White Chicken Chili

Method

1. saute7 min
   medium
   vegetable oil + onion + jalapeño, until the onion is translucent and slumped — no color wanted here, browning would push the broth toward the dark, sweet register of a red chili
2. toast1 min
   medium, stirring constantly
   + garlic + cumin + coriander + oregano + cayenne, until fragrant; the spices need 60 seconds in hot fat to dissolve their oil-soluble aromatics, and dumped into liquid instead they stay dusty and taste raw all the way through
3. poach20 min
   bare simmer, lid ajar
   + chicken stock + green chilis + whole chicken thighs + salt + black pepper, held just below a bubble until the chicken pulls apart at 175°F — a true boil squeezes the muscle fibers and gives you stringy chicken in cloudy broth
4. mash3 min
   off heat
   lift the chicken out to a board; add half the white beans and crush them against the bottom of the pot with a spoon or masher — their released starch is the entire thickener, which is why this chili reheats without splitting the way a flour-thickened one does
5. simmer10 min
   low, uncovered
   + remaining whole beans + optional corn + the chicken shredded into bite-sized threads, until the broth coats a spoon and the shreds have drunk some of it back
6. temper3 min
   off heat, below a simmer
   stir a ladle of the hot chili into the sour cream first, then that mixture back into the pot + lime juice — sour cream added cold and direct to boiling liquid curdles, because its acidified casein sets into visible grains the instant it passes about 180°F
7. top2 min
   ladle out and finish with monterey jack + cilantro + avocado + crushed tortilla chips, added at the bowl so the chips stay crisp