Mexico Cooks!

What'll You Have? Mexico's Most Popular Drink :: The Michelada

A perfect michelada, rimmed with Tajín and topped with crunchy fresh cucumber.  Spicy, salty, beery, umami-rich, and completely refreshing.  

Here in Mexico--everywhere in Mexico!--the single most popular beer drink is the michelada. Its ingredients, always based on beer, depend on the bartender, the part of the country one is in, or on one's personal taste.  A michelada is an any-time, any-season drink.

We see fútbol (soccer) stadiums full of people slugging down liters of stadium-prepared micheladas, parties at home where no other alcoholic beverage is served, and restaurant tables full of people slurping them down along with their barbacoa, carne asada, or pozole--or accompanying a hamburger and fries, or a salad.  The michelada goes with just about any sort of food.  Popular wisdom also knows it as a super hangover cure, so hey--beer for breakfast in your hour of need?  Why not, just this once?


The primary ingredient of any michelada is beer.  Most people prefer a light-colored lager, but once in a while someone will order a michelada made with dark beer. Corona is just one option; any light-colored lager will do. First and foremost is to use the lager you prefer: Corona, Pacifico, Modelo, or any other. And your beer doesn't even have to be made in Mexico; use whatever country's beer you like best. Photo courtesy Corona.

The seasonings in a michelada typically include either Clamato, V8, or plain tomato juice, plus Worcestershire sauce, a very hot bottled salsa like Valentina, Cholula, Yucateca, or any of dozens on the grocer's shelf, salt—lots of salt—powdered chile, the umami-heavy seasoning liquid called Maggi, and freshly-squeezed jugo de limón (the juice of a key lime). 


Rim a frosted pint mug or glass with powdered Tajín (a commercial mix of powdered dry chile, limón flavoring, and salt).  You can find Tajín in almost any supermarket. There are imitators, but if you can find Tajín, it's the best.  Photo courtesy Tajín.

Now add the rest of the ingredients.  Here's a recipe to get you started; experiment with micheladas till the flavor blend is exactly the way you like it.

Micheladas a la mexicana

• light-colored lager beer of your choice
• Clamato or V8 or tomato juice
• 3 or 4 splashes hot sauce, more or less to taste.  Try Valentina, or Cholula, or use your favorite.
• 2 splashes of Worcestershire sauce
• 2 splashes of Maggi sauce 
• Juice of one lime
  
  Fill the glass about ¼ to ⅓ with the Clamato juice. Add the hot sauce, the lime juice, the Worcestershire sauce, and the soy sauce. If you used Tajín to salt the rim, pour any excess from the plate into the glass.  Fill the rest with cold beer and top off your micheladas with sticks of celery or jícama, skewers of shrimp or olives, half-moons of cucumber, freshly-cooked octopus--really, anything within the limits of your imagination.  And for good measure, add another splash of Maggi. 

Clamato contains water, tomato concentrate, high fructose corn syrup, MSG, salt, citric acid, onion powder, celery seed, garlic powder, dried clam broth, unspecified spices, vinegar, natural flavors, food coloring, and ascorbic acid to maintain color.  Photo courtesy Clamato.

V8 juice contains a blend of reconstituted vegetable juices including tomatoes, carrots, celery, beets, parsley, lettuce, watercress, and spinach, plus a tiny percentage of salt, ascorbic acid, citric acid, and natural flavoring. Photo courtesy V8.


Campbell's tomato juice contains tomato juice from concentrate, potassium chloride, ascorbic acid, citric acid, salt, malic acid, and other flavorings.  Photo courtesy Campbell's.


In the United States, the ingredients in Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce are: distilled white vinegar, molasses, sugar, water, salt, onions, anchovies, garlic, cloves, tamarind extract, natural flavorings, and chili pepper extract.  Anchovies--did you know that?  Photo courtesy Lee & Perrins.


Valentina is arguably Mexico's best-known bottled salsa. The photo shows the four liter bottle--nearly a gallon! That size should keep you in micheladas for quite a while. If you'd prefer a smaller bottle, you can buy Valentina, either hot or extra-hot, in a 12.5 ounce size.  The ingredients are water, chile peppers, vinegar, salt, spices and sodium benzoate (as a preservative). The taste can be described as a citrus flavor, with a nicely spicy aftertaste. Photo courtesy Valentina.


