How do you make "authentic" Mexican food?

Question

Of course I use the term "authentic" cautiously here. I'm speaking of the Mexican restaurants in America (you know, the ones that are always "El Something"), which I'm hopelessly addicted to.

What's the secret to their cooking? When I make burritos at home they don't even come close. By comparison everything I make is very... Dry? For lack of a better term. The ground beef is in large chunks and not as moist, there are no good sauces integrated into the dish, the tortilla is dry. Pretty much everything I cook ends up tasting like a taco kit without the taco kit.

I would love to be able to cook Mexican food as you get it in the restaurants. Moist meat, lots of sauce, lots of intermingling of the ingredients and flavors. How do you do it? Do I need to boil the meat? Drench everything in special sauces? I'm all ears here.

Answer 1

look for a cook book on mexican cookery by Lourdes Nichols, everything I've made from it has been superb. She sells her mexican food to harrods in london so she knows what she is on about and is also mexican. i got mine on ebay for $1.

with the chunky meat, you have to remember that the average mexican is poor (and the restaurants cheap) so stick with chuck steak and cook it slowly for many hours. Chuck steak will break down into the lovely texture of what's in the shop if you start it off in a pot with the other stuff and then transfer the lot covered to the oven on 200 (c) for about 2 hours, then it melts in the mouth.

her recipe for chilli con carne (which by the way is not actually an authentic mexican dish) is as follows:

First make frijoles

450g/1lb dried beans (black pinto, red kidney or borlotti) I use red kidney
2 cloves garlic on skewers for easy removal
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tbs cooking oil
1/2 chopped onion
2 green chillis

check the beans for non-bean additions like stones etc, put in large saucepan and cover with cold water, wash them, changing the water several times until it comes out clear (if you have no drought just run them under the tap in a strainer for a while). Cover in fresh cold water (lots, about 15cm over the top of the bean level) and leave to soak overnight. they should double in size.

Add the garlic, top up the water and bring to the boil. partly cover and cook at rolling boil for 3 hours, if need be top up with boiling water (never cold water), until they are very soft, discard the garlic and skewers, add salt and sugar and simmer gently for 10 minutes.

heat the oil, fry half the onion until golden, add the oil, onion and chillis to the beans, simmer 15 minutes or until the liquid thickens, you can mash a few against the side of the pot to make it faster. discard the chillis unless you want it hot. ok to freeze upto 3 months.

Chile Con Carne

1 kg/2lb stewing steak, cubed
2 tbs malt vinegar
3/4 tsp salt
6 springs coriander
1/2 tsp dried oragano
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
1/2 tsp dried thyme
5 cm cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp sugar
6 tbs cooking oil
2 bay leaves
750mL/1 1/4 pints water
2 cloves garlic
1 large onion
4 tbs mole powder or 2 tbs chilli powder
12 cloves
1/2 tsp cumin seeds or 1/4 tso ground cumin
1/2 tsp aniseed
1 tbs cayenne
1 tsp sesame seeds
750g/1.5 lb can tomatos with their juice well mashed (i buy crushed, it's easier)
150g/5oz tomato paste
2 chicken stock cubes
1 quanitity frijoles

season the meat with vinegar, salt, pepper and sugat. marinate in fridge overnight, covered.

in a large flame proof casserole (or oven proof pot with lid) heat the oil and fry the meat until golden brown. drain off the oil and reserve it. add the bay leaves and water, cover and simmer for about 1 hour or until tender, or cook in preheated oven 160 c or 325 F. Drain and reserve the stock, discard bay leaves. put 150mL/1/4pint of the stock in a liquidiser/food processor/blender with garlic, onion, mole or chilli powder, herbs, spices, and sesame seeds and liquidize to a smooth paste.

heat the reserved oil and fry the paste for about 4 minutes, stirring, until it dries a little. Add tomatos, tomato paste, stock cubes and stock from the meat. simmer 20 minutes, add the cooked beans and their liquid and simmer for 15 minutes. add the meat and simmer gently another 30 minutes.

I totally guarantee that there will be nothing DRY about this mixture. It takes forever to cook but you get tons of it for your effort.

Answer 2

Rather than making the meat and then pouring sauce over it, try simmering the meat in the sauce for a long time, until it falls apart. Then shred it. Dip your tortillas into the sauce before using them. Also, and I know most of us Northerners cringe every time we think of this, but a lot of Mexican food is cooked in lard - not exactly healthy, but it does add flavor and depth.

Answer 3

My favorite Chinese food is Sesame chicken with egg drop soup. My favorite Mexican food is chicken enchiladas,and beef Fajitas.