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GUADALAJARA--THE REAL MEXICO: TAMALES, MARIACHIS AND TEQUILA

COOL SUMMERTIME COOKING

CHICKEN ON A CAN by Lance Sanders

MEN WHO COOK FOR WOMEN--THERE IS A GOD! by C.B.

GUYS COOK

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GUADALAJARA--THE REAL MEXICO: TAMALES, MARIACHIS AND TEQUILA

After years of bugging my friend Maria Silva, proprietor of El Burrito Mercado in St. Paul, she finally agreed to escort a bunch of us women to Mexico. At first she suggested one of the resorts on the Pacific where she owns a time-share. We were less than enthusiastic. What we really wanted was to see the REAL MEXICO—a resort is a resort.

As we talked, Maria started to reminisce about a beautiful small boutique hotel that she frequents in Tlaquepaque, a suburb of Guadalajara. She went on about the wonderful people, the food, and of course, the shopping. We were hooked! Soon there were eight of us signed up and ready to go.

A little research revealed that Guadalajara in the state of Jalisco is Mexico’s second largest city with about 5 million people. The region claims to be the home of Mariachi music, Tequila liquor (in fact, only liquor produced in and around the nearby city of Tequila can claim that name), the largest lake in Mexico, some of the world’s finest pottery and blown glassware, indigenous people who still dress in brightly embroidered and embellished costumes, colorful markets, and exquisite cuisine. We sampled everything the region had to offer.

At breakfast one morning, we were serenaded by three young mariachis, who not only played traditional music, but also posed for pictures and danced. That was the breakfast in which we ate enough for an army—sopes (little open-faced sandwiches), gorditas (puffy fried tortillas), nata (a kind of sour cream) with French bread, empanadas (turnovers) with plantain, pastel de mais (fresh corn cake), several salsas, and 2 kinds of tamales, not to mention fruit and fresh-squeezed juice. We also wolfed down 3 kinds of chilaquiles.

“Chilaquiles”, Maria explained, “are the poor-people’s food. They take the leftover tortillas, cut them up, fry them and top them with salsa, beans, cheese, or whatever they have on hand.”

Another time, we took a spectacular scenic drive through field after field of blue agave (the spiky cactus used to make Tequila liquor) towards the Sierra Madre mountains into the town of Tequila. There we visited one of the distilleries where we sampled cooked agave and the three basic types of tequila.

We toured a museum whose walls were covered with frescoes by Jose Orozco. We took a boat ride on Lake Chapala; we went to a town festival and rodeo. We went to the artisans market, and we stumbled upon an Indian ceremony honoring Mother Earth. We went to a pottery workshop where everything is handmade by the fifth generation of potters. We watched glass being blown to make into tableware. We went to a food market, where booth after booth sold everything from pig heads to French bread. We shopped in a candy shop and sampled the caramel-y cajeta. We ate ourselves silly in a pastry shop. We spent one whole day poking around in the shops in Tlaquepaque—jewelry, table linens, household accessories, dishes, paintings, rugs, you name it.

Every day we experienced at least one of the many excellent restaurants. We tried all kinds of new foods and flavor combinations, including delicious Mexican coffee boiled and flavored with cinnamon and brown sugar. There was roasted goat, and salad made from prickly pear cactus, yummy cheeses, limonada (limeade made with club soda), and tamarind margaritas.

Through a friend who owns Chilaquiles restaurant in Guadalajara, Maria arranged a cooking class for our group. Chef Adrian (with interpretation by Maria—his English was almost as bad as my Spanish) taught us how to make tamales the old-fashioned way—by hand. It took 3 people and about 30 minutes to get the masa (corn dough) kneaded to the right consistency. Then we still had to cook the chicken, soften and cut the banana leaves for the wrappers, spread the dough on the banana leaves, top it with the chicken, wrap them and steam them for almost 2 hours. Now I really have an appreciation of tamales! No wonder they’re usually made for celebrations! Today, most cooks use a heavy-duty mixer instead of kneading by hand. The really smart ones buy their masa preparadora (ready to use) or buy their tamales ready to eat.

Next Chef showed us how to make one of the famous mole sauces, which he used in a stew cooked in a huge pottery pot called an olla. Mole is the national dish of Mexico, and there are probably as many recipes as there are cooks. Rick Bayless, in his cookbook, Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen (Scribner, New York, 1996), wrote, “When it is made from scratch, no matter what regional version you’re tasting, the sauce will offer the silken fullness of a 20-piece dance band, the intricacy of a Persian rug and the intensity of a Siqueros mural.” Typical moles are made with several kinds of chilies and many spices.

According to Chef Adrian, rice, a staple in Mexican cuisine, can be made in many different colors by adding different ingredients. For example, red rice takes a few beets; green, some spinach. The brown rice we made in the class was colored with cooked, pureed mushrooms, which gave it a wonderful earthy flavor. We made a green sauce to serve over the rice.

“The most important thing about cooking rice Mexican-style,” said Chef Adrian, “is to rinse it first to get rid of some of the starch. Then cook it in a lot of hot oil (enough to cover) until it is very light brown. Drain it thoroughly before adding the cooking water.”

Maria pointed out that there are few shortcuts in Mexican cuisine, and most things need to be made from scratch. But like everyone else, Mexicans are busy these days. That explains the plethora of food stands everywhere. Our group ate caramelized sweet potatoes and pumpkin, churros (crullers), and tacos, including some stuffed with intestines, from street vendors.

I’m so glad we chose Central Mexico instead of one of the coastal resorts! It was a real immersion into the food and culture of our neighbors to the South.

Chicken in Mole Barbecue Sauce