Did
you know that Mexico has one of the most significant street food cultures in
the world? Just ask Forbes magazine who named Mexico City one of the most
important cities in the world to eat street.
I
agree and am most anxious to take in some of the city’s significant culinary
riches when I travel there next month.
But
you don’t need a ticket to the capital to get good quality street. Mexico
offers a wide-variety of regional sensations to challenge even the most refined
taste buds.
Sampling
my first taste of street back in Guadalajara in the late 60’s, I simply can’t
get enough.
From Tacos al Pastor to Papatias, I’ve sampled some of the best…and
the worst. One thing I can claim is that I have never gotten sick from Mexican
Street food.
It’s
a fact that approximately 60% of all people in Mexico eat off the street at
least once a week. One sure way to differentiate good street food is how busy
the stall is. Trust the fact that locals know what’s good.
That’s
what I loved about Rubi’s at Maxwell Street Market in Chicago… all food is
cooked to order. My hard and fast rule of thumb is that the vendors I patronize
cook fresh and NEVER let food sit around.
In
fact, many of the Chefs that I know in Chicago come to Mexico to study street
food and incorporate the delicious flavors and basics into their menus back
home.
Just
ask Rick Bayless who is in his ninth season of taking his culinary show on the
road and has brought great Mexican street to dining tables all over the world.
I’ve always been a fan but was locked in last year when the season was
televised from the Baja peninsula. In fact, it was Season 8 that turned me on
to the great wines of the Valle de Guadalupe where I plan to go before next
year.
Here
are some of my favorite antojitos to savor from the streets of Mexico…
Tacos
The
best known taco on the planet is carne asada but my all time favorite is Tacos
al Pastor. I think it’s the flavor of the pork with the pineapple.
Al pastor is a dish from Central Mexico much like the shawarma spit-grilled meat brought by Lebanese immigrants to Mexico.
Mexico’s Al
Pastor is made from pork. The pork is marinated a few days with a mix of dried chiles
and cooked on a flame of a vertical rotisserie called a trompo with fresh onion
and pineapple on the top. The juice from the pineapple breaks down the protein
and makes the meat tender.
When it’s ready,
it’s sliced off the spit with a very large knife.
It is served on small tortillas with chopped inions, cilantro and pineapple and then topped with lime and salsa.
Tacos Al Pastor
4 dried guajillo chiles
1 dried ancho chile
2 dried chipotle chiles
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1/2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 cup Coca-Cola
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon annatto seeds
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 whole clove
1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for
grilling
2 1/2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into
1/2-inch-thick slices
1 large Spanish onion, cut into 1/2-inch-thick
slices
Salt and freshly ground pepper
12 corn tortillas, warmed
Grilled pineapple, chopped red onion and
cilantro, for serving
Stem and seed all of the dried chiles and place
them in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover with water and microwave at high power
until softened, about 3 minutes. Let cool slightly, then drain and transfer to
a blender. Add the orange juice, lime juice, coke and vinegar. In a spice
grinder, grind the annatto with the oregano, cumin, clove, sugar and garlic
powder until fine. Add the spice mixture to the blender and blend until smooth.
Transfer the marinade to a saucepan. Add the 2
tablespoons of oil and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until very
thick, about 5 minutes; let cool. Transfer the marinade to a large resealable
plastic bag. Add the pork and onion and seal the bag. Refrigerate overnight.
Light a grill. Remove the pork and onion from
the marinade and scrape most of it off. Brush the pork and onion with oil and
season with salt and pepper. Grill over moderate heat, turning, until the meat
is cooked through.
Transfer
the pork and onion to a work surface, cover loosely with foil and let stand 10
minutes.
Cut the pork into strips. Serve the pork and
onion with the warmed tortillas, grilled pineapple, red onion and cilantro.
Papitas
This was the first street food I
ate in Mexico. A sucker for potato chips, I could not resist the papitas topped with fresh squeezed lime
juice and salt. It’s still one of my all time favorite treats.
Peanut
oil, for frying
2 potatoes, thinly sliced
Salt
In a large heavy saucepan, fill oil no more than
halfway and heat the oil to 350 degrees F.
Add the potato slices in batches. Fry until
light golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Drain
on paper towels, season with salt, and serve.
Squeeze
lime over the top and dash with chili powder
Elote – Roasted Corn on the Cob
Elote
is the Mexican version of corn on the cob. It is grilled and then slathered
with mayonnaise and dusted with chili pepper, cilantro, salt, cotija cheese, lime juice and
hot sauce.
At Maxwell
Street Market in Chicago, this was my go-to food first thing every Sunday
morning.
