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 Entertainment | Restaurants & Dining | October 2007 
Make Mexican Your Home Cuisine
 Karen Fernau - The Arizona Republic
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| | Mexican entrees are usually built around a mole or sauce, like this one served with empanadas. (Heather Wines/Gannett News) | 
| | Flan, a custard dessert, is made with eggs and either milk or cream. (Gannett News) |
If your idea of Mexican food is a tortilla topped with cheese, it's time to change your ways. Mexican food - from Oaxacan mole chicken to red snapper seasoned with cinnamon, cloves, capers and white wine - offers a wide variety of flavors and foods.
Instead of doubling up on chips and salsa, pledge to expand your Mexican food repertoire by ordering new dishes in restaurants or cooking south-of-the-border specialties at home.
"Eating an authentic Mexican meal is not what folks expect," says the guru of Mexican cooking, chef Rick Bayless, who is currently shooting "Mexico - One Plate at a Time" for PBS (check local listings). The sixth season will begin airing in early 2008.
"It is not the 'combo No. 2 platter' with cheesy beans and loads of sour cream ... Mexican meals are usually quite simple," Bayless says. A homemade Mexican meal "consists of corn tortillas, beans and rice - the main meal, eaten in the afternoon is usually built around a specific sauce or mole. The meat might be chicken, pork or steak, but the focus is on the sauce."
As for finding Mexican ingredients, it's not as hard as you might think, says Bayless, an award-winning author whose books can be found on his Web site www.rickbayless.com.
"There are a lot of online sources available to everyone now. It is fabulous to see that no matter where you live, ordering epazote is only a click away. I also think that most folks can venture out in their city and look for ethnic markets. There, you will learn what is available in your community."
To that end, we've prepared a cheat sheet for those wanting to whet their Mexican cooking skills. The culinary terms and ingredients may be confusing at first, so here are simple definitions to help navigate ordering from menus and, for the ambitious, cooking their own:
Achiote: Annatto seeds with slightly bitter, earthy flavor that is used for seasoning and coloring.
Adobo: A sauce made with vinegar, chiles and garlic and typically served over chicken or stew.
Bolillo: French-style, crusty bread rolls served with entrees and used for sandwiches.
Borracho: Literally means "drunk" and refers to sauces made with tequila or pulque, a thick beer made from the agave plant.
Cajeta: A confection made by simmering goat's milk and sugar to a thick paste.
Caldo: A broth fortified with poached chicken, a little rice, cilantro, Serrano chile and white onion, all finely chopped.
Carnitas: Pork, usually simmered in enough lard to cover it, often with garlic and sometimes fruit juices, until tender and crisp, then used as a filling for tacos.
Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce: A spicy condiment of chiles, herbs and vinegar. The sauce is medium hot, with a smoky, slightly sweet flavor. It's good in chili, soups and barbecue sauces.
Chorizo: A spicy Mexican sausage made from coarsely ground fresh pork mixed with garlic, chiles and spices.
Cilantro: The bright green leaves and stems of the coriander plant have a lively, pungent flavor.
Empanada: A pastry turnover filled with meat, fruits or other sweets.
Enfrijolada: A corn tortilla dipped into pureed beans.
Epazote: A pungent herb that adds zest to beans, fish, beef and chicken.
Escabeche: A mixture of vinegar, oil, herbs and seasonings used to preserve or "pickle" foods such as poultry, fish, chiles and other vegetables.
Flan: Custard of dessert made with milk or cream, and eggs.
Masa: This is simply the Spanish word for "dough." It refers to the corn dough used to make tortillas and tamales as well as other traditional Mexican dishes.
Menudo: Soup or stew made with tripe and flavored with chiles. A specialty of northern Mexico, it's considered a cure for hangovers.
Mole: Complex dark sauce with chiles, nuts, spices, fruits, vegetables and seasonings.
Flor de calabaza: Squash blossoms used in everything from soups to sauces.
Nopales: Prickly pear cactus pads eaten as a vegetable.
Pepitas: Pumpkin seeds with a delicate flavor that intensifies when roasted and salted. Often ground and used in sauces.
Piloncillo: This unrefined sugar, called panela or panocha, is hard, dark brown and chemical free. It's sold in cones about 3 inches tall.
Queso fresco: Cheese made from cow and goat milk. It tastes like a mild feta, crumbles easily and is good in salads or with beans.
Tacos al carbon: This specialty of northern Mexico refers to tacos filled with charbroiled meats.
Tamarind: The fruit of a shade tree, these pods contain seeds and a sour-sweet pulp. This fruit is used to flavor drinks such as aguas frescas and meat dishes.
Contributing: Aliah D. Wright, Gannett News Service. |
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