If you're not already using Maggi for cooking, look for it until you find it for your micheladas.  Of Swiss origin, Maggi is ubiquitous, literally a global phenomenon, used all over the world to add an extra touch of taste to savory recipes.  It's indispensable in a michelada, bringing the utmost in umami to the drink.  Your micheladas will be pale in flavor without it.  Ingredients vary by country; if you have an MSG sensitivity, be sure to look for it in the ingredients list.  Some countries' Maggi have it, some don't.  Photo courtesy Maggi.


Finally, the taste of freshly squeezed jugo de limón (juice from the key lime) will brighten up your michelada in a way that regular lime juice won't.  You'll find limones in many supermarkets and Latin specialty markets.  The juice of one limón per liter of michelada is the ratio you want.  Mexico Cooks! photo. 

The name michelada is said to be made of three words: 'mi' (my) 'chela' (a popular nickname for any beer) and 'helada' (icy cold). How many micheladas are consumed in Mexico every year?  Untold millions!  Do your part to keep the numbers up!

Salud!  (To your health!)

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Delicious Winter Squash, Mexican Style, for Your Thanksgiving Table :: Calabaza en Tacha

Looking for something different to serve for Thanksgiving?  How about calabaza en tacha--winter squash cooked in a deliciously sweet syrup?  As a side dish instead of sweet potatoes--or in addition to sweet potatoes!--this Mexican-style squash is sure to be a hit with your family and guests.

Mari, the woman who at one time spoiled Mexico Cooks! by doing all of my housework, gave me a squash.  She brought two home from her rancho (the family farm) out in the country, one for her and one for me.  The 8" diameter squash wasn't very big, as winter squash go, but it was plenty for me.  Mari's first question, after I had happily accepted her gift, was whether or not I knew how to cook it.  "Con piloncillo y canela, sí?" (With cones of brown sugar and cinnamon, right?) 

Even though I knew how to spice the squash and knew how to cut it apart, knowing and doing these things turned out to be worlds apart.  Faced with the project, I waffled and hesitated, intimidated by a large vegetable.  The squash sat on the counter for several days, daring me to cook it before it molded.  Then one of the cats toppled it over and rolled it around the counter, so I moved the squash outside onto the terrace table and gathered my nerve. 

On Sunday, I finally decided it was Cook the Squash day. Mari was due to arrive early on Monday morning and it had to be done before she scolded me for letting it sit for so long.  I chose pots, knives, and gathered the rest of the simple ingredients for a mise en place.

The squash with the first section cut out.

Cutting the squash in sections was the only difficult part of preparing it.  The shell of the squash is hard.  Hard.  HARD.  I was careful to keep the knife pointed toward the wall, not toward my body.  With the force I needed to cut the squash open, one slip of the knife could have meant instant and deep penetration of my innards.  Later that night, my friend Araceli told us that her mother usually breaks a squash apart by throwing it from her home's second floor balcony onto the concrete patio!  The next morning, Mari told us that her husband had cut their squash apart with a machete.  I felt really tough, knowing that I'd been able to cut it open with just a big knife and a few pointed words.  (That's shorthand for 'the air turned blue above my counter').

The squash, cut into sections and ready for the pot.  On the counter behind the squash is a 1930's Mexican covered cazuela (casserole), the top in the form of a turkey.

Once I had the (few pointed words) squash cut open, I scooped out the seeds and goop and cut it into sections more or less 4" long by 3" wide.  I did not remove the hard shell, nor should you.


Piloncillo cones in two sizes.  The large one weighs 210 grams; the small one weighs 35 grams.  I use the small ones in the recipe below.

Meantime, I had prepared the ingredients for the almíbar (thick syrup) that the squash would cook in.  Mexican stick cinnamon, granulated sugar, and piloncillo (cones of brown sugar) went into a pot of water.  I added a big pinch of salt, tied anise seed and cloves into a square of cheesecloth and tossed the little bundle into the water.  The pot needed to simmer for at least three hours, until the syrup was thick and well-flavored.

