One of the errors that is frequently made by new cooks is to confuse Southwestern (aka Tex-Mex) recipes with traditional Mexican food. We recently received some authentic ethnic recipes via e-mail from B.J. White who was in Belize teaching for the Regional Language Center at the University College of Belize. B.J. shared recipes from some of the students who were studying English - along with their comments. We have tried two of them and thought they were quite good. We find it interesting that the green onion pancakes appear to be quite "trendy" now. We have seen similar recipes in some of recently published cookbooks.
The shredded pork recipe is one we have been making for some time and have found several different ways to serve it. In addition to using the meat and sauce as a filling for tortillas, it makes an excellent taco salad when spooned over tortilla chips and topped with sour cream, etc. Our next change to the recipe will be the addition of fried corn tortilla strips as done in the chilaquiles recipe. With enough modifications, the shredded pork may appear in a Mexican Lasagna recipe - a work in progress which has been redone over several months, but still is not quite right.
This recipe was provided by Jack and Annie, both students from Taiwan. Jack noted that "green onion pancakes are a very popular snack in Taiwan". Annie said that "in Taiwan, they sell green onion pancakes from a car or truck, kind of like they sell ice cream here. When we go to the movies with our friends, there is always a street vendor parked outside waiting to sell us some green onion pancakes".
Ingredients:
Optional Dipping Sauce:
In bowl, combine the flour, salt and water. Knead the dough for five minutes. Roll the dough into a log (about 3 inches in diameter). Cut the dough into slices approximately 1 inch wide.
Put a small amount of oil in the palm of your hand and lightly oil each dough slice and then press the dough into a circle about 1/2 inch thick. Place 1 TBS chopped green onion in the center of each piece of dough and bring the edges up around the onions and pinch together. Turn the onion-filled ball over and roll out with an oiled rolling pin into a fairly thin 8-inch circle.
Heat oil in a frying pan and lightly fry the pancakes on both sides until light brown. If desired, combine soy sauce and Tabasco to taste and use as a dipping sauce. 8 servings.
Alexander, who is from Mexico, has seen his mother make this recipe for chilaquiles and thinks that with some help, he could make these by himself. He already knows how to cook chicken and "mole" if he uses the "mole" from a jar.
Ingredients:
Place the tomatoes, chopped onion and pepper into a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes. If a less chunky sauce is desired, place tomatoes into a food processor and blend until smooth. Return sauce to pot and simmer an additional 15 minutes.
Cut the corn tortillas into strips approximately 1/2 inch wide and 2 inches long. Fry the strips, a few at a time, in a small amount of oil until golden brown. Place on paper towels and drain.
Combine the sauce with the shredded chicken and check seasoning. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add the tortilla strips and simmer an additional five minutes. Top with the grated cheese and heat just until the cheese is melted. Serve topped with additional diced onion, if desired. 4 servings.
Ingredients:
Heat the oil in a large pot over low heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the pepper flakes and pork, raise heat and brown (about 10 minutes). Mix in the seasonings and cook 3-5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for one hour. Uncover and simmer for an additional hour (or until the meat shreds easily).
Remove the pork from the liquid, using a slotted spoon. Refrigerate meat until cool. Place the liquid over high heat and keep at a low boil until reduced to 1 1/2 cups - about 30 minutes. When the pork is cool, shred it using fingers. Mix it into the sauce and heat through. Use as a filling for tacos or burritos. This also works well as the main ingredient for taco salad. Makes about 6 cups.
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