The
cut kernels are called esquites where the same
seasonings are combined with the corn and eaten with a spoon. I also like to add a little
potato to step up the flavor.
4
large ears corn, with husks still attached
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 cups crumbled cotija cheese
4 tbsp. minced fresh cilantro
4 tsp. ancho chile powder
Kosher salt and freshly ground black
margarine spray
pepper, to taste
1 lime, cut into four wedges
Working with one ear of corn at a time, peel
back the husks to expose the kernels, leaving husks attached at the base;
remove the silk threads and tie husks together with kitchen twine around base
of cob to form a handle. Repeat with remaining ears. Transfer corn to a large
bowl or pot of water and let soak for 30 minutes.
Build a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill or
heat a gas grill over medium-high heat. Transfer corn to grill; cook, turning
occasionally, until charred and cooked through, about 20 minutes.
Remove
corn from grill and brush with mayonnaise.
Place
cheese on a plate and roll each ear of corn in cheese to coat.
Sprinkle
corn evenly with some of the cilantro (optional), chile powder, and salt and
pepper, pressing the corn so that seasonings and cheese will adhere to the
mayonnaise.
Esquite
2 ears fresh
sweet cork, shucked
1 russet potato
½ teaspoon
garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon
ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon sea
salt
¼ teaspoon chili
powder
2 Tablespoons
sour cream
2 Tablespoons
queso fresco, crumbled
2 wedges lime
Bring a pot of
water to a boil and cook corn until bright and crisp, about 4 minutes. Remove
from water and allow to cool.
Add potato to
the boiling water and cook to fork tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and cool.
Cube.
Cut corn from
cob.
Place potato
cubes in a small bowl and sprinkle with garlic powder, cumin, salt and 1/8
chili powder. Coat evenly. Stir in corn.
Top each with a
Tablespoon if sour cream and queso fresco.
Sprinkle with
remaining chili powder and serve with lime.
Carnitas
Carnitas is my favorite street food.
When I was in
Mexico City, Miguel, the husband of my friend Laura, use to make a Carnita run
for us every Sunday morning. Miguel just told me last week that the Carnita
restaurant is still there so a return trip for those Carnitas is on my list. We'll see if they taste as good as I remember.
I finally
learned to cook Carnitas just last month. Or should I say to cook them right. The
traditional way is in a cazuela which disperses the heat evenly.
Lard (yes, I lard because it’s the only
real way to get the flavor) covers the dish and once tenderness is achieved,
the heat is turned up and the outside of the pork begins to crisp.
The carnitas can
then be cooled and shredded.
3 lb pork ribs cut into chunks
1 white onion, quartered
1 bulb garlic, separated and skins removed
1bay leaf
2 sprigs thyme
Orange
Sea salt
Put all of the above into a cazuela and
cover with water.
Allow to simmer for approximately 3 hours,
or until water is evaporated. Watch towards the end so pork does not burn.
Add 1/3 c. pork fat.
Add the juice of one orange.
Continue to simmer and allow pork to
brown. Turn frequently.
Remove to platter and discard the grease
from your cazuela.
Add salsa verde (approximately 2 cups) to
brownings, using a wooden utensil to pry up crust from the bottom of the pan.
Serve with fresh, warm tortillas.
You can also serve with spicy slaw and peanuts.
Chicharrones
Chicharrones are
made from pork skin and are cut thin and fried. These are a common snack in
Mexico and sold in just about every market in large pieces. Hot sauce is
usually served with them although I know people who devour them plain.
Me – I have yet
to acquire a taste for them. Stay tuned.
Gorditas
I’ve learned to
love Gorditas at the Saturday Organic Market. I have them for breakfast when I
don’t indulge in a chocolate doughnut.
They
are very thick corn dough patties fried in oil or cooked on a comal. After cooking, they are split and filled
with a variety of ingredients including cheese, meat and veggies.
Warning: They are so delicious,
you can easily get addicted.
Gordita
by the way means "little fat one” and is a term of endearment in Mexico.
If
it weren’t for trekking the hills of San Miguel every day, I would unquestionably qualify.
Tortas
In my quest for
the perfect torta last week, I stumbled across a little dive here in San Miguel
called El Tucan. A dive that happens to make great tortas, hamburgers and
everything else.
A perfect torta
is a bolillo stuffed with things such as hot or cold meat, cheese, avocado,
onions and pickled jalapenos. I’m pretty sure by now I am craving the pickled
jalapenos because they have become one of my favorite snacks.
Tortas are then
overstuffed with veggies and served with a very cold beer.
