2 posts tagged “mexican food”

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Adventures in Tamale Making

May 18, 2009
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Have you ever heard of four Asians and a Jew making Mexican tamales? Though it sounds like the beginning to a really bad, non-PC joke, it was actually my Saturday. Believe it! We were inspired by a recent tamale making episode of Alton Brown's "Good Eats" and of course our love of tamales. Most of the ones out on the market seem to be about 25% filling and 75% masa. We wanted super filled, super saucy tamales, so why take chances when we can make them just how we want them. As gung ho as we all were about tamale making, did any of us really have any business venturing into the secret society of abuela work?

Tamales

Thanks to Jamie, our tamale hostess, our filling combinations were endless. We had beef, pork, chicken and even oxtails! Cheeses included Jack, Oaxacan string cheese, panela and echilado cheese. It was nice to use the combination of a meltable, mild cheese alongside a spicy, salty cheese like the enchilado. Vegetables included roasted poblanos, roasted jalapenos, corn and black beans.

Tamale Making Set-Up

Gotta have a little cerveza while you work.

Corn, Pork and Enchilado Cheese

Salsa, Masa and Panela Cheese

Rehydrated and Cleaned Husks

I was a big fan of the "compound tamale" - meat, cheese, beans, corn and roasted peppers all stuffed into a thin layer of masa. Flavor bomb!

Tamales Ready for Steaming

The tamales took a few hours to assemble, but even longer to steam since we had to split our 100+ tamales into batches.

Pile of Tamales

Once our tamales were ready, we really wished that we would have somehow marked them so we could find the oxtail ones first. No problem though. If we had to eat five or ten just to get to one oxtail, well then it was still worth it.

Tamale Destruction

Now that we've got our whole method down, I can't wait to do this again. If anybody has any tips, please shoot them my way. Hooray for tamale success!

As Promised... Fish Tacos to Compliment your Pickled Carrots

Apr 6, 2009
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When I told you that my spicy, pickled carrots were so good that you'd want to plan a meal around them, I was speaking from experience. From first tangy crunch, I knew that a taco night was imminent. Do I sound like I mean business or what?

Beer Battered Cod Tacos

Last weekend I had come so, oh SO very close to eating at The Best Fish Tacos in Ensenada, but vegetarian appetites had other plans and we ended up dining on jackfruit carnitas at Pure Luck. Very tasty in its own right, but I was left with a crazy hankering for fish tacos. Crazy. Must eat fish tacos. Now imagine me with whirly zombie eyes, irises replaced with goldfish crackers. That was me all week, basically.

If Santa Monica Seafood and I were boyfriend and girlfriend, we would be broken up. Game over. We were honeymooning for a while there and high on aquatic life eating our way through the freshest seafood. Then somewhere along the way, they moved into their new fancy pants storefront and got lazy and dumb. Beauty does not replace quality or knowledge people. Let me explain. Last Thursday, I walk in and before I can peruse the whole counter I get asked if I need help by a guy that we'll call Mr. SMS. I say, "I'm making fish tacos tonight. I'm thinking of a firm, white fish." Mr. SMS asks, "When's the last time you made fish tacos?" I think, "Why does that matter?" but I say, " Never. Is your tilapia fresh?" He replies, "No it's been frozen but I think the white roughy would be good." He's pointing at the Basa, which is out of the question, since it's actually a type of catfish and B thinks catfish tastes like dirt. This guy totally just made up a type of fish and I found this article to prove it. They are trying to pass off catfish as roughy. Jeez. Try to dupe me. Just give me a cubic zirconia already and call it a day. Long story short, or really I should say, short story long, I went with the black cod and was happy with my choice until I found rows of pin bones running down the fillets. Now tell me why I pay a premium on fish from Mr. SMS and why I should stop watching Youtube videos about objectophillia.

Getting back to the eats now. After tedious tweezing of the pin bones and much cursing under my breath, I battered my strips of cod in a batter of Dos Equis Amber beer and flour. To punch it up I added a spoonful of chile powder, salt and pepper. A quick bath in hot Safflower oil and they were all set to be nestled in warm corn tortillas with a red cabbage slaw and lots of salsa. Also quick squeeze of lime is essential.

Salsas

So I get a little overzealous with my salsas, but my goal was to have every bite taste different. Bite taco, now have a bite of carrot, now add as much salsa as your taco will hold and eat more. Each bite is going to be a little different. Going clockwise from top-right we have my standard salsa made with roasted onions, roasted jalapenos, cilantro, Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes and lime juice. Next up is a roasted poblano pepper, cilantro and tangelo juice salsa. Yup you read right. I got a bag of super tart tangelos that were way too sour for eating but a perfect replacement for lime in this salsa. Surprisingly good. I also wanted to include a hot sauce-style salsa made from dried chiles. I used Ancho, New Mexico and Chile de Arbol and blended it all together with its rehydrating liquid. Lastly, I used my standard salsa as a base and added fresh chopped tomatoes and yellow corn. B adores corn so of course he devoured this one.

Having a refreshing salad of jicama, radishes and oranges cuts nicely through the heat and any richness from the battered fish.