Ole! Ole! Ole! If that doesn’t sound familiar it’s either you have not had your fill of cartoons (as in Speedy Gonzales) or just missed out on your Hispanic heritage. Those were the Spaniards you’d say, but there’s such a thin line dividing all Hispanics that they necessarily overlap in influence. The richness of the sauce, the spices, something that makes our mouth water just thinking about the food we are about to prepare. After 400 years of colonization, it’s small wonder how the Hispanic words have managed to be part of our everyday vocabulary. Arroz is rice, Caldo is soup, Carne (karne) meat, Cebolla (sibuyas) onions, Cerveza (serbesa) beer, Higado (igado) liver, Camote (kamote) sweet potatoes, and Pimienta (paminta) pepper. The list goes on and we would need more units of Spanish in college to translate the rest.

    Mexican food has seen a fast rise in popularity in the restaurant circles lately because of our natural tendency to be drawn to our heritage. The adventurous spirit of our young patrons, who have dominated the scene of late, enjoy the twists and new renditions of our favorite food. It seems to me that whatever you wrap in a tortilla will be as delectable to us Filipinos as it would be with a cup of rice. Excluding Sinigang na Baboy or Hipon, most everything like Adobo, Asado and even fried chicken with the right sauce, makes a great tortilla. But if you think you’ve really tasted Mexican food by eating a taco or a tortilla, well, guess again. You’ve barely scratched the surface of a rich culinary heritage. There is Mole Poblano (sauce made of chocolate, chiles and spices served over chicken) from Puebla, Cochinita Pibil (suckling pig) from the Yucatan, and Huevos Rancheros (fired eggs served sunny-side up on a tortilla and covered with red chili sauce) from Sonora to talk about. So let’s venture into a gastronomic adventure and see how distinctly Mexican we are and how we’ve adapted the taste to our liking.

    When we mention Mexican food we can almost taste the spices. And by spice we don’t mean just savor but red hot chili peppers. But as it may be true for some, not all of chili peppers are hot. Others are sweet, mild, and richly flavored. The potency of a pepper usually lies in the veins or the ribs near the heart of the vegetable and not the seeds, as in the common belief. “That burning sensation that makes chile peppers so appealing to culinary thrill-seekers comes from capsaicin or more accurately a collection of compounds called capsaicinoids. These develop in the placenta or cross-ribs of the fruit, which is why that part of the chili pepper is the hottest. A single dominant gene transmits capsaicinoids. Bell peppers are just like jalapeno peppers and Serrano peppers but bell peppers taste bland instead of pungent because they lack that gene.“ Species may vary the flavor that we expect to get in our peppers too. Cooking the family’s favorite Callos in San Francisco is always an ordeal. Besides having to order your meats way ahead of time, I had to look for bell peppers that taste strongly as those we have here. If you want your green bell peppers sweet, then the regular grocers are alright. But if you want the full flavor that we are used to in Manila, then you have to drive to a Pacific store for that.

    Here’s a Filipino favorite, Asado and let’s compare it with the preparation of Carne Asada.

    PORK ASADO (Filipino Style)

1 kg. Pork Shoulder or Kasim
5 cups Water
¼ cup Dark Soy Sauce
¾ cup Brown Sugar
1 tsp. Star Anise
¼ tsp. Black Pepper, ground

Put all ingredients in a deep casserole and simmer until the meat is tender but not breaking.
You may tie the pork with a chef’s string to keep the juices in and pack in the meat for easy handling later.
You may also add and cook with the pork, ¼ kg.of Pork Liver.
Slice Pork and Liver and arrange in a platter as you would serve Roast Beef.