Cemitas
The cemita is a sandwich from Puebla and the name also refers to the
roll on which it is served.
It took me
forever to find a cemita roll in San Miguel and even when I did I am not so
sure it could be categorized as a true cemita. It was a bread roll covered with
sesame seeds however it didn’t much resemble or taste like a brioche – one of my favorite all time
rolls ever.
I loved this
recipe because the chicken is spicy when marinated in the red chili sauce. I
thought that it would be hot but it had more kick than heat.
Its flavor is a
bit sweet so it is usually accompanied by a glass of milk or atole.
For chile-marinated pork or chicken:
6 dried guajillo chiles
1 dried ancho chile
4 thin (1/2- inch) rib pork chops, bones
(1 lb total) discarded or chicken
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 whole clove
1 cinnamon stick
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 large garlic cloves, quartered
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
For sandwiches:
4 Mexican cemita rolls or sesame seed
hamburger buns
2 avocados
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1 1/2 cups Oaxaca cheese or mozzarella
cheese, shredded
4 chipotle chiles in adobo, finely chopped
1/2 large white onion, thinly sliced
1 large plum tomato, thinly sliced
crosswise
Discard chile stems and cut guajillo and
ancho chiles open lengthwise. Discard seeds and ribs.
Heat a dry heavy skillet over moderate
heat until hot, then toast chiles, a few at a time, turning and pressing down
with tongs, until softened and fragrant, about 10 seconds per side.
Transfer chiles to a bowl, then cover with
hot water and soak until softened, about 20 minutes.
Trim fat from pork or chicken and pound
between 2 sheets of wax paper with flat side of a meat pounder or with a
rolling pin until meat is about 1/8 inch thick.
Heat skillet over low heat until hot then
toast cumin, peppercorns, clove, and cinnamon, stirring constantly, until
fragrant, about 1 minute.
Transfer spices to a blender and add
vinegar, garlic, oregano, salt, and soaked chiles with about 1/3 cup soaking
water, then blend until smooth. Transfer half of chile paste to an airtight
container and chill or freeze for another use, then put remainder in a small
bowl.
Spread a thin layer of chile paste in
middle of a sheet of plastic wrap large enough to wrap all of meat and put 1
pork chop over paste. Spread a thin layer of chile paste on top, then continue
layering meat, spreading each piece with chile paste. Wrap stacked pork in
plastic wrap and marinate, chilled, at least 2 hours.
Heat 1tablespoons oil in a heavy skillet
over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Season pork chops or
chicken with salt and sauté, in batches, adding more oil as necessary, until
just cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes per side.
Toast rolls in the oven until golden
brown.
In a bowl, lightly mash avocado with a
fork, then spread on both sides of rolls.
Season avocado with salt, then top with
cilantro.
Next layer pork, cheese, chipotles, onion,
and tomato.
Tamales
Lonely Planet travel
(publisher of my favorite out of date “World Food” series guides) ranked tamales among the best street food in the
world.
I
can’t say that tamales are my favorite food but I know a lot of people who love
them.
Tamales
come in both a sweet and savory version. It
is one of the safer street foods as it is cooked and then kept in a steam vat
when being sold.
There
are several variations of tamales.
Corundas are the tamale of Michoacán and use
a triangle shape wrapping. They can be eaten alone, with salsa or as an
accompaniment to a meal. Here is one that I learned to wrap and another we had
in Morelia at the market.
The
Chiapas version contains items such as raisins, almonds and regional herbs such
as chipilin and wrapped in banana
leaves.
The wrapping is always
discarded before eating.
Agua Frescas and Atoles
Several drinks
are popular in the streets and at the markets in Mexico.
Agua
Fresca is the classic
street drink and have been around forever. They are made from either fruit or
rice and are blended with water and sugar to make a light, refreshing
non-alcoholic drink.
Watermelon Agua Fresca
8 cups cubed seeded watermelon, (about 6 pounds with the rind), divided
1 cup water, divided
1/3 cup sugar, divided
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 liter (4 cups) club soda, or seltzer water, well chilled
Lime slices, for garnish
1.
2.
Combine half the
watermelon, half the water and half the sugar in a blender; puree. Pour through
a coarse strainer into a large container. Repeat with the remaining watermelon,
water and sugar. Stir in lime juice. Refrigerate until well chilled, about 4
hours.
3.
4.
To serve, stir in
club soda (or seltzer) and garnish with lime.
Atole is a traditional “comfort food” and is a masa based beverage. It’s typically served with tamales
and is very popular during the Day of the Dead and the Christmas holiday
season.
