The Other Side of the Tortilla

Mexican recipes, culture and travel destinations

chile serrano

103 Recipe

Chiles toreados

Chiles toreados are a dish that you’ll commonly find in taquerías in Mexico.

They’re usually made with serrano or jalapeño chiles that are sautéed in oil until the chiles are blistered. There are many different ways to make chiles toreados—some people use the chiles alone, but I like to cook onions with them too. There are also a variety of ways to make the sauce, which is part of the beauty of this recipe. There’s no wrong way to make them; it’s just a matter of personal taste.

Chiles toreados recipe from theothersideofthetortilla.com made with serrano chiles, onion, lime juice and Kikkoman soy sauce

This post and recipe are part of a compensated campaign in collaboration with Kikkoman and Latina Bloggers Connect.

Rather than cook the chiles in vegetable oil, I’ve opted for a slightly healthier method by using coconut oil spray to cut down on the amount of oil used. No need to worry about your chiles tasting like coconut, though—the taste won’t infuse into the chiles.

This dish can be served as an appetizer or as an accompaniment to tacos of your choice. Chiles toreados are also naturally vegan-friendly!

Chiles toreados recipe from theothersideofthetortilla.com made with serrano chiles, onion, lime juice and Kikkoman soy sauce

I’ve eaten this spicy, salty side dish in both hole in the wall and upscale taco joints and the taste varies slightly from place to place. Some cooks like to add oyster sauce for a little umami flavor, but I prefer to keep mine classic with just lime juice and soy sauce. Kikkoman soy sauce is a versatile ingredient that can be used to cook many different types of cuisines. In Mexico, you’ll also often see chiles toreados served in sushi bars and restaurants, as it’s a perfect pairing for dipping rolls, similar to the spicy mixture of soy sauce and wasabi paste that is traditionally used in Japanese cuisine.

This particular dish is most commonly made with regular soy sauce, but if you’re trying to keep your sodium intake down, you can substitute Kikkoman low-sodium soy sauce or even the lime ponzu for a lighter, less salty flavor. I typically use the low-sodium Kikkoman soy sauce in my kitchen. If you want to make the dish spicy, use serrano chiles (and if you like it REALLY spicy, add another chile or two); if you want to make it less spicy, substitute jalapeño chiles for the serrano chiles.

Chiles toreados recipe from theothersideofthetortilla.com made with serrano chiles, onion, lime juice and Kikkoman soy sauce
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Chiles toreados

Prep

Cook

Total

Yield 2-3 servings

A classic Mexican taquería dish, chiles toreados are roasted serrano or jalapeño chiles, blister cooked with onion and marinated in a soy sauce and lime juice mixture.

Ingredients

  • Three 1/4 inch slices of white onion, cut in half moons and rings separated
  • 7 serrano chiles, stems trimmed or cut off as close to the top as possible (I like to leave a little stem because they look nicer)
  • 1/4 cup Kikkoman low sodium soy sauce
  • Juice of one lime

Instructions

  1. Spray pan with non-stick cooking spray or coconut oil spray and preheat the pan over medium heat for two minutes.
  2. Add chiles and onions to the pan and cover with a lid. Cook for about 5 minutes, remove the lid and stir. Replace the lid and cook for another 5 minutes.
  3. While the onions and chiles are cooking, in a measuring cup, mix 1/4 cup soy sauce and the fresh-squeezed juice of one lime. Stir to incorporate.
  4. At this point your chiles should be blistering and charring nicely in the pan and splitting open slightly. Keep cooking them until they’re as blistered and charred as you like, but remove the onions if necessary so they don’t blacken completely and burn.
  5. When the chiles are blistered and charred to your liking, add the onions back into the pan and pour the soy sauce and lime juice mixture into the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring to coat the onion and chiles.
  6. Remove from heat and transfer to a glass or ceramic bowl and allow to come to room temperature before serving. 

Notes

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Cuisine Mexican

 

Here’s a video I made of this recipe at the Kikkoman test kitchen after I won a contest and was invited to Kikkoman headquarters in San Francisco in September 2014:

Check out more recipes using Kikkoman soy sauce and other products on the Kikkoman Sabor website.

