomatillo Sauce
Salt and pepper
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, seeds removed and diced
1 recipe Simple Oven Roasted Corn
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice (more to taste)
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 cup long grain rice
1 tablespoon salted butter
4 large eggs (or more, depending on how many people you're serving)

Instructions

Roast Poblano Peppers and Onions: Preheat the broiler and position a rack so that it’s about 4-inches from the top of the oven. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and lay the peppers and onion slices on it. Place the pan in the oven and roast until the skin on the peppers is almost completely blackened. Using tongs, turn over the peppers and the onion wedges and place the pan back in the oven. Roast until the peppers are blackened on the other side. Remove the peppers and onions to a plate and let rest until cool enough to handle.
Cook the Chicken: Put the Roasted Tomatillo Sauce in a large, heavy bottom pan or dutch oven set over medium high heat. Sprinkle all sides of the chicken thighs with salt and pepper and nestle into the pan, stirring to coat the chicken in the sauce. Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pot and let simmer, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes.
While the chicken cooks, prepare the rice and corn salsa: Cook the rice according to the package instructions (*see note). Follow these instructions to roast the corn – Add the chopped chipotle chili to the roasted corn before roasting.
Peel the blackened skin from the roasted poblano peppers and remove the stem and seeds. Chop the peppers and the onions and put them in a large bowl. Add the roasted corn, 1 tablespoon lime juice, sugar, cilantro, and ½ teaspoon salt and pepper. Stir to mix. Taste and add more salt, pepper and lime juice if desired. Set the salsa aside.
When the chicken is done cooking, remove it from the pan and use two forks to shred it into bite-size pieces. Stir the chicken back into the sauce.
Add some rice to 4 bowls and top the rice with some chicken. Cover the bowls loosely with aluminum foil to keep warm.
Cook the eggs: Add the butter to a large skillet and set it over medium-high heat. When the butter has melted, crack the eggs and slide them into the skillet one at a time, being careful to not break the yolks. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Sprinkle the eggs with a bit of salt and pepper. Cook until the whites of the eggs are nearly set. With a spatula, gently flip the eggs over, letting them cook on the other side for only about 5 seconds for set whites and a runny yolk. (The runny yolk is like a sauce over your chicken and rice.)
Add one egg to each bowl, layering it over the chicken. Top with corn salsa and serve.

Notes

To cook most varieties of rice: add 1 ¾ cup water, 1 cup of rice, and about 1 teaspoon of butter or oil to a saucepan, cover, and set it over high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and let cook until the rice is tender and has absorbed the water, about 15-20 minutes.