It is also the
other option to coffee at the Saturday organic market.
It contains cinnamon,
vanilla and optional chocolate or fruit.
The various
blends vary in texture and can range from porridge to a very thin consistency.
I’ll stick with the thin as the thicker texture remind me of the cream of wheat
my mother made me eat every morning when I was young.
Photo from Google
Pambazo
Pambazo’s are dipped
in a warm red guajillo pepper sauce and used as a sandwich with fillings of papas con chorizo
and a wide
variety of garnishes.
I know a lot of
people who swear this is Mexico’s best street food.
Here is Saveur’s
version of Mexico City’s favorite sandwich.
15
dried guajillo chiles
1
clove garlic
½
small white onion, roughly chopped
Kosher
salt, to taste
2 ¼
lb. Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into ½" cubes
½
cup canola oil
1 ¼
lb. fresh chorizo, casings removed
6
soft pambazos or kaiser rolls, split
3
cups shredded iceberg lettuce
2
cups grated queso Oaxaca
¾
cup crema or sour cream
Heat
a 12" skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add chiles, and
cook, turning once, until toasted, about 2 minutes.
Transfer
all chiles to a large bowl; pour over 4 cups boiling water, and let sit until
chiles are soft, about 30 minutes.
Drain,
reserving 1 ¼ cups soaking liquid, and remove stems and seeds from chiles.
Transfer
chiles and reserved soaking liquid to a blender along with garlic and onion;
purée until very smooth, at least 2 minutes.
Pour
sauce into a bowl; set aside.
Bring
a 4-qt. saucepan of salted water to a boil over high heat; add potatoes, and
cook until just tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Heat
2 tbsp. oil in a 12" skillet over medium heat; add chorizo, and cook,
stirring to break up into small pieces, until browned and cooked through, about
8 minutes.
Add
potatoes, and cook until potatoes are very tender, about 2 minutes; season with
salt and pepper and set aside.
Using
your fingers, scoop out and discard the insides of rolls, leaving a ½"-thick
shell. Place about 1 cup potato-chorizo mixture on roll bottoms, and cover with
tops; press sandwiches lightly to flatten and compact filling.
Heat
2 tbsp. oil in a 12" skillet over medium-high heat.
Submerge
two sandwiches in chile sauce until thoroughly soaked, at least 10 seconds;
place in skillet, and cook, pressing constantly with a metal spatula to flatten
and flipping once, until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes.
Transfer
to a cutting board; repeat with remaining oil, sandwiches, and sauce.
Open
sandwiches and divide lettuce, cheese, and crema among sandwiches; close
sandwiches again and serve warm.
Tlacoyos
The size of the corn
masa plays a huge role in the toppings added and what a dish is called.
Honestly, I didn’t
even know what Tlacoyos were until I came to San Miguel. I’ve probably eaten
them at some time or another but I never paid attention. It was breakfast and
back then I just didn’t care that much about food.
Traditional Tlacoyos are filled with refried beans—the most traditional—or with requesón (ricotta) flavored with Mexico’s finest herb: epazote.
I order it with everything and get a pile of non-traditional toppings like crema, salsa and cotija cheese.
Black Bean Tlacoyos
Black Beans:
1 pound dried black beans, washed, picked over to remove dirt, stones, etc...
1 small white onion, diced
2 tablespoons oil (I used corn)
2 sprigs fresh epazote or 1 teaspoon dried epazote
two quarts water and possibly a bit more
one teaspoon salt or to taste
No need
to soak the beans for this recipe. In a large pot over medium heat, heat the
oil until it shimmers. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently to prevent
burning for ten minutes or so until the onions have a golden color.
Add the
beans and two quarts water to the pot. Add the epazote. Bring to a boil, reduce
to a simmer, and let cook for two hours, stirring occasionally. If the water
level gets less than a half-inch over the beans, add more water to cover.
When
beans are tender, without chalky texture at all, add salt to taste. Stir well
and simmer for fifteen minutes more so beans absorb salt.
Cool and store.
Tlacoyos:
1 3/4 cups masa corn meal
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening (or lard if you prefer)
pinch of salt
1 cup plus two tablespoons warm water
3/4 cup black beans from above recipe
1/3 cup vegetable oil
Drain
the beans, reserving the liquid, and mash them up with a fork. If you find the
beans are too dry to mash, add some of the reserved liquid back until you have
a spreadable paste.
Mix the
masa, shortening, salt, and water together until the dough resembles a soft
chocolate chip cookie dough. Divide the dough into 12 equal parts, form into
balls, place the balls on a plate and cover with plastic wrap.