2 Recipe

Botana de Chicharrón con Salsa Verde

Mexico is a very nose-to-tail consumer when it comes to eating animals; like in many other developing countries, and often motivated by economic circumstances in an effort to use the whole animal and not leave much—if any—waste, there are a lot of delicious and unique foods that have come out of this scrappiness. One of these simple delicacies is chicharrón, made of fried pork skins. 

Botana de chicharrón con salsa verde

This botana, or appetizer, of chicharrón served with salsa verde is very typical in Mexico. Generally, these pork skin cracklings are made by boiling the skin, hanging it to dry, then deep frying it in hot oil until the skin puffs up. They’re by no means a healthy snack, so should be eaten in moderation, but they’re a guilty pleasure worth the indulgence.

They’re not quite the same as processed food pork rinds or pork cracklings you might find in a potato chip-like bag in the supermarket. For that reason, it’s best to buy them from your local carnicería or near the butcher’s counter in any Mexican market.

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0 Comer Sano/Eat Healthy

Salsa mexicana for one

I often get asked how to make pico de gallo by my non-Mexican friends and, sometimes, new readers here. If you’re a regular reader or you know me personally, you probably know where this is going. In our house, pico de gallo is not the typical fresh salsa you may be familiar with, made of tomato, onion and cilantro. Instead, pico de gallo is a snack made with jicama, red onion, cucumber, orange, serrano chile, lime juice and sprinkled with Tajín. So, if you come to my house and ask for some pico de gallo, now you know what to expect.

What a lot of people call pico de gallo, though, we call salsa mexicana. And it’s extremely easy to make! To be clear, in most places if you ask for pico de gallo, the recipe below is what you’ll get. Since I’ve been asked several times in the last week how to make this easy, fresh salsa, I decided I might as well share it here for anyone who doesn’t already know how to make it. It’s easy to assemble in a big batch because you can play with the amounts of each ingredient to taste, but it’s a little more difficult to get it right when making a very small batch for only one or two people for a single meal, so I’ve provided directions below for the portions that I use.

A note, first: The chile is optional. I always put it in my salsa mexicana, but you don’t have to if you’re averse to spicy food. Or, if you want to go kind of half-way with it, you can cut a serrano chile open, remove the seeds and veins and chop it very finely. If you do that, you may still want to use half of the suggested portion and add more to taste as you can tolerate. But if you leave it out all together, just increase the amount of cilantro to taste. You’ll still have a nice salsa and no one will know anything is missing.

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6 Comer Sano/Eat Healthy

Mexico City-Style Pico de Gallo

This Mexico City-style pico de gallo made with jicama, oranges, cucumbers, chile, red onion and lime juice is one you’re sure to eat over and over again!

When most people think of pico de gallo, they think of a salsa made of tomatoes, diced onion and fresh green chile (such as serrano or jalapeño), lime juice and cilantro. That salsa is also commonly referred to as salsa mexicana. This is not that (although salsa mexicana is good in its own way).

You'll love the different style of this Mexico City pico de gallo made with jicama, oranges, lime juice, red onion, chile, and cucumber. Naturally gluten-free and vegan-friendly, and 100% Mexican!

However, in parts areas of Mexico if you ask for pico de gallo you’ll end up with a sort of fruit salad-looking thing that you perhaps didn’t intend to order. But make no mistake, this kind of pico de gallo is one you’ll definitely want to try! It’s a favorite snack in our house–great for a lazy afternoon watching fútbol or even for entertaining guests….

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1 How To

Papas gratinadas

To me, wintertime means lots of comfort foods. And pardon the pun, but during the blizzard we had here last week, I was cooking up a storm while I was cooped up inside for three whole days. One of my favorite comfort foods is papas gratinadas, a Mexican version of potatoes au gratin.

I love it so much, in fact, that while I’m writing this, I’m thinking about going to the store for more potatoes so I can make another batch. The last two times I’ve made this dish, it disappeared in less than 24 hours. And my friend Silvia over at Mamá Latina Tips has been asking me to post this recipe for several weeks since I told her I made it because her mom used to make papas gratinadas for her and it’s one of her favorites, too.

