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 Entertainment | Restaurants & Dining | May 2008 
Savoring the Flavor of Cinco de Mayo
 Ron Krueger - The Flint Journal
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| | In this image from the book, "Street Food," a Mexico City taco stand offers many salsas and garnishes. (DK Publishing) | | |
Since spending 10 days in central Mexico years ago, I have been hearing about how wonderful the street food is there.
That's just great because I didn't get to sample any. I was following the stern advice of natives I was traveling with.
With Cinco de Mayo, the first of Mexico's two independence days, coming up Monday, I have vowed to return soon and plunge into some of the best street food in the world.
"The best Mexican food is the food of the people, and that's the stuff that you find on the street and in the markets," says Jose Iturriaga, a historian who has written more than 20 books about Mexican cuisine. "There are no concessions in these stalls to gastronomical fashion. These are time-tested recipes."
Guillermo Valadez, a manager at Nuevo Vallarta restaurant in Grand Blanc who is from the state of Jalisco, says I should start with tacos al pastor.
"Tacos al pastor are like the Greek meat for gyro sandwiches," Valadez said. "Filets of pork are marinated and stacked on a spit and grilled."
The stand where he gets his tacos al pastor in his hometown of Arandas offers six salsas of every hue and heat level, he said.
Valadez recommended I next move on to carnitas, slow-cooked pork packed into a tortilla and eaten with a variety of salsas.
"You might find other parts of the pig along with meat, but it's all good," he said.
Carnitas are traditional weekend fare for families gathering in the squares and can be found in every Mexican town. "(Families) buy carnitas plus beans and rice and spend the afternoon there," Valadez said.
For something lighter, he suggested tostadas. These can be topped with any of a dizzying array of fillings, but he said he always gets shrimp. Other toppings could be avocado, lettuce, tomato, sour cream and such other seafood as octopus and crab.
It was here that Valadez admitted he sometimes does not readily digest all the street food he might like to eat.
"It's the shrimp mainly that upsets my stomach, but it's so good," he said.
He said I have to try a torta, kind of a Mexican sub, but I must bring along three or four friends.
"A torta usually has pork, cheese and hot peppers, but it's really huge," he said, spreading his hands wide. He said he has never seen anyone finish a torta.
"I did see a homeless man eat 115 tacos once," he said. "I can't imagine being that hungry."
On my trip to Mexico, I am going to track down all the street fare I missed out on.
These include chalupas, canoe-shaped pieces of tortilla dough filled with grilled pork or chicken; fresh corn with cream and pomegranate seeds; ice cream made with mango, guava and other fruits; and churros, deep-fried batons of dough dredged in cinnamon sugar.
Of course, there is always the possibility of gastronomic backlash. The guidelines I keep hearing are: 1) the food in the markets is the safest, 2) get recommendations from locals and 3) get in the longest line.
Folk preventives include taking olive oil mixed with bicarbonate of soda before heading out and eating some grapeseed extract with a street meal.
I will do all that. I will not be denied.
The recipe for green tomato salsa for the adobo-marinated chicken tacos below was adapted from "Street Food" by Tom Kime (DK, $22). The recipe for red salsa is from "Rosa's New Mexican Kitchen" by Robert Santibanez (Artisan, $35).
Adobo-marinated chicken tacos with two salsas
• 1 (4 oz.) can chipotle chilis in adobo
• 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Crumbled Mexican cheese
• Green tomato salsa, instructions below
• Red salsa, instructions below
Puree the chipotles in adobo in a blender and chill until ready to use.
Pound the chicken with a meat mallet to a thickness of about 3/4 inch. Rub generously with kosher salt and arrange in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
Rub the chipotle mixture all over the chicken. You may want to wear food handler's gloves. Cover dish with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 1 hour or chill overnight. Bring to room temperature before continuing.
Heat a gas grill to medium-high or prepare a hot charcoal fire.
Grill the chicken, turning once, until charred in places and just cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove to a cutting board, cover with foil and let stand 10 minutes.
Cut chicken into 1/4-inch slices, pile on platter and serve with salsas, lime wedges and corn tortillas.
Green tomato salsa
• 6 green tomatoes, halved, seeded and diced
• 1 Spanish onion, grated
• 2 garlic cloves
• 4 serrano chilis, seeded and minced
• 1/2 bunch each cilantro and parsley, coarsely chopped
• 2 avocados, diced
• Juice of 2 limes
• 2 T. olive oil
Using a pestle and mortar, pound the garlic with the serrano chili and a pinch of salt to form a paste. Transfer mixture to mixing bowl and stir in onion and half the cilantro.
Stir in the remaining cilantro, the parsley and the avocado. Blend in the lime juice and olive oil. Taste for salt and add as necessary.
Red salsa
• 3 tomatoes, about 1 lb., cored
• 1-2 serrano chilis
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil and drop in tomatoes briefly to loosen skins, then peel and cut in half. Repeat with chilis. Cut chilis in half and remove seeds and membrane.
Preheat broiler and set rack about 8 inches away. Spread a piece of parchment paper on baking sheet and arrange tomato and chili halves on paper.
Place pan under broiler about 20 minutes for tomatoes, less time for chilis. All should be softened and evenly blackened. Let cool.
Combine the chilis, garlic, salt to taste and 1/3 of the tomatoes in a blender and blend until chilis and garlic are finely ground. Add remaining tomatoes and blend until just liquefied. Taste for salt and serve.
Information from Cox News Service is included in this article. |
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