Clockwise from left: Mexican stick cinnamon, anise seed, piloncillo, and cloves.

Several hours later (after the syrup thickened well), I added the pieces of squash to the pot.  Cooking time for this very hard squash was approximately an hour and a half over a low-medium flame. 

As the squash cooks in the syrup, it softens and takes on a very appetizing dark brown color.  Calabaza en tacha is one of the most typically homey Mexican dishes for desayuno (breakfast) or cena (supper).  Well heated and served in a bowl with hot milk and a little of its own syrup, the squash is both nutritious and filling.

Squash for breakfast!  On Monday morning, Mexico Cooks! served up a bowl of squash with hot milk, along with a slice of pan relleno con chilacayote (bread filled with sweetened chilacayote squash paste).  Mari thought my squash was almost--almost--as good as hers.

Calabaza en Tacha estilo Mexico Cooks!

Ingredients
One medium-size hard shell winter squash (about 8" high)
6 cups water
14 small cones of dark piloncillo (coarse brown sugar)
2 cups granulated sugar
4 Mexican cinnamon sticks about 2.5" long
1 Tbsp anise seed
1 tsp cloves

Preparation
Heat the water in a large pot.  Add the piloncillo, the granulated sugar, and the cinnamon sticks.  Tie the anise seed and the cloves into a cheesecloth square and add it to the pot.  Cook over a slow flame until the liquid is thick and syrupy, approximately three hours.

While the syrup is cooking, prepare the squash.  Cut it into serving-size pieces as described above.  If the squash shell is very hard, take adequate precautions so that you do not hurt yourself as you cut it in sections.  You can always throw it from your second-floor window onto the patio!

Add the squash pieces to the thickened syrup and simmer until the squash is soft and takes on a deep brown color.  Cool for 15 minutes or so before serving.  Re-heat for desayuno (breakfast) or cena (supper).  Serve with hot milk poured over it.

Makes about 16 servings.

¡Provecho!

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Corn Travels In Baja California :: From Tijuana to Tecate, From Ensenada to Valle de Guadalupe and More!

Tijuana boasts an extraordinary school of culinary arts.  We were privileged to be invited to present Mexico's maíces nativos (native corns) to a full auditorium of faculty, students, and the interested public.  After the presentation, it was enormously gratifying to hear so many  questions: "How and where do we start to promote and preserve this ancient corn?"  "What can we do here in Baja California?"  "How do we get seeds and how do we plant them here?"  The audience truly understood and shared our preoccupation for these grains.

Left to right in the front row: W. Scott Koenig of A Gringo in Mexico, friend of maíces nativos Kalisa Wells, freelance writer Jackie Bryant, who spent the day with us, and Jennifer Kramer/Chris Mejia of Baja Test Kitchen, all of whom supported the corn project in Baja California.  Seated above Scott at the far left of the photograph is Javier González Vizcaino, the director of Tijuana's Culinary Arts School, who was responsible for our invitation to speak there.  The very fine culinary school recently celebrated its fourteenth anniversary. 


Director Javier Gónzalez, head of the Culinary Arts School, makes a comment about a question asked after the presentation.  Meeting Sr. González was a tremendous privilege for all of us involved with the Baja California corn project.  We so appreciate his cheerleading!


The quintessential Baja California fish taco, delicious and endemic to the region.  Think 'good-sized piece of battered and deep-fried fresh fish--often cazón--topped with salsa cruda (raw sauce--often erroneously called pico de gallo), finely shredded raw cabbage, drizzled with Mexican table cream and sprinkled with fresh cilantro.  The outdoor stand offers other salsas as well, which we also slathered on our tacos.  Our Baja Test Kitchen guides recommended this particular spot in the small town of Valle de Guadalupe; I'm not going to give away their secrets, but it's one of the many wonderful places they know in the in that part of the world.  They'd be happy to schedule a trip for you.


