medtran49
Forum GOD!
His shows can get pretty wordy and laborious at times as he loves to explain things in very great detail. But, he does know his stuff.
Latin American dishes
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His shows can get pretty wordy and laborious at times as he loves to explain things in very great detail. But, he does know his stuff.
His videos are wordy, too. They are about 25 percent longer than they need to be.
I like his videos of his trips to Mexico. He gets into Mexican food culture, and dines at restaurants and markets, describing the food, and showing the cooks doing their work.CD
karadekoolaid
Legendary Member
That looks about par for the course, where traditional mole is concerned.Complicated, using a variety of chiles and other local ingredients, mole is quintessentially Mexican. Tradition has it that the first mole was served at a Convent in Puebla, for a visiting dignitary, but I'm pretty sure that almost every family in Mexico has their own, very special recipe.
In 2018, I went to the Mercado San Juan, a huge market in the centre of Mexico City. There was a granny there, selling chiles and her family's classic mole. I tried some and it was just phenomenal. She told me that the mole was over 80 years old: when it was running short, the family simply made some more and added it to the pot.
The first time I went to Mexico, I had a turkey (guajalote) mole . Later on the same trip, I had one with shrimp. Unbelievably good.
I fail to understand why something so utterly complex and delicious has not spread all across the world.
This is one we ate in the Cabo de Coyote restaurant, in San Miguel de Allende:
PabloLerntKochen
Über Member
TBH I'm looking for both.
I've tried some commercial hot Sauces and except one habanero only sauce, all the other were quite bad. Some are to sour and others to mild. Maybe I was to picky back then, even my habanero paste did a better job.
As a European I don't know how to use heat properly, except it's a known recipe.
karadekoolaid
Legendary Member
I'll dig out a recipe I concocted for using up odds and ends of chiles. When I had the Conserves company, we'd use red jalapenos, green jalapenos, aji amarillo, local "criollo" chiles, green Thai chiles, rocotos, and anything else I could get my hands on. Sometimes there were just a few; other times, a few kilos.
karadekoolaid
Legendary Member
Here we go. Picante Volcánico (Volcano Hot Sauce)
You can make this as hot, or as mild, as you like. The key is simply what chile you use. If you make it with jalapeños, or banana peppers, it will be fairly mild. If you use Thai chiles, or finger chiles, or mirasol chiles, it will be hot. If you use habaneros, scotch bonnet or something apocalyptic like Naga Jolokia, Trinidad Scorpion or Carolina Reaper, it will be very hot indeed.
I used annato seeds because they are easily obtainable here. All they really do is to add some colour, so if you use paprika, you'll probably get the same effect.
PabloLerntKochen
Über Member
And what other spices do you combine with the sauce later?
I like chili and fat a lot like in a cream sauce or with cheese. My other way to make something good with heat is to combine it with more hot spices, like ginger, onion and garlic and basically everything out of india, except the amount of each spice.
We had some marinated pumpkin julienne, with chili, sugar, Anis, cinnamon and lime juice. They were one of the best things I've eaten this year.
I like chili and fat a lot like in a cream sauce or with cheese. My other way to make something good with heat is to combine it with more hot spices, like ginger, onion and garlic and basically everything out of india, except the amount of each spice.
We had some marinated pumpkin julienne, with chili, sugar, Anis, cinnamon and lime juice. They were one of the best things I've eaten this year.
As a Texan,** I am familiar with cooking with hot chilis. There are a lot of HOT hot sauces, but really good tasting ones are not as common. You have probably noticed a lot of them are pretty acidic from vinegar. Most hot sauces use vinegar. Some use too much, IMO.
As for how to use heat in cooking, it varies in the US. Some people like to have their heads explode with heat. I like heat to enhance a dish, not overpower it.
Here in Texas, Mexican/TexMex heat is different from Cajun heat. TexMex heat tends to hit you in the mouth, while (good) Cajun heat sneaks up on you -- at first, you don't think it's that hot, but as you eat, you find yourself starting to feel quite warm, especially in the head and neck.
Original Texas chili (con carne) uses dried chilis, while other TexMex food, like tacos and nachos use fresh chilis. Dried chilis add a more toasty/smoky taste to foods, while fresh chilis have more brightness.
I really like combining heat and sweet. Adding sweet fruits to salsas and sauces is really tasty, to me. Another good mixture is dried chili powders or hot sauces and honey, or "hot honey." That's good on fried chicken.
CD
** Before someone posts I wasn't born in Texas, that's true, but I've lived here for 48 years, so stop typing.
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karadekoolaid
Legendary Member
It's something you get used to. A question of working up to your comfort level, gradually, if you like the heat. Some people reject it from the start, others love it.