CARNE DE PUERCO EN SALSA DE TAMARINO CON ARROZ DE CHILE XCATIC.-

CARNE DE PUERCO EN SALSA DE TAMARINDO CON ARROZ DE CHILE XCATIC.-

Today we will definitely be in Classic Mexico making one of my family's favorite (I say that a lot don't I? but it's true...) I have been researching our classic dishes for over 20 years, doing Culinary Anthropology to bring back wonderful dishes that you can't find anymore because they are too labor intensive or have way too many ingredients- I don't know if you've noticed but some years ago the "dumbing" down of the culinary scene began a slide towards "easy fast" dishes so people that didn't cook or want to spend more than 30 minutes "putting dinner on" could maybe (big maybe) give them a try. But for the most part it was found that people just sit there and watch cooking shows but very rarely do they try making the food. It didn't work due to many factors, primarily among those were everybody's need to work long hours, cost of living increases, too many ready-to-eat / delivery options and just plain "don't want to do it" thinking so home cooking became rare and high-end cooking was left to the restaurants or professionals to make.

I usually talk to employees, mine included, shopkeepers, friends, people I run into on the street, at the market, etc. I ask: What do you like to eat? What do you like to cook? Who cooks at your house? Do your kids help? Who taught you how to cook? Favorite market, etc.... On more than one occasion we get to talking and I have been invited to "go talk to grandma who does the cooking" so I've had the pleasure of seeing grandma at work- very cool. Used to do this in the small towns after asking what their specialty is in the area, what used to be their claim to fame, etc. and picked up some nifty recipes along the way. In our Vallarta Restaurant I presented classic Mexican dishes prepared the old fashioned way, I've never used cans or processed food and yes, takes longer and is more work but I didn't win awards for nothing, right? Plus the flavor is soo much better! Amazing!!

Well, I wanted some tamarind and found some pods at the Super Selecto Chedraui in town, but René found some pulp at the other end of the produce department and I opted for that. If you have pods, they're dry kind of and you need to peel off the husk and put them in water, boil for a while so you can remove the pulp, take off the hard strands and pits and run the pulp through a sieve and you work from there; with the pulp in a bag, it still comes with pits and some bits of husk so you still need to heat up, with some water, and then run through a sieve. It's very bitter so you need to sweeten to a certain point and then make that your base, depending on what you will make: sweet or savory you can add sweetener or temper with salt / pepper / chile / spices.... very good!

These above are Xcatic Peppers, they are moderately spicy and sometimes not at all. They are used fresh, grilled, whole, in Escabeche with Fish and Seafood, or in Poultry dishes and stews. The name is in Maya Quiché language which is still spoken in Yucatán and signifies "blond chile". Part of Yucatecan Culinary ingredients and you can have them stuffed with Cochinita Pibil, or Cazón and can be breaded, whole or without breading. They are exotic and different and just wonderful. You can make a Cream of Xcatic too (YUM)

What else can you use Tamarind Pulp in? It makes a great drink, add water and sugar, plenty of ice and you're set. You can use as a mixer for alcoholic drinks too like margaritas and martinis. Good for ice cream and ice pops like at "La Michoacana" YUM, great on veggies, grilled items, I've used on veggies over pasta or rice. Wonderful flavor and good for you. You can look into Indian Recipes to find more suggestions since they also love it in India!

Got pork meat, the tamarind, carrots, potatoes, some chile de arbol and some Xcatic Peppers to use on the rice with cilantro. I already had some fatty chicken stock so I was ready! Here's the recipe:

CARNE DE PUERCO EN SALSA DE TAMARINDO CON ARROZ DE CHILE XCATIC.-

500 g Pulpa de Carne de Puerco (Pork Butt / Pork Sirloin / Shoulder (almost any kind)
3 carrots, sliced thin
3 potatoes, cut in 1/2 inch cubes
1 small onion, cut in slices (optional)
3-5 garlic cloves, smashed
2 Tbl vinegar, your choice
1 cup water (eyeball it)
2 cups Tamarind pulp, cleaned
Oil for cooking
2-5 Chiles de Arbol, whole (optional)

ARROZ DE CHILE XCATIC.-

2 cups long grain rice
4 cups fatty chicken stock, fresh is better- make sure it's hot
4-6 Tbs butter
2-4 Tbs Oil
1 Chile Xcatic, make cuts all over the chile but keep intact
1/2 onion, chopped small (option)
1 small bunch of cilanto, 5-7 stalks, whole

FOR THE PORK.-
Cut the pork into cubes of even size, about 1-2 inches in size. Place pan over med-high heat with 2-3 Tbl of oil to heat up. Add the pork to sear for 2-3 minutes, salt and pepper, then add the carrots and cook about 3-4 minutes until carrots begin to soften then add the potatoes, and onions / garlic if using, and cook 2-3 minutes. Add the tamarind paste, begin with half first and mix. Add about 1/2 cup of water and vinegar to begin mixing to gauge how thick it is, remember this is a sauce and must cook the vegetables, so add more water since it will evaporate and thicken as it does. You can add the chiles now if you want to spice it up at this time. Mix meat and veggies every now and then and check on the sauce, feel free to add more water but once veggies begin to soften, allow sauce to begin reducing to turn into a glaze type sauce. Or leave as a loose sauce, your choice. Taste. Add salt and pepper, if you need to add sugar or other sweetener, do so, until it tastes the way you like. Should cook about 20-30 minutes and carrots / potatoes should cook well.

FOR THE RICE.- This pretty much is the basic procedure for Pilaf every time.
In a pot with tight fitting lid, (if your lid let's steam escape then put some aluminum foil to over the pot and place the lid over it to create a tight seal), place on med-high heat, add the butter and oil to heat up. Then add the rice (always 2 to 1, 2 measures of liquid per 1 measure of rice so it doesn't matter what container you use, I've used coffee cups, condensed milk cans, tupperware containers, this works for all) and Xcatic Chile (add onion if you're using it at this time). Keep mixing rice until it changes color, it will turn into a chalky white color, don't allow to get browned or burned. Once the color changes add the chicken stock and mix well- if you're adding salt and pepper, add now. Remember the stock should be a little saltier than usual since it will infuse the rice. Anything else you want to add like peas, carrots, onions, meat, spices, etc. is added at this time, also place the cilantro stems/leaves on top, whole at this time. Rice should be boiling. Cover the pot at this time, lower the heat to simmer (lowest setting) and set a timer to 12 minutes. When your timer sounds go check the rice, using a spoon see if there is any liquid left at the bottom of the pot, if there is then cook a little bit longer, if there's a lot maybe cook 5-8 minutes, just some liquid then 2-3. If it's cooked, taste some, as long as it doesn't have a hard center, it's done. Now the rice needs to steam for at least 10 minutes, so leave it covered while you get your meal together, once the time passes, the rice should be perfect.

If you time this right, once you put the meat to cook and everything's added, start the rice so they get done almost at the same time and they're hot at service time.

Hope you enjoy this meal, we sure did. Also, if you find that adding the water, vinegar, salt and pepper and/or chiles in a blender before you add to the pan is easier for you, go ahead, whatever is better for you is great. Make it your own, make it easier for you and you might make it more often or you will see this has other applications, like use the sauce for chicken or fish, you can use as a glaze for kebabs or broiled veggies or how about on chicken wings?

Anyhoo.... enjoy all!