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Peter

Apr 18, 2010, 1:31 PM

Post #26 of 46 (8743 views)

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Re: [Anonimo] Fusion food

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I know you are one who can appreciate a good hamburger but I doubt you typically prefer them with all of avacado, pineapple, lettuce, tomato, onion, ham, bacon, american cheese, white cheese, potatoes, mayo, ketchup, mustard, sour cream, worscestershire sauce, and roasted serrano peppers. At least not all together at once.

Where can I get one like that?

Just kidding.

The Mexican hamburguesa. I confess I like that once in a while but it is not what I consider a good hamburger, nor is McDonalds. I don't mind deviating from the standard hamburger at times. The snack bar at my base used to have their Kosher Burger which had me addicted, a basic hamburger with pastrami. In that case I am a bit of a purist, a pastrami sandwich, or even a kosher burger, should only have mustard and pickles and nothing more, although I could make an exception for onions.

Pastrami is just not to be found here and might be the only reason I would ever have for crossing the border again. While lettuce and tomato might do on a kosher burger I think if I crossed the border to get a pastrami sandwich and they asked if I wanted lettuce and tomato on it I would just turn around and head back for Mexico without saying another word.

esperanza

Apr 18, 2010, 5:42 PM

Post #27 of 46 (8729 views)

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Re: [Anonimo] Fusion food

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Where can I get one like that?

Just kidding.

You KNOW where: Richard's in Morelia. Well, most of it!

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

chinagringo

Apr 18, 2010, 6:00 PM

Post #28 of 46 (8718 views)

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Re: [Peter] Fusion food

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For those of you that wish to prepare Chinese and other Asian foods, I would highly recommend: THE COMPLETE ASIAN COOKBOOK by Charmaine Solomon (Charles E. Tuttle Company). Mine is a 1993 copy and I am not sure of its current availability. Thsi wonderful cookbook covers the cooking of Korea around through India. The great thing about this book is that it not only provides the equivalents & substitutes but also provides one with photos of what most recipes should look like when prepared. Definitely one of my most complete cookbooks!
Regards,
Neil
Albuquerque, NM

Anonimo

Apr 18, 2010, 6:45 PM

Post #29 of 46 (8708 views)

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Re: [esperanza] Fusion food

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You KNOW where: Richard's in Morelia. Well, most of it!

That's my cue, I think, to offer this blogpost on Hamburguesas Richard's.
http://mexkitchen.blogspot.com/...ichards-morelia.html

Never had carne pastor on a buger before, but it was surprisingly good.

If I hadn't just had supper, I'd want a Richard's burger, and some fries now. We have a friend who is moving to Morelia, to about three blocks from Richard's!

Saludos,
Anonimo

(This post was edited by Anonimo on Jul 9, 2010, 1:51 AM)

Camille

Apr 18, 2010, 9:15 PM

Post #30 of 46 (8692 views)

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Re: [chinagringo] Fusion food

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Hound Dog

Apr 19, 2010, 4:00 PM

Post #31 of 46 (8661 views)

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Re: [Camille] Fusion food

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OK, guys, when and where is our Fusion Food Foolaround? I'm housesitting this summer in the Chapala area, but may be in Patzcuaro in late June. Would be fabulous to connect and share a table... like an Indosesian riijstaffel, all kinds of things....

I don´t know where you are coming from Camille but, boy. are you heading in the wrong direction. If you are looking for fellow travelers who even remotely know how to prepare, much less find a place that can put on an Indonesian rysttafel (Dutch colonial style rice table) then you sure as hell don´t belong in Chapala. One nice thing, though. In Chapala, you can serve folks anything and call it rysttafel and no one will know you are putting them on.

(This post was edited by Hound Dog on Apr 19, 2010, 4:11 PM)

Judy in Ags

Apr 19, 2010, 5:20 PM

Post #32 of 46 (8640 views)

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Re: [Anonimo] Fusion food

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Boy, we sure drifted from the original topic, didn't we?

Peter

Apr 19, 2010, 5:51 PM

Post #33 of 46 (8633 views)

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Re: [Judy in Ags] Fusion food

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Boy, we sure drifted from the original topic, didn't we?
______

You could help us get back on track.

I am going to try cooking up some sweet and sour chicharones. Sounds weird but I think it might work.

Judy in Ags

Apr 19, 2010, 6:37 PM

Post #34 of 46 (8625 views)

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Re: [Peter] Fusion food

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I'm racking my brain, but not coming up with anything interesting.

Anonimo

Apr 20, 2010, 3:46 AM

Post #35 of 46 (8607 views)

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Re: [Peter] Fusion food

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I'm not at all fond of chicharrones cooked in sauce , and it occurs to me, Peter, that you were joking about doing them in a sweet and sour sauce.

