Saturday February 6, 2010
Malibu, California
Rain
Two Wednesdays ago, Maria brought me a special farmer's cheese from El Salvador – Queso de Chili. It is quite a sharp cheese spiced lightly with chilis. Since I have no knowledge of Salvadoran cuisine, I decided to make a Mexican dish instead to eat with the cheese.
The best Mexican cookbook in my opinion is called "The Cuisines of Mexico" by Diana Kennedy. I like it because it is quite comprehensive and she explains in detail the essential techniques that are needed for Mexican cuisine. I did not do any Mexican cooking in Japan (except for guacamole) as getting the ingredients are very difficult. But in LA, it can be found everywhere!
So I made Carne de Puerco which is basically a Mexican style stewed pork which can be used as a filling for tamales or burritos. So last week my main meal for the whole week was a burrito with Carne de Puerco burrito, home made frijoles with rice and a green salad. Here's my recipe for the Carne de Puerco that I adapted from Diane Kennedy's cookbook
Ingredients:
- 4-5 pounds pork
- tomatoes, lots of it
- chiles (preferably serrano but I used on serrano, one jalapeno and one poblano)
- one onion
- garlic
- salt
- vodka and club soda
How to make:
Cut the meat in cubes and put it in a pot. Pour equal parts of club soda and vodka into pot. Pour enough to cover the meat. (I learned this technique from Tat-chan, my cousin's wife in Japan. It really softens the meat and adds a good flavor to it.) Bring to boil. Looks gross at the beginning like the picture below. Then turn heat low to a simmer.
Simmer until most of the liquid is gone and the meat is super tender. Remove meat from the pot.
Slice the onion and saute in the same pot used to boil the meat.
Then add chopped tomatoes and chilis and continue sauteeing. ( I used about 8 plum tomatoes but it is up to your taste.) Salt to taste.
Saute until the juices from the tomatoes evaporate and the mixture turns syrupy.
Add the meat and heat through. And that's it!