Cuisine @ MindSay

Do you believe all these are vegetarian food?

The answer is YES!

Let me get technical and anal:

E’s background: I grew up in northeastern Mexico, and came to Texas after completing the 10th grade. Since I lived in a border town anyway, it was pretty much all the same to me (life on both sides). While younger I crossed back and forth every day for schooling purposes. When I went off to college, I became a more permanent Texan.

Now to my observations:

Unfortunately chicken fajitas are a myth, there is no such thing. “Faja” means belt. “Fajitas” means little belts. Fajitas aka beef skirt is an actual cut, like t-bone or anything else. Because of the anatomical differences, chickens do not have this. I don’t think I have ever had chicken fajitas in Mexico.

Enchiladas: Authentic enchiladas do not have beef or chicken in them, nor are they smothered in melted cheese. Melted cheese and sour cream are 95% American. A true enchilada is a tortilla fried a bit for crispiness and smothered in a chile sauce. You then throw in them some fresh semi-solid cheese, potatoes, carrots, and a bit of cabbage and roll them up. They are usually fried again for a few seconds so that they can maintain their rolled up form. Not deep fried. You serve them on a plate with refried beans on the side and a bit of dry cheese (parmesan-like in composition) on top of the beans. Salsa is always handy and usually accompanies the enchiladas.

About salsa: Salsa is not supposed to be chunky. There is “pico de gallo” (rooster’s beak) OR salsa. Pico de gallo is chunky, salsa is liquid. The in-between hybrids are mostly American. One has to also understand that Mexican food in the states inevitably deviates from its original state because the consumer has different needs, expectations, and tastes…this alters the true authentic cuisine. Also, ingredients in the states are ridden with preservatives that in the end are highly detrimental to taste and quality. Anyhow, pico de gallo is a mixture of chunks of tomato, chile (usually Serrano peppers), and onions, although tasty variants add avocado and cilantro and perhaps a bit of lemon juice. BTW, Mexicans mostly only know the small green sour juiced fruit we called lemons. The big yellow variety given to you with your iced tea is not common down there. We do have limes, but they are small green, and sweet.

In case you don’t notice by now, I am very passionate about food and cooking. What else, let me think. Oh!!! Quesadillas!

Quesadillas are not an actual entrée. They are snacks you make to watch a movie while at home. They are straight up flower tortillas with excellent melted cheeses. Corn tortillas are also a very good alternative. I must say however that tex-mex restaurants make excellent chicken and beef quesadillas. For some reason however, the common store bought cheeses in the states suck. You would have to go to higher end stores to buy true French, Spanish, Italian, and if specialized enough, Mexican varieties.

Tortillas: Flour tortillas are made with white flour and lard. Sometimes the lard is substituted with vegetable shortening. Flour tortillas are most common in northern Mexico. Southern Mexico prefers corn tortillas. There are many different varieties of corn: the common yellow, purple, and red, and respectively equally colored tortillas. Go to your grocery store and buy “MASECA”…it is corn flour. All you have to do is add water and presto!, corn tortillas. 

Tacos, Tostadas, Burritos: We actually have these in Mexico, but they are not what you think. Much like real pizza in Italy was a revelation to me, my observations here might be revelations to the kind reader. There is no such thing as a hard taco. A taco is whatever ingredients you choose to place in a folded soft corn or flour tortilla. A tostada is a tortilla that has become crispy by frying it. It is normally served with whatever you want on top. If you cut up the tortilla into four equal pieces, you get “totopos”, commonly known as tortilla chips. These are world known now, mostly because of American marketing. The nachos are American as well, and they are served in Mexico like they are in the states…melted cheese and sliced jalapenos. American influences do trickle down, for better or for worse. Burritos: A burrito is a flour tortilla taco wrapped over itself more thoroughly so as to seal it better, and then deep fried. What you get at taco bell is what I just described except for the deep frying part.  

That’s it for now…

I just realized that I leave in 24 hours…have to get ready…