Heat a
griddle or dry skillet on medium heat. Get the tortilla press out. Cover the
bottom plate with a square of heavy plastic. Take a ball of dough and place it
in the middle of the press. Put eh second sheet of plastic on top of it and
close the press. Push down lightly on the handle to evenly press the masa.
Remove
the top sheet of plastic. You will now have a flat round tortilla-like object.
Leaving a half-inch gap at each end, drop a teaspoon's worth of mashed black
beans in a vertical stripe from top to bottom of the masa circle.
Reach
under the plastic and fold two sides in towards each other, parallel to the
stripe, loosely covering the filling. You should now have a long box with round
ends with the black bean stripe running down the center, partially covered by
the folded in sides of the circle. Working from underneath, fold and pinch the
masa at the open ends to close it over the bean filling.
The goal
is to form an oval, but mine ended up more like rectangles. It won't affect the
flavor as long as you keep the black beans on the inside and the masa on the
outside.
Place
the finished masa oval in the dry pan and
toast it for ten minutes. Repeat the forming procedure and add the rest of the
tlacoyos to the pan as you can. Toast for about 5 minutes per side, removing finished
pieces or batches before adding new ones. The tlacoyos will firm up and the
masa will feel more brittle. Set aside on a cooling rack until all are finished
toasting. You should have some dark marks on each one from the pan.
Remove
from the cooling rack and place on a plate them cover in plastic wrap again.
Put a
baking sheet in the oven and set the temperature of the oven to the lowest
possible setting (Probably 150-200 F).Add 1/3 cup of oil to a skillet and heat
until shimmering.
Working
in batches, carefully lay tlacoyos in the pan until the pan is full but not
crowded. Fry for two minutes then turn the tlacoyos over and fry the other side
for two minutes.
Drain on paper towels, then put the finished tlacoyos on the
baking sheet to hold until you are finished with all the pieces and are ready
to serve.
Accompaniments:
1 cup green salsa
10-12 thinly
slice radishes
1/2 diced onion
1/3 pound hot cooked chorizo.
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup crumbled queso anejo
Flautas
Flautas are now one of my favorite eats in Mexico. These are tortillas filled with chicken
or pork and deep fried. The
crunchy snacks can be served plain or topped with lettuce, sour cream and
crumbled cheese.
I get my flauta fix at El Tucan. An order
comes with five flautas but if I’m not that hungry Alex lets me order just one.
Five are just 25 pesos or $1.96.
Chicken Flautas with Lime n’ Sour Cream
3 cups cooked and shredded chicken
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
24 corn tortillas, 6 to 7 inches in diameter
2 cups crumbled queso fresco cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
Juice of two limes
Peanut or canola oil, for frying
2 tablespoons butter
Salsa verde and guacamole, for serving
Preheat the oven 325°F. Fill a pot with
peanut or canola oil on medium-high until it reaches 375°F. Melt butter in a
skillet over medium heat. In a large bowl, combine chicken, paprika, kosher
salt, garlic powder, cumin, chipotle, chili powder, cayenne, and black pepper.
Add chicken and cook until warmed through.
Place chicken mixture in the middle of tortillas
and sprinkle with queso fresco.
Roll tortilla and secure with a toothpick.
Add tortillas to the oil, holding closed
for a moment to set the shell. Cook until crisp and light golden in color,
about 2 minutes. Place flauta on a paper-towel lined pan.
Cook the tortillas in batches.
For the sour cream, mix with lime juice.
Serve the flautas with the lime sour
cream, salsa verde, and a dollop of guacamole.
Gazpacho
I
found this gazpacho, my favorite cold soup in Playa del Carmen. It’s cucumber,
jicama, pineapple, mango, and other fruits and veggies mixed up with tomato
juice, hot sauce, lime juice, chile powder, and cheese. I skip the cheese.
I
diced everything really chunky which is exactly how I like my Gazpacho. I also add
avocado.
This
dish is a super refreshing option on a hot day.
Gazpacho
is frequently served by beach vendors in many of the resorts in Mexico.
Jicama
The little
Mexican grocery in Highwood near where I live in Chicago serves sliced jicama
as a snack every day. I’ve grown to love the crunchy texture and especially
like it in a mixed salad with loads of fruit.
Slightly sweet, it’s hydrating
and high in fiber, with plenty of antioxidants, and vitamins.
This street
treat is really healthy and although I can’t say that about all of the street
foods options in Mexico, one thing I can say…
Otros, por
favor!
Happy Street Eating and Buen Apetito!
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