Making delicious meals requires more than just following a recipe. More times than not, magic happens when we become experimental and use tricks that we know will make everything just better. Mexican kitchens are full of tips and tricks that have passed from amazing family cooks all the way to us. Here are some of our favourites.
Oil Infusion
Adding garlic or dried chiles to the oil while is heating up is a common way to infuse delicious extra flavour into any salsa, sauce or dish! That special taste from a simple tomato-based enchilada sauce? Garlic! That kick of extra toasted, nutty spice in your refried beans? Most likely a delicious arbol chile was mingling with the oil before the beans were added!
The Aluminium Foil
Charred vegetables are amazing to create delicious salsas with beautiful textures and flavours. If you are doing it on your favourite pan, you’ll end with a messy aftermath. Behold the aluminium trick! Place a sheet of foil onto the pan and char the vegetables over it. Same results, no mess.
The Dark Substances
There are plenty of dark sauces used often in Mexican cooking. The most common ones are soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and Maggi sauce. They are always present in our kitchens and used freely whenever a touch of something is needed. This goes for cooking and for our cocktails such as Micheladas!
Citrus Magic
Lemons, limes and oranges are ever present in everything that we eat and drink. Even when limes are a staple in most Mexican kitchens, lemons can be used as well. From lemonades to desserts. From seasoning when cooking to a very much-needed squeeze of fresh lime juice over tacos or snacks as a final touch!
Corn Tortillas
Corn tortillas are a staple of Mexican food, however, toasted tortillas are often used to make sauces! They add beautiful flavour and texture and are used to make some types of mole sauces or even our beloved salsa macha!
The Penny Trick
A copper coin that lives on the kitchen counter that is used for cooking? Yes, that is a fact! The two common scenarios are to use a clean and trusted copper coin when cooking cactus to cut the slime in them or to leave it at the bottom of a pot when making tamales. The reason behind this is that whenever the coin makes a rattling noise, it means that the water at the bottom of the pan has evaporated and more is needed to continue cooking the tamales.
There are many other tricks that make the cooking experience a unique one! Which ones are your favourites? Which ones did we miss? Would you share your tips and tricks with us?
Into Magic? Find out more about the quintessential Mexican ingredient: Corn! Our blog The Magic of Corn is for you.
Into Mexican Food Facts? Look no further than our previous blog about the fascinating world of Mexican food and ingredients!
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