A little while ago, while sorting through some printouts of recipes from the Internet, I came across one for Gado-Gado, an Indonesian mixed vegetable salad served with a peanut sauce, similar to that used for satays. I'd added a note to where the recipe had called for a garnish of krupuk, those nearly tasteless but colorful puffupable wafers made of starch and shrimp powder.

krupuk
They are probably unavailable here, which is fine by me, so I wrote, "Use pieces of chicharrones". I was thinking of chicharrones made from pork skins, but upon doing a Google image search, found the chicharrones de harina, like those in the image below.

"Brevity is the soul of wit." (I need to change my sig to something else.)

Saludos,
Anonimo

Saludos,
Anonimo

Hound Dog

Apr 20, 2010, 5:27 AM

Post #36 of 46 (8606 views)

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Re: [Anonimo] Fusion food

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A little while ago, while sorting through some printouts of recipes from the Internet, I came across one for Gado-Gado, an Indonesian mixed vegetable salad served with a peanut sauce, similar to that used for satays. I'd added a note to where the recipe had called for a garnish of krupuk, those nearly tasteless but colorful puffupable wafers made of starch and shrimp powder.

krupuk
They are probably unavailable here, which is fine by me

Actually, Anonimo, Dawg is quite fond of kupruk which was widely available in San Francisco where we lived for years. A close Korean style approximation of these puffed wafers can be found at the excellent Korean grocery in Guadalajara I earlier recommended for their outstanding kim chi and many other Korean and other Asian food products including some very good rice steamers. As I stated in that posting, the Korean place is on Avenida de Las Americas at close to where it intersects with Lopez Mateos in a section of Guadalajara noted for several fine gourmet food and high-end liquor stores. The name of the place is (I believe) The Asian Grocery.

We are still in San Cristóbal de Las Casas so I can´t swing by that grocery just yet for the precise address but it is relatively easy to find for those of you familiar with the city.

Peter

Apr 20, 2010, 6:43 AM

Post #37 of 46 (8598 views)

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Re: [Anonimo] Fusion food

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I'm not at all fond of chicharrones cooked in sauce , and it occurs to me, Peter, that you were joking about doing them in a sweet and sour sauce.
_______

Actually, I was not joking at all. One of the most popular take-out sweet and sour dishes is sweet and sour pork, battered and deep-fried pork chunks topped with the agridulce sauce.

Chicharrones are commonly enjoyed as a crunchy stand-alone or cooked in a sauce, and in other variations with meat attached or not.

Served crunchy and topped or dipped in spicy sweet and sour sauce, or cooked in sweet and sour with chunks of piña, onions, and peppers - hot or sweet according to preferrence, I think this may have potential of becoming a popular fusion food that has that simple quality I spoke of.

Since this just came to me last night I have not had an opportunity to try it yet, but bouncing the idea off my compañera she sounded enthusiastic about trying some. Agridulce is very popular here and chicharrones are quite inexpensive and have texture variations to play with.

I can see having cooked chicharrones in a chunky sweet and sour sauce topping or alongside white rice with a bowl of caldo de pollo done with the "egg-flower" touch becoming household comida favorite. Enhance presentation by sprinkling the concoction with sesame seeds.

Of course, as you state, it may not appeal to everyone. But in my neighborhood chicharrones are widely enjoyed.

Anonimo

Apr 20, 2010, 11:54 AM

Post #38 of 46 (8572 views)

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Re: [Peter] Fusion food

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Peter, in regard to the chicharrones: will they be soft and slithery (ugh) or crisp and crunchy (yum)?

I think the chicharrones sold in the Pátzcuaro mercado are kind of expensive.

Saludos,
Anonimo

Peter

Apr 20, 2010, 1:08 PM

Post #39 of 46 (8564 views)

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Re: [Anonimo] Fusion food

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In terms of sweet and sour chicharrones I have thought about both ways. Crunchy with a spiced-up agridulce dipping sauce or sauce poured over them. Cut small and cooked in a chunky sauce with pineapple, onions, and peppers, or left crunchy and added to such a sauce just before serving. Or those with a lot of meat attached cubed and added to the sauce to make it taste and feel much like sweet and sour pork.

This morning Tere made me an omelet with soft chicharrones in salsa verde added as I showed here a few weeks back. While cooking cheese omelets for both of us one morning I cut up some small pieces of soft chicharrones and added sparingly to the omelets and was very pleased and surprised with the results. It added a very bacon-like flavor to the omelet and I now use it most of the time either cooked soft or broken or crumbled into bits to top or fill my omelets. Sparingly seems to be the key for best results with eggs.

