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 Entertainment | Restaurants & Dining | April 2006 
Cinco de Mayo Celebrates Victorious Battle, Victorious Culture
 Philip A. Stephenson - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
We should know by now that Mexico's El Cinco de Mayo (The Fifth of May) isn't the same as America's Fourth of July.
But popular imagination can probably be excused for confusion, since so much of the best stuff about celebrating El Cinco is evocative of the Fourth.
There are the parades the Mexican-American and Latin-American communities have long held.
There's the national pride - even though Cinco de Mayo is a celebration not of independence, but of a single victory over the French, The Battle of Puebla in 1862. (The French made war on Mexico, believe it or not, because they didn't want to wait an extra two years for a loan repayment.)
Then there's the food.
Sweet sauces, fiery relishes, soft corn flatbreads and roasted chicken and pork. Fine tequilas, icy mixed drinks and the rare opportunity to contemplate how entwined the history and culture of the red, white and green culture is with that of the red, white and blue.
Even better, there has been a shift in recent years, especially in the Southwest, toward celebrating El Cinco de Mayo, much as Americans do St. Patrick's Day, irrespective of one's own cultural background.
Mexican foods are just as much a mixture of that country's many peoples as are "American foods" (whatever those would be). The mad dash for the New World had many of the same results in Mexico as it did north of the border.
For one thing, it mixed cultures. The battle commemorated by the holiday was with the French, the country was originally occupied by indigenous peoples (including the Aztecs and Mayans), colonized by the Spanish, and of course, the Spanish colonization was contested by the United States.
We have that mixture of native peoples, invaders and imperial Europeans to thank for Mexican cuisine.
A word about "Mexican food." What many Americans think of as Mexican, with its homogeneous concentration on fried goods and puddles of processed cheese, is more accurately called "Tex-Mex," though admittedly it is often tasty, nonetheless.
But in authentic, un-Americanized Mexican food there is not only tastiness, but a history lesson and tremendous regional variation.
The imperial French, whose defeat we'll be commemorating in eight days, still influence Mexican cuisine.
For example, the puffed texture of French pastries influenced the making of bolovanes, a heartier tortilla. The use of corn, beans, fresh chiles, tomatoes and even chocolate is traceable to the native populations, and the Spanish contributed the use of sugar and cheese (though not nacho cheese).
Vicente Valdez, owner, chef and, if need be, busboy at his La Fiesta Restaurante in Oakland, hails from San Luis Potosi, approximately seven hours from both Puebla and the United States border. When he opened La Fiesta in late 1998, Mr. Valdez found that a compromise between his own tastes and his favorite Mexican dishes, and the more popular Tex-Mex style, was the best of both worlds for his establishment.
"When I first started, I had more Mexican dishes ... [but] the people did not like the straight Mexican food so much [because] they were so spicy."
Still, even after toning down his menu to better suit his patrons' tastes, two of his most popular dishes are more authentic Mexican than Tex-Mex.
The Chicken in Green Sauce, made with serrano chiles and tangy tomatillos, and the Chicken with Mole Sauce, of which he would only say, "I use a lot of extra spices," both have a truly Mexican feel. Even so, the latter dish does use a popular American Land O' Lakes cheese as its topping.
"Every Mexican restaurant, pretty much, they use this cheese," he said.
Authentic cheese as it would be enjoyed in Mexico is less like the melted cheddars we encounter so often in the United States and more like the fresh-pressed Queso Fresco cheese traditionally paired with tortillas and salsa; it closely resembles a firmly pressed, creamy ricotta. This makes for a great appetizer, and Queso Fresco is readily available around Pittsburgh, at specialty stores like Vera Cruz Tienda Mexicana, just a few blocks from La Fiesta, and even out at the Super Wal-Mart in North Versailles, where Mr. Valdez said he often shops.
But he admitted Cinco de Mayo isn't as authentic a holiday as he tries to make his own food.
"That's just up here [in the United States]. In Mexico, only in Puebla they celebrate."
The real celebration, he said, is Independence Day, The Sixteenth of September (or Diez y Seis de Septiembre), when "everybody celebrates - it's very, very big," similar to the way our Fourth of July is celebrated, with feasting, fireworks and parades dedicated to celebrating Mexico's freedom from European external powers.
"Here, for the Cinco de Mayo, they celebrate this," he said, laughing and miming the taking of a shot.
"But, it's good, you can have some food and relax."
