Mexican Cooking Techniques

Tostar/Asar:
Page | 1 Toasting or Dry-Roasting This is commonly done on the comal, but any
well-seasoned griddle or dry skillet will work. It is a quick process, done
over high heat and involving no liquid or oil. The toasting of ingredients
gives a distinctive flavor to the dish in which they are cooked.
Dried chiles should be wiped with a damp cloth, do not immerse them in
water, and dried thoroughly. Remove the stems, seeds and veins by
heating through slowly, turning as they gradually soften up enough to
remove the seeds, and veins. After removing the seeds and veins, flatten
the chilies out as much as possible and put them onto a warm griddle or
cormal. Turn over at least once and look for the inside flesh turning a
opaque pale brown and they begin to emit a pleasant aroma, this is the
lightly toasted stage. For toasted well, turn them from time to time and
look for the inside to become opaque and the outside to blister slightly,
with a strong earthy aroma. If they have been toasted sufficiently, when
cool they should be brittle and crumble easily. Once a chile has been
burned, its flavor will be bitter and it should be discarded.
Tomatoes, onions and garlic are often roasted to intensify their flavors
before being used in salsas and moles. Tomatoes should be roasted on a
griddle or comal, turning them carefully with tongs, until their skins
blister. In some dishes, especially chipotle salsas, the charred skins are left
on, lending character to the final flavor and texture of the salsa.
Onions may be peeled or not before roasting, according to the dish being
prepared and the individual cook. They will turn golden brown, but should
not be allowed to blacken. Mexicans use white onion, which has an
intense flavor that is nicely mellowed by roasting.
Garlic is roasted with the skin on. After a few minutes on a hot comal or
griddle, it will move or "pop up" slightly. After each clove is charred on
one side, turn it so that all sides are charred, then remove from the heat.
The garlic will have softened slightly and the skin will slide off easily.
Some spices, especially seeds such as cumin and sesame, are toasted on
the comal before being ground with other ingredients. They should be
toasted only to the point of fragrance and not allowed to burn.

Charring, Peeling, and Cleaning Fresh Chilies and Bell Peppers

In Mexican peasant cooking this is done by charring them right on the charcoal or wood
fire, which enhances the flavor. They can be put directly over a gas flame, grill or on a
tray under the broiler. Char, turning frequently, until the skin is blackened. The entire
chili will not be completely black, but it should be charred about 60%., allow 5 to 10
 minutes. By coating them lightly with oil, they will char evenly and in all the little
irregular surfaces. After charring, place them immediately into a plastic bag to “sweat”
for about 15 minutes. It is possible to remove the skin almost immediately after the
peppers are placed in the bag, the additional time gives the heat from the peppers time to
Page | 2 cook the flesh slightly. Remove from the bag and if cool enough to work with remove the
blacken skin. You can use your hands, continually dipping them in water to remove the
blackened bits, or use a paper towel. Use a knife to remove any skin that sticks. Do not
peel roasted peppers under running water; you will wash away juices and flavor.

Guisar: Braising or Stewing

This is the most common way of cooking meat and poultry (with the
possible exception of Northern Mexico, where much of it is grilled.) The
meat, poultry and, in some cases, vegetables are prepared separately from
the sauce in the making of mole, pipian and other complex dishes. The
meat will sometimes be cooked in a pressure cooker and the sauce itself in
a clay cazuela, then the two combined and simmered together in the
cazuela before serving. The reason for this is that the long, slow
simmering required to blend the flavors of the sauce generally takes longer
than the time necessary to cook the meat. A heavy-bottomed Dutch oven is
a good substitute for a cazuela when doing this long, slow type of
cooking.

Moler: Grinding
This is traditionally done in a molcajete but today a blender is more
frequently used. The molcajete allows more control over the final texture
of a salsa; however, if the sauce is a smooth one, a blender does quite
well. The process of grinding chilies, herbs, spices and tomatoes in a
molcajete is labor-intensive, and an alternative is to grind dry ingredients,
such as spices, in a spice or coffee mill before combining them with other
ingredients. Whether using a molcajete, blender or food processor, garlic
and salt should be ground together before adding the remaining
ingredients.

Poner a Sudar: Sweating

This refers to the method used for removing the skins from fresh
chiles, especially poblanos, which are usually cooked without
skins, either for stuffing or for making rajas, strips of chiles
which are used in a great number of dishes.

Sofreir: Soft-Frying/Sautéing
Not much deep frying is done in Mexican cooking, with the exception of
some street snacks which are cooked on a special type comal with a well
 in the center to hold oil or lard. A far more common technique is "soft-
frying" or sautéing, which is done to soften ingredients and intensify their
flavor. Dried chilies, for example, are sometimes soft-fried in combination
with dry-roasting. Tortillas usually need to be soft-fried before being
Page | 3 covered with sauce, as with enchiladas. Warming the tortilla in a little hot
oil prevents it from falling apart when being dipped in the hot sauce, as
happens with a dry tortilla. The oil should be very hot in order to prevent
the tortilla from soaking up too much oil. (Even making tortillas crispy for
tostadas can be accomplished with a minimum of oil if the oil is hot
enough.)

Comica:
The comica (the leisurely midday meal) is still very traditional, not having changed
much since the Spanish colonial time. A typical comida begins with a soup course, called
the sopa aguada, which could be a clear broth, vegetable chicken soup or a rich cream
soup. The second course is sopa seca, "dry" soup - most commonly sopa de arroz
(simply rice seasoned with tomato or chile), or perhaps a plate of vegetables, or pasta,
Rice in other cuisines is normally served with the main course, however in Mexican
cuisine it is served separately. Then comes the main course, which may be a meat, or
chicken guisado – stew – or mole, chiles rellenos, or any other regional specialty. Beans
follow the main course. Mexican desserts are traditionally much lighter than other
cuisines in the North. Often consisting of flan, gelatins, or fruit in syrup. The beverage of
choice during the comica, might be a fresh fruit drink, agues frescas.