This tejuino stand was one of my favorite stops.  Rafael Mier's smile should tell you the story: so refreshing, so cold on a hot day--I could have drunk at least two cups, but we were on our way to eat elsewhere and tejuino is quite filling.  The drink is a mixture of fresh masa (corn dough), piloncillo (Mexico's raw brown sugar), water, lemon juice, salt to taste, and ice.  Everything but the ice is allowed to ferment for two or three days prior to chilling and serving.  Many times your glass of tejuino will come topped with a small scoop of nieve de limón (lemon ice).  The recipe comes from the state of Jalisco and the drink is served from carts all over the city of Guadalajara.  I asked the man who served us our tejuino in Valle de Guadalupe where he was from--Guadalajara, of course!  


We thought we'd just stop by to say hello to doña Sabina Bandera (La Guerrerense) at her carreta (street stand), but of course we stayed for some of her famous seafood tostadas.  Since she was a newlywed in 1961, doña Sabina has been selling her incredibly fresh seafood preparations from a cart at the corner of Av. López Mateos and Calle Alvarado in downtown Ensenada.  In addition, she recently opened a sit-down restaurant just across the street.  Ensenada has always known and loved her and her wonderful seafood, but in 2012 Anthony Bourdain featured her on his show "No Reservations" and La Guerrerense became a legend and a Baja California food destination.  In the coming year, La Guerrerense's seafood tostadas and jars of her dozen-plus different salsas will be available at Bourdain's new market in New York--and in another world-class city that I'm not quite allowed to mention yet.  You'll read it here on Mexico Cooks! just as soon as my friend doña Sabina gives me the go-ahead.


Maíces nativos meet tostadas La Guerrerense!  The tostada on the left is pulpo (octopus); the one on the right is caracol del mar (sea snail).  Both are lip-smackingly good.  Doña Sabina, the Guerrero-born daughter of campesinos (farmers), had a lot to talk about with Rafael Mier.  He was thrilled to find out that she is 100% supportive of the work being done by the non-profit foundation Tortilla de Maíz Mexicana, and of course he is now one of her big supporters. 


The serve-yourself array of salsas at doña Sabina's new cafeteria-style sit-down restaurant across from her street cart.  The restaurant, simplicity itself and filled with the joy of good eating, shows the world just who doña Sabina is: no pretensions, straightforward this is who I am.  You can't help but love her and the food she prepares.  I certainly do.


Meet chef Omar Armas of Restaurante Mantou, Ensenada.  The maíces nativos group presented these native corns to the restaurant cooks and wait staff while we were in Ensenada.  The restaurant closed permanently on September 3, 2017, but chef Omar is keeping on with his culinary projects and plans to keep his career close to home.  Our time at Mantou was so productive--not to mention so tasty--that it seems wise to put the news out that his culinary skills will continue to be available.


Rafael Mier talked about ancient and modern corn to the entire kitchen and front-of-the-house crew; more than triple this number was in attendance.  Few had ever seen the variety of Mexico's native corns, and until hearing the talk, few understood the reasons for preserving these national treasures.  Seated opposite Rafael, chef Omar listened deeply to the themes of the presentation.  Above the heads of the group, you can see the final image of the Tortilla de Maíz Mexicana's slide show.  The caption says, "El destino del maíz está en tus manos."  'Corn's destiny is in your hands.'


After the presentation, Restaurante Mantou hosted a dinner for us, at which we drank Henri Lurton wines.  At the head of the table, Lourdes Martínez Ojeda, the head winemaker at Henri Lurton's winery (with a branch settled just over a year ago in Valle de Guadalupe) talks with everyone about why and how Henri Lurton, owner of the Château Brane-Cantenac winery in Margaux, Bordeaux, France and current head of the Lurton wine dynasties, chose Baja California for a second outpost.  In addition to her work as the winemaker at Henri Lurton Baja California, Lourdes is also chef Omar's wife.


The menu we oohed and aahed over at Mantou was almost entirely vegetarian.  This extraordinary salad consisted of sautéed shiitake mushrooms, verdolagas (purslane), locally made Parmesan cheese, and raspberry vinegar which had been fermented for six months.  With the salad, we drank Henri Lurton Chenin Blanc Centenario.  The pairing was perfect. 


Pasta al dente with a sauce of calabacitas, a small squash similar to zucchini, with cherry tomatoes and gorgonzola cheese.  The restaurant paired the pasta course with Henri Lurton Nebbiolo. 

If you're in the Ensenada area, look for any events featuring chef Omar Armas.  You won't be disappointed.

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