Which, he said, is mostly why he's in the restaurant business, whether he's serving Mexican or Tex-Mex.
"I just like serving the good food for the people."
CHICKEN IN GREEN CHILE SAUCE
1 1/2 cups hulled green pumpkin seeds (about 7 ounces)
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
6 black peppercorns
4 allspice berries
3 cloves
1 pound fresh tomatillos or a 28-ounce can tomatillos
6 fresh serrano chilies
1/2 large white onion
4 garlic cloves
1/2 cup packed coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Kosher salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 cups chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium canned
6 cups cooked, shredded chicken
Garnish: chopped toasted hulled pumpkin seeds and chopped fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves
Heat a large heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot and toast pumpkin seeds, stirring constantly, until they have expanded and begin to pop, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer seeds to a plate to cool. In skillet heat sesame and cumin seeds, peppercorns, allspice and cloves, stirring until fragrant, about 1 minute, and transfer to the plate. When seeds and spices are cool, grind them in batches in a clean electric spice/coffee grinder.
If using fresh tomatillos, discard husks and rinse with warm water to remove stickiness. Stem serrano chilies. In a saucepan simmer fresh tomatillos and serranos in salted water to cover 10 minutes. (If using canned tomatillos, drain them and leave serranos uncooked.) Transfer tomatillos and serranos (use a slotted spoon if simmered) to a blender and puree with onion, garlic, 1/4 cup cilantro and salt until completely smooth.
Heat the oil in a 5-quart heavy pot over medium-high heat. Pour in the tomatillo puree and cook, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Add 2 1/2 cups of the broth and stir in the powdered pumpkin seed mixture. Simmer sauce, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes.
In blender, puree 1/2 cup broth and remaining 1/4 cup cilantro until completely smooth. Stir puree and chicken into sauce and heat until hot. Transfer the chicken mixture to a bowl or plate and garnish with pumpkin seeds and cilantro.
Gourmet magazine
CHICKEN WITH RED MOLE SAUCE
5 dried guajillo chiles, cored and seeded
5 dried pasilla chiles, cored and seeded
5 dried ancho chiles, cored and seeded
Extra virgin olive oil
4 large, ripe plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/2 Spanish onion, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, quartered
1 cup raisins
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
4 whole cloves
1/2 to 3/4 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1 tablespoon sesame oil or olive oil, plus more to taste
1 ounce dark chocolate
Loosely tear the dried chiles, making sure to discard any remaining seeds. In a heavy skillet toast all 15 chiles in batches over moderate heat until they release their aroma, 15 to 20 seconds. Take care not to burn them. Remove them and soak them in water for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, lightly coat the same skillet with olive oil and saute the tomatoes, onion, garlic and raisins until the skins of the tomatoes begin to peel off and the onion softens, about 5 minutes.
In a smaller pan, heat the dried herbs and spices (cumin through cloves) until they release their aromas, less than a minute. Place the rehydrated chiles, cooked vegetables, spices, half of the chicken stock and salt into a food processor or blender. Puree the mixture until is smooth. Strain the sauce through a sieve.
Heat the sesame or olive oil in skillet. Add the mole sauce and stir in the chocolate. When the chocolate melts, stir in salt and extra broth to desired consistency and taste. Serve warm with shredded sauted chicken breast.
Adapted from "Latin Chic: Entertaining with Style and Sass"
PORK CARNITAS
2 pounds pork tenderloin cut into medallions
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup pineapple juice
1 cup white wine
2 cups corn syrup
2 cups chili sauce
2 cups chicken stock
2 ounces habanero pepper sauce
Black pepper
Garlic powder
3 medium yellow onions, peeled and chopped
Seasoned flour
Soy bean or canola oil for frying
Combine equal amounts of soy sauce, pineapple juice and white wine. Place pork medallions in marinade for one hour.
Combine equal amounts of corn syrup, chili sauce and chicken stock in saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer for 1/2 hour until it comes to a glaze. Season with habanero sauce, black pepper, garlic powder to taste.
Saute chopped onions in about 1 tablespoon soy or canola oil over medium heat until translucent and beginning to brown.
Meanwhile, dredge marinated pork medallions in seasoned flour. Heat soy bean oil in separate skillet, saute dredged pork medallions in oil for 2 minutes on one side, turn and saute an additional 3 minutes.
Drain oil, add glaze, simmer for two minutes. Serve over rice and garnish with chopped, sauteed onions.
Adapted from Cooks.com |
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