I probably eat Mexican food more than any other cuisine. That's a bit of a shame when you consider the fact that I am a Black woman and know more about Mexican cuisine than I do about that of my own culture.
When it comes to "Southern food" I guess you could say I do all right. My kids LOVE my fried chicken, which I make about twice a year. My collard greens are pretty tasty. My mac and cheese is AMAZING, but I only make it on Thanksgiving...and thanks to "Joe", I recently learned how to make "melt in your mouth oxtails." He LOVES oxtails! The first time I made them for him, they ended up being more of a stew. That wasn't quite what I was going for, nor what he was used to.
Oh, but when my friend's Mom offered to teach me how to make them "the right way"...he devoured them, and rightfully so. Those things were GOOD!!! I've made them a few times now and they consistently come out DELICIOUS.
Now if I had to make authentic African cuisine, I would simply have to hang my head in shame. I know NOTHING about African cuisine...absolutely NOTHING. Perhaps I should start dining at some of the local African eateries. I'm sure there are some in Little Ethiopia which would be a great start, however, I'd ultimately like to try a variety of African cuisine. I'd better get on that.
So, as I was saying...I'm pretty much an expert when it comes to Mexican food.
Well a couple weeks ago my youngest daughter introduced me to pupusas (shown in the pic). I've lived in my neighborhood for at least seven years and have driven by the local Pupuseria a number of times. Never thought to go in because I didn't know what a pupusa was, nor was I interested.
When my daughter told me about them I decided to swing by and give one a try. Can I say...YUM!
I bought two "queso y frijol" and they were delicious. I'm still not 100% sure about what to do with the tomato sauce that comes on the side. To me, it doesn't have any flavor, but I pour it over the pupusas anyway.
Then there's the curtido (fermented cabbage). Reminds me of kimchi, but not as spicy and it has more of a "slaw" consistency. It comes with the pupusas, and it's good too.
So the past couple times I've gone, I've placed my order "to go." My pupusas come wrapped in foil and the curtido is in a baggie.
Today, I decided to dine in. Oh how I wish that I hadn't.
I ordered my pupusas and went to have a seat. I noticed on many of the tables, the curtido was already out in plastic containers. I thought that was a bit odd.
I purposefully sat at a table that did not have any container of cabbage, with the hopes that MY curtido would come with the pupusas. Well...so much for my plan. No sooner than I sit down, the waitress grabs the container from the table behind me and places it on MY table. It's like a "help yourself" kinda situation. Now you KNOW...the germophobe in me was about to have a coronary. Was I really expected to eat the curtido after God-knows-who had already handled it?!? Ugh!!!
My pupusas arrived and they looked sooo lonely. I can hardly believe what I did next...YES...I stuck the tongs inside the container and scooped out some cabbage from the bottom...hoping that that would be the safest. It tasted the same as when I get it in the baggie, but my germophobic mind was all over the place. Kinda hampered my dining experience a bit.
Will today's experience stop me from going back? Nope.
I will now simply place my orders to go so that I can have the curtido from the kitchen versus the dining tables. That's an easy enough fix...I think.
Oh, and for those wondering, "What the heck is a pupusa?", here's Wikipedia's definition:
"A pupusa (Spanish pronunciation: [puˈpusa], from Pipil pupusaw) is a traditional Salvadoran dish made of a thick, handmade corn tortilla (made using masa de maíz, a cornmeal dough used in Mesoamerican cuisine) that is usually filled with a blend of the following:
cheese (queso, usually a soft cheese called quesillo found throughout Central America)
cooked and seasoned pork meat ground to a paste consistency (called chicharrón, not to be confused with fried pork rind, which is also known as chicharrón in some other countries)
refried beans (frijoles refritos), or queso con loroco (loroco is a vine flower bud from Central America)."
Now...Let the DIALOGUE begin: What's YOUR favorite ethnic cuisine...and have you ever had a pupusa?
Talk to me!
Til next time...
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