In This Installment:
Honey Orange Chintestle from Mexico
We’ve been working with the folks behind this adobo sauce for decades now, though their name and branding has changed and evolved with the times. Ya Oaxaca is located in—you guessed it: Oaxaca, Mexico which many folks consider the culinary capital of that country. It’s the home of mole for one thing, and that’s one of the major flavors of that area. (If you’re interested in trying one of their moles, we carry their mole negro online.)
I love the versatility and flavor of many of their sauces and this new adobo is one of my favorites. It’s different—unlike anything I’ve tasted before: bright, savory, fresh, sweet…it seems to have it all and it seems to go with everything! But then again, that’s what an adobo sauce really is: a do everything, go well with anything sauce that you can use as a marinade, a simmer sauce, or as a salsa at the end of the cooking to finish the dish. Heck, you can even dip chips into it and call it a table top appetizer salsa if you really wanted—though I’d stick to using it as a marinade and simmer sauce.
“Chintestle” is a paste made from garlic and smoked peppers, in this case pasilla peppers. They contribute a smoky, spicy note that’s amplified by the garlic. The paste is mixed with orange juice to brighten it, honey to sweeten it, and a bit of vinegar to balance it all. The flavor is almost undescribable because it seems to contain all the flavors you detect on your tongue, but in a way that lets them all have the spotlight. Almost like the flavors lined up in a single file queue, awaiting your tastebuds one at a time. It’s really wonderful and especially nice this time of year. We could all use some bright flavors when it’s cold and harsh outside.
Chintestle Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe
Tortilla Soup is one of my all-time favorites and a dish I make a lot during the winter. I love this version, featuring the adobo:
Ingredients
2 large boneless chicken breasts, 2 lbs., 520 gr
1 jar ¡Ya Oaxaca! Chintestle Adobo/Sauce
½ med. white onion, 186 gr
3 large cloves of garlic, 28 gr
3 bay leaves
1 1/2 tsps. salt
8 c water or chicken broth
3 c vegetable oil
2 chile ancho, 40 gr, stems and seeds removed
12-15 corn tortillas sliced into strips
10 oz queso panela or fresco, sliced into cubes
2 avocados, diced or sliced
1/2 c Mexican crema
2 limes sliced into wedges
Instructions
1. In a medium pot, combine the 8 cups of water with the chicken breast, onion, garlic and bay leaves. Season with 1 1/2 tsps. of salt. Bring to a boil at medium heat. Reduce heat to a light simmer and cook for 30-35 minutes. Skim off the top foam as needed.
2. While the chicken is cooking prepare dried chiles and tortilla strips.
In a medium saucepan, pour in all the oil, minus 2 tbsps. Preheat to medium heat for 5 minutes. When oil is hot, fry the tortilla strips until crunchy. Stirring them now and then as they fry will help them fry more evenly. Drain onto a plate lined with paper towels. Salt lightly while they are still warm.
In that same hot oil fry, carefully drop in the chile ancho and fry for several seconds per side or until the chile has a crisp texture. Don’t let it burn or it will become bitter. Transfer to a cutting board lined with a paper towel. Once cool, chop crispy chiles to resemble large chile flakes. Place in serving bowl.
3. When ready, remove the cooked chicken from the broth, reserving the broth for later. Discard the onion, bay leaves and garlic. Using two forks, shred the chicken as fine as you can. Transfer to a bowl. Cover and reserve.
4. In a medium pot, heat the remaining oil to medium heat. After a few minutes when oil is hot, carefully pour in all the Honey Orange Chintestle Adobo. Stir well to combine. Reduce heat slightly and cook for 3 minutes. Pour in 6 cups of the reserved broth from cooking the chicken. Stir well to combine and cook for 8-9 minutes or until soup is very hot.
5. To serve, divide the chicken into 6 medium shallow bowls. Add some tortilla strips. Divide the hot soup into the bowls with chicken. Top with more tortilla strips. Garnish with queso panela, crispy chile ancho, avocado, crema and lime. Serve right away.
Notes: Slice corn tortillas into strips the day before and let them dry out on the counter. This will help the strips fry up faster and absorb less oil.
Original Korean Hot Sauce from Minnesota
It’s no secret that Korea’s biggest export: culture—which most of us recognize as K-Pop music and Korean cuisine—has been a major force over the past couple of decades. It went from mom & pop Bi Bim Bop shops in college town (at least in this college town) to a spectrum of restaurants ranging from fine dining to fried chicken and everything in between. And yes, the music is still a thing according to my fourteen year old daughter…but NOT as big as Taylor Swift, she was quick to tell me (she’s also a Swiftie).
Over the years I’ve tasted a lot of great Korean sauces, marinades, pastes, powders, and preserves, but they’ve all seemed to be “too specific” a flavor for what I was looking for. While we pride ourselves on finding the most flavorful foods available and sharing them with our customers (like you), not all our customers are as adventurous as you, dear Food Explorer. So I’m often looking for the perfect “introduction” sauce to share with folks…something that is easy to use, easy to enjoy, and will increase the eater’s interest in discovering more Korean cuisine. For my tastes, this Original/Mild (I think it’s also called “mild” on the bottle”) Hot Sauce is the one I’ve been looking to share. It’s easy because it’s delicious. You’ll likely wanna put it on all sorts of dishes that have nothing to do with Korean cuisine (there’s even a recipe for such a dish below).
Each dash of this hot sauce takes you on a flavor adventure. Much in the way I find the Chintestle sauce (also included in this installment) to sort of “line up the flavors individually so you can appreciate them in order,” so does this hot sauce. It starts out sweet, gets buttery in the middle, then ends a little spicy. Not too spicy, but there’s a rising heat in the finish that I really like. Use it like you might a hot sauce to finish dishes, or in the middle of the creation, like with this recipe. I like it because it fits the flavors of the other recipe in this installment.
Grilled Korean Smash Tacos Recipe — makes 4 tacos
Ingredients:
4 small tortillas (the video uses flour but you can substitute corn for gluten-free)
4 quarter pound beef patties (substitute plant-based for vegetarian/vegan recipe)
2 cups of Mexican-style cheese (substitute plant-based for vegan or dairy-free recipe)
K-Mama Original/Mild Hot Sauce
1/2 cup chunky salsa
Optional toppings:
Avocado
Sour Cream
Lettuce
Cilantro
Cilantro Sprouts
Directions:
1. Heat the grill to 375 degrees.
2. While grill warms, grab a tortilla and drizzle K-Mama Sauce on it.
3. Add several pinches of cheese to cover tortilla.
4. Place the burger patty on cheese then smash it down using spatula so meat meets the edges of the tortilla.
5. Grill the loaded tortillas burger patty side down until cooked through (15 minutes). While grilling, be mindful of tortilla edges. Smash patty if needed to so tortillas do not get too crispy.
6. Top with salsa then place onto taco holder or plate.
7. Add toppings like sour cream, avocado, cilantro spourts.
8. Drizzle with more K-Mama.