Mexican Cuisine

108 flashcards by MentisLibrary

Mexican cooking beyond the taco stand: nixtamalized corn and masa, the fresh and dried chiles and what each one does, salsas and moles, the antojitos, regional plates from Oaxaca to the Yucatan and the north, the pantry, drinks and sweets, and the shape of a Mexican day.

Nixtamalization

Cooking and steeping dried corn in an alkaline solution of water and cal, which loosens the hulls, changes the flavor and aroma, and makes the corn's niacin available to the body.

Fresh masa or masa harina?

Fresh masa is nixtamalized corn ground wet and used within a day. Masa harina is that masa dried and powdered, rehydrated with water when you need it.

Where do corn and flour tortillas each belong?

Corn tortillas are the older and nationwide staple. Wheat flour tortillas belong to the north, where wheat grows and cattle ranching shaped the cooking.

How is a tortilla cooked on a comal?

Three turns on a dry hot griddle: a short first side, a longer second, then back to the first, where the trapped steam makes it puff.

Sope

A thick round of masa with a pinched rim, griddled and then topped with beans, meat, cheese and salsa so the wall holds everything in.

Huarache

A long oval of masa shaped like the sandal it is named after, griddled and topped with beans, meat, salsa and cheese.

Tlacoyo

A thick oval of masa stuffed before cooking, usually with refried beans, fava paste or requesón, then griddled.

Gordita

A thick masa cake cooked on the comal and then split open like a pocket to be filled.

How are tamales made?

Masa is beaten with lard until light, spread on a wrapper with a filling, folded and steamed until it sets and pulls away from the wrapper.

Corn husk or banana leaf for tamales?

Corn husks are used through central and northern Mexico and give a small tight tamal. Banana leaves are used in the south and southeast and give a broader, flatter one with a different aroma.

Chilaquiles

Fried tortilla pieces simmered briefly in salsa so they soften but do not dissolve, then topped with cream, cheese and onion.

What are totopos and where do they come from?

Wedges of tortilla dried or fried until crisp. They are a way of using yesterday's tortillas, not a separate product.

What is a quesadilla in Mexico City?

A folded tortilla with a filling, griddled or fried. In Mexico City it does not automatically contain cheese, and you have to ask for it.

What is atole, and what is champurrado?

Atole is a warm drink thickened with masa. Champurrado is atole with chocolate worked into it.

Why does the same chile have two names?

Many chiles are named one thing fresh and another dried. Poblano becomes ancho, jalapeño becomes chipotle, chilaca becomes pasilla, and mirasol becomes guajillo.

Ancho chile

A dried poblano, wide and wrinkled, dark reddish brown, sweet and mild with a raisin and prune flavor.

Guajillo chile

A dried mirasol, smooth, glossy and deep red, with bright tangy fruit and only moderate heat.

Pasilla chile

A dried chilaca, long, wrinkled and nearly black, with cocoa and dried-fruit flavor and mild to moderate heat. The name means little raisin.

Which three chiles form the base of a classic mole poblano?

Ancho, pasilla and mulato, each contributing a different kind of sweetness and depth.

Chipotle

A jalapeño that has been ripened red and then smoke-dried. Meco is the tan, heavily smoked kind and morita is the smaller, darker, fruitier one.

Chile de árbol

A slim bright red dried chile with clean, sharp heat and little sweetness.

Habanero

A small lantern-shaped chile, intensely hot and distinctly fruity and floral, central to Yucatecan cooking.

Which is hotter, a jalapeño or a serrano?

The serrano, generally by a fair margin. It is also thinner walled, which is why it is chopped raw into salsas.

What is a poblano used for?

A large mild dark green chile, the workhorse fresh chile of central Mexico, roasted and peeled before use.

How do you toast a dried chile without ruining it?

On a dry comal over medium heat, a few seconds a side, pressing it flat until it smells nutty and changes color slightly.

Where is the heat in a chile?

Mostly in the pale veins that hold the seeds, not in the flesh or the seeds themselves. Removing veins and seeds tempers a sauce considerably.

What are chiles toreados?

Whole fresh chiles blistered in a little oil, sometimes rolled between the hands first, and served alongside a meal to be bitten between mouthfuls.

Tomatillo

A small green fruit in a papery husk, tart and firm, and not a green tomato. It is the base of salsa verde.

Raw or cooked salsa verde?

Salsa cruda blends the tomatillos raw and tastes sharp and grassy. Salsa cocida boils or chars them first and tastes rounder and sweeter.

Pico de gallo

A chopped, undressed salsa of tomato, onion, chile, cilantro and lime, also called salsa fresca or salsa mexicana for its green, white and red.