    CARNE ASADA (Mexican Style Beef Tips & Gravy)

½ kg. Beef Stew Meat
4 cloves Garlic, chopped
1 med. Onion, chopped
1 tsp. Cumin, ground
1 tsp. Black Pepper, ground
400 gms. Tomato Sauce
1 pc. Beef Bouillon
Flour

Sort through stew meat and trim excess fat before cutting into 1-inch pieces.
In a medium size heavy bottom pot, place enough bacon drippings or melted lard to cover the pan. Saute the meat, garlic and onions until the meat is lightly brown.
Add water just enough to cover the meat and add the bouillon, cumin, pepper and tomato sauce. Cover and simmer on low heat until meat is tender.
After about an hour add flour to thicken the sauce, stirring from time to time for about 5 minutes or so.
Serve from the heat and serve with Spanish rice and refried beans. You can also serve this with warm tortillas to make soft tacos.

    CARNE ASADA – 2

¾ kg. Top Round Steak or Boneless Chuck Steak, cut into 1-½ inch thick

Marinade:
¼ cup Red Wine Vinegar
2 Tbsp. Olive oil
1 tsp. sage leaves
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. Dry Mustard
½ tsp. Paprika

Basting:
2 Tbsp. Steak sauce

12 pcs. Flour Tortillas, 5-8 inches in diameter
2 med. Onions, sliced paper thin or chopped
Green chiles, cut into strips
Softened butter or margarine
Salsa
Guacamole

Place steak in a plastic bag or non-metal baking dish. In a small bowl, combine marinade ingredients. Pour over steak, turning to coat. Seal bag or cover the dish; marinate at least 6 hours overnight in refrigerator, turning once or twice.
When ready to barbecue, drain meat, reserving marinade by placing in small saucepan. Add steak to marinade; blend well. Heat on grill. Cook for 30 –40 minutes, turning once, or until desired doneness, brushing occasionally with marinade.
To serve, cut steak across grain into thin slices. Spoon any remaining marinade over slices. Arrange steak, warmed tortillas, onions, chiles, butter, salsa and guacamole on a large platter. Spread butter on tortilla; top with meat and any combination of vegetables or sauce. Roll up to eat.

GUACAMOLE
3 pcs. ripe avocados
1 large ripe tomato, diced
½ small onion, minced
tbsps. Fresh coriander, chopped
1 ½ tbsps. Fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced and mashed to paste with
½ tsp. salt

To make guacamole or avocado dip, halve the avocados and scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Add remaining ingredients and stir till well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

    FLOURED TORTILLAS

2 cups All—Purpose Flour
¼ cup vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp baking powder
¾ cup lukewarm water

In a bowl, blend flour, salt, baking powder and shortening until it resembles fine meal.
Add water, a little at a time, to flour mixture and toss until liquid is incorporated (water amount will vary with different flour types.) Form dough into a ball and knead on a floured surface until dough is smooth and elastic.
Divide, and make 12 smaller balls. Cover and let stand at least 30 minutes.
Roll each ball of dough on a floured surface to make 6 or 7 inch sized tortillas.
Place on a pre-heated griddle or cast iron skillet and cook till medium golden on both sides. Stack between towels to keep warm and avoid sticking.
Small amounts of butter may be used for frying if desired. Although you have to watch out for evenness of the heat of your griddle to avoid burning.
Tortillas can also be grilled over a barbecue and wood burning stoves with smooth flat tops and types with round covers make excellent grilling surfaces for this recipe.

    SALSA DIP

4 med. Tomatoes, cored and finely chopped
1 cup Onions
4 tbsp. Green chiles, fresh and finely chopped; or
4 tbsp. Jalapeno peppers, fresh and finely chopped
2 tbsp. Red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. Olive oil

To make dip, combine all ingredients thoroughly and chill for about half an hour. Complete your Mexican meal with Tortillas, Guacamole and Carne Asada.

That’s just one of the many recipes that we can compare side by side with its Mexican counterpart and note the various executions. As they say, just the tip of the iceberg. We’ll have to write a book to show you the evolution of our culinary heritage. But for now, let’s just try out all these fabulous recipes and savor the Mexican legacy. For comments and suggestions please e-mail me at Pattycakes@i-manila.com.ph.