These are a great side dish (or, um…an afternoon snack) when you need hearty, warm food to keep you full and fueled to fight the cold outside. Here’s a quick video tutorial on how to make this recipe.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bseuBjSf_Q[/youtube]

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2 Plato fuerte/Main dish

ENCHILADAS VERDES

Last month at my cooking show at the Kenmore Live Studio where I made chilaquiles, I talked about the versatility of salsa verde. I can think of about a dozen uses for this sauce just off the top of my head, so when I make it, I usually make extra so that I can get a few different meals out of it. One of my favorite things to make with salsa verde is enchiladas.

This recipe is so easy to make; great whether you need to feed just a few or a whole family. A few weeks ago, I made these enchiladas for my suegro and he ate three helpings! I laughed and asked him whether they were that good or if he was very hungry and as he was about to take another bite, he said “both!” These are also a favorite of José’s.

If you want to make these vegetarian, you can substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth in the salsa and fill them with cheese instead of chicken.

RECETA:

ENCHILADAS VERDES

FOR SALSA VERDE

  • A little over 1 pound of small tomatillos, husked & thoroughly washed
  • 3-5 serrano chiles (depending how spicy you like it), stems cut off and roughly chopped
  • 1-2 cloves of garlic
  • 1-2 slices of white onion
  • A pinch or two of salt to taste
  • 1-1 ¼ cup chicken broth or water

FOR THE ENCHILADAS

  • 3 cups shredded chicken (2 chicken breasts and some dark meat)
  • 6-7 oz (about ¾ cup) of shredded Chihuahua cheese
  • ½ cup crema Mexicana
  • A dozen corn tortillas
  • Some canola oil for frying the tortillas

To make the salsa:

First, husk and wash the tomatillos. Rinse them well in cool water.

Fill a pot with water (large enough to fit all the tomatillos) and bring to a boil. Put the tomatillos in and cook in the boiling water until the tomatillo flesh begins to get transparent. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the tomatillos to a blender. Add the onion, garlic and salt. Cut the stems off the serrano chiles and cut each chile into a few pieces so they’re easily chopped in the blender.

Start by adding 2 chiles to the blender with about ¾ of a cup of water or chicken broth and blend on high until smooth and the chiles and tomatillos are completely incorporated. Taste the salsa to see if it’s too hot; if it needs more chile, add them one at a time, blending & tasting the result until you are happy with the level of heat from the chiles. If it seems the salsa is not quite liquid enough, add another ¼ cup of water or chicken broth. The salsa will reduce slightly when cooked.

Pour blender contents into a saucepan and cook over medium heat until the salsa boils, occasionally stirring. Remove from heat.

For more on salsa verde, visit my original post on the topic.

You can either make a bone-in chicken breast from scratch or use a store-bought rotisserie chicken if you’re short on time. For bone-in chicken breast and chicken stock, you can just gently boil the chicken on the stove with a pinch or two of salt, a slice of onion and a small spring of cilantro or a few epazote leaves until the meat is cooked through. If you use a rotisserie chicken, buy one that’s low-sodium or barely seasoned. You can pour the juices from the container into a saucepan with a few cups of water and a chicken leg or two.

To make the enchiladas:

Preheat the oven to 350º F (177º C).

Heat a little bit of oil in a frying pan (just enough to coat the bottom of the pan) and lightly fry both sides of the tortilla. Each side will dome up when it’s ready to be turned. Drain on paper towels. Put a bit of the shredded chicken in the center of each tortilla and add a generous pinch of the shredded Chihuahua cheese. Roll them up and place seam-side down in a baking dish.

Spread the crema liberally over the top of the enchiladas and then ladle some salsa over them. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and heat in the oven at 350º for 8-10 minutes to heat through. Then move to the top rack and broil on low until the cheese is completely melted and bubbly, with some brown spots. Remove from the oven. Using a spatula, transfer enchiladas to plates and finish with some extra salsa on top.

Yields 12 enchiladas. There will be some leftover salsa.

  • How do you like your enchiladas?