I have still yet to try the sweet and sour preparations but I have reason to believe it will have that magic combination of sweet and salt. Preserving the crunchy texture seems to have its pluses but I think soft would also work well for other presentations.

MazDee

Apr 20, 2010, 1:12 PM

Post #40 of 46 (8563 views)

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Re: [Anonimo] Fusion food

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I like Peter's idea! But, I wouldn't let them cook in the sauce at all. Just mix into the agridolce and serve at once.

Anonimo

Jul 9, 2010, 2:05 AM

Post #41 of 46 (8064 views)

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Re: [Camille] Fusion food

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We did it! Here's the report on a Fabulous Asian—Mexican Fusion Food Fiesta we did last week, near Tzintzuntzan, Michoacán. It was supposed to take place midway between Tzintzuntzan and Tzurumutaro, to the east of Cucuchucho and Ucazanastacua, but fate intervened. In the end, we all had a great time.

Saludos,
Anonimo

Papirex

Jul 9, 2010, 8:23 AM

Post #42 of 46 (8036 views)

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Re: [Peter] Fusion food

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A possible shortcut some of you might want to try is the Kikkoman brand of salsa agridulce, it is pretty good for a store bought sauce. It is sold here in Cuernavaca at the Wal-Mart Supercenter. Since I found it there and brought home a couple of bottles of it, my suegra has been making many dishes using it.

My Mexican wife and her Mom have said it is very good, and I like it too. Incidentally, agridulce in Spanish means bittersweet, but as far as I'm concerned, it is what we call in English sweet and sour sauce. We have had very good sweet and sour pork using it.

Rex
"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved" - Victor Hugo

Peter

Jul 9, 2010, 9:56 AM

Post #43 of 46 (8022 views)

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Re: [Papirex] Fusion food

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Thanks. I have found some sweet and sour sauces on the shelves at Superama in their Asian foods section and will use them for a quick dipping sauce for chicken nuggets if I'm just throwing a few into the toaster oven for a late-night snack, but I rather enjoy puttering around in the kitchen and will generally make my own if I'm doing a full-on meal.

In this instance, for the Fusion Food Fest, my drill was to make everything from scratch and extend the flavors across national boundaries. Here I included serrano chile, just a little, and added a hint of frambuesa to make something unique and not a typical agridulce. This sauce was made specifically to create Sweet and Sour Chiles Rellenos which were not only stuffed with cheese but also a mix of cabbage, onion, and chicharrón.

If I were preparing the entire dinner myself I would make something entirely different for each dish to make them all quite distinct. On this occasion I elected to use the sauce and the stuffing to make egg rolls also. To infuse the egg rolls with a more decidedly Mexican flair - as if the chicharrón were not enough - I made the pastry wrappers to include harina de maíz as used to make tortillas. That was about all the short-cutting allowed myself for this exercise.

If anything, I think my cross-overs came out a little too subtle. But by serving egg rolls and chiles rellenos side-by-side and using the same sauce for both I think I achieved fusion.

You might want to examine "agrio" and "amargo" for taste terms.

arbon

Jul 9, 2010, 5:52 PM

Post #44 of 46 (7997 views)

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Re: [Peter] Fusion food

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When I was young "Fusion" applied to food had a slightly different meaning, it ment "Stick to the Ribs Food" as in

"Steak n' Kidney Pudding", or tamal untill full.

Now it seams to mean eat, drink, be merry, and take photos', for soon we will want to eat, drink, be merry, and take photos' again, Eh
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter

Jul 9, 2010, 8:47 PM

Post #45 of 46 (7988 views)

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Re: [arbon] Fusion food

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I've always thought of fusion as a mergeance of unique elements. And that's what happened there on various levels. I believe the spirit of what you describe was also captured. Tere's chiles rellenos have that "stick to your ribs" quality that make you want to keep eating them until you can't walk, large chiles poblanos stuffed and egg battered as are customary. These were modified for this event by being over-stuffed with a chicharrón and vegetable mixture in addition the usual cheese, then covered in the traditional onion and tomato salsa along with a special hot sweet and sour sauce.

There was plenty more food in addition. I didn't take any photos myself but it was a festival of sorts so I know some were taken.

Anonimo

Jul 10, 2010, 1:51 AM

Post #46 of 46 (7976 views)

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Re: [Peter] Fusion food

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There was plenty more food in addition. I didn't take any photos myself but it was a festival of sorts so I know some were taken.

See my blog. [ur]http://mexkitchen.blogspot.com/2010/07/fabulous-asian-mexican-fusion-food.html

There's a short slide show of the fiesta and clicking on it goes to an album page.

Saludos,
Anonimo

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