Mi Cocina travels through 32 states and 156 cities of Mexican cuisines
When Rick Martínez was a Mexican-American kid growing up Austin, Texas, he and his mom would watch cooking shows on TV but the only ones that showed Mexican cooking were hosted by Diana Kennedy, a British woman living in Mexico (who just passed away in July at age 99), and Rick Bayless, a white guy from Oklahoma. At the same time, his family was trying to fit in the American culture by serving meatloaf and Chef Boyardee at the dinner table. Rick decided he wanted to grow up to be just like Ms. Kennedy, cooking in a “sun-drenched kitchen full of red clay bowls”. As a child, he learned to cook from his mom and later he attended the French Culinary Institute in New York City, which, of course, taught European cuisine.
Rick became famous, at least to the Internet crowd, as a presenter on Bon Appétit’s popular Test Kitchen YouTube channel. Some of his videos are still up but in 2020 Bon Appétit (or BA, if you’re hip) was hit with a wall of allegations of racism, homophobia, and pay inequity. Turns out the non-white talent in front of the camera was paid less to host videos than the white talent. After negotiations failed, ten members of BA's 13 on-camera talent announced they would no longer appear in videos with the food magazine's Test Kitchen brand.
Rick walked away without a job but he felt free to do whatever he wanted to do. He had already made plans for a book but decided he could not write a “simple, modern Mexican” cookbook that he had first pitched to the publisher, nor would he claim recipes as “authentic” because that would mean every other recipe for the dish would not be true. He would take what he learned and write a book filled with recipes that he loved to make.
The other problem he had to work through was he was Mexican American, but he felt he really didn’t understand Mexico, despite numerous trips there over the years. But, whenever he visited, he felt a connection to the people, particularly because he wasn’t the only Brown person in the room. So, he writes, “in October of 2019, I few to Mexico City, bought a car, and set off on the journey that would change my life. All 32 states, 156 cities and more than 20,000 miles of distance.” Rick turned all of those meals and miles into a personal book that is wonderfully evocative of food across Mexico called Mi Cocina, which means my kitchen.
After the introduction that sets up how he came to write the book, Chapter 1 is the Básicos, which has lots of tips and helpful discussion on cooking Mexican recipes, so don’t skip it! The rest of the book is divided up into regions, grouping similar states, where he does a nice job picking what is unique out each area in his introductions. But remember this is not a Lonely Planet guide book: he writes that “the recipes in this book represent the food that I love eating the most” after the 586 days he spent traveling through the country. He also became so familiar with Mexico that he is now living in Mazatlán on the Mexican Pacific Coast where he hosts several different cooking shows and continues to contribute to The New York Times and Bon Appetit and his instructive videos appear on Food52 YouTube Channel.
All recipes from Mi Cocina: Recipes and Rapture from My Kitchen in Mexico by Rick MartÍnez
Pollo al Pastor
Serves 6 to 8
Al pastor is one of the iconic meats served in tacos across Mexico and a personal favorite. Traditionally, cuts of pork in chilies and spices are layered on a vertical spit (called a trompo), a technique brought to Mexico by Lebanese immigrants in the late nineteenth century. On top of the spit are onion and pineapple and it all spins around a propane fire, the pork lightly charring as the whole thing spins. But, Rick found a rosticeria in Guanajuato with the same technique and marinade, roasting chicken instead of pork, except he had a hundreds of spinning, brick-red chicken roasting over a wood fire. Rick had to recreate it for the home cook, no vertical spit required.
2 tablespoons crumbled achiote paste
3 garlic cloves, finely grated (2 heaping tablespoons)
2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo, finely chopped, plus 2 tablespoons adobo sauce
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 1/2 teaspoons) Diamond Crystal kosher salt
1 tablespoons agave syrup or honey
¼ cup, plus 2 tablespoons cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided (meaning you use the olive oil in two different parts of the recipe, using these two measurements.)
1 whole chicken (4 pounds), neck and giblets removed, patted dry
1 medium pineapple, peeled, cored, quartered and thinly sliced
1 large white onions, halved and thinly sliced
For serving: warm corn tortillas, salsas, cilantro leaves
Use the tines of a fork to break up the achiote paste in a medium bowl so that no large clumps of paste remain. Add garlic, chipotle, adobo, vinegar, salt and stir, using the tines to smash garlic, chipotles and achiote together into a smooth sauce. Vigorously whisk agave and 1/4 cup olive oil into achiote mixture until completely smooth.
Place the chicken on the center of a wire rack set inside a 13 x 9 inch baking pant. Liberally brush with achiote sauce, getting into every nook, cranny and inside the cavity of the chicken. Chicken should be completely coated and there should not be any sauce remaining. Tie legs together with kitchen twine and tuck wings underneath. Let sit at room temperature 1 hour, or set on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet and chill, uncovered, up to 2 days. If chilled, let chicken sit at room temperature 1 hour before roasting.
Place a rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 350°F. Toss pineapple and onion with remaining olive oil in a medium bowl, lightly season with ½ teaspoon salt. Arrange around chicken. Roast chicken, tossing the onion and pineapple with the juices in the pan halfway through, until the pineapple is lightly browned, the chicken is deep burgundy and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of breasts registers 155°, about 1½ hours (Rick says 60-70 minutes but mine took longer). You can tent the top with with some foil if it’s browning a bit too quickly. Remove the pan from the oven and let the chicken rest uncovered in the pan for at least 20 minutes and up to 2 hours. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and carve. Toss pineapple and onion in fat and accumulated juices and transfer to a serving bowl. Serve with warm tortillas, salsa, and cilantro leaves.
Camarones al Tamarindo (Tamarind Shrimp)
Serves 4
This shows the diversity of Mexican cuisine that we don’t often see in the United States. Rick writes that this is a popular item in the many Chinese restaurants in Mexicali on the Baja California Peninsula. Wait, what are woks doing in Mexico? Chinese workers had built the Pacific part of United States’ transcontinental railroad after the Civil War but sadly were expelled after its completion by the Chinese Exclusion Act. They did find work building the Mexican transcontinental railroad and left their food influence across Mexico’s northern states. This recipe is also a reminder that Mexico is blessed with long coastlines on the east and west, providing seafood to the landlocked states, but seafood always seems to taste best when you’re enjoying it as you look over the water it came from.
For the salsa Tamarindo
¼ cup fish sauce
¼ cup tamarind paste
2 tablespoons piloncillo (‘little loaf” is unrefined whole cane sugar. It has a natural golden brown color without the addition of molasses) or dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons sambal oelek (a chilli paste, typically made from a mixture of a variety of chilli peppers flavored with shrimp paste, garlic, ginger, shallot, scallion, palm sugar, and lime juice. Sambal is Javanese and Sundanese origin). or chili sauce
1 star anise
1 tablespoon cornstarch
For the Stir Fry
5 tablespoons virgin coconut oil or vegetable oil, divided
1 ½ pounds large shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails removed
½ large white onion, thinly sliced
6 medium chilies jalapeños, stemmed, halved lengthwise, seeded, and sliced into thin strips
½ cup unsalted roasted cashews
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger
1 large scallion, ends trimmed and sliced
¼ cup fresh basil leaves
¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves with tender stems
For serving: toasted unsweetened coconut flakes; Steamed rice; lime wedges
Make the salsa Tamarindo: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring the fish sauce, tamarind paste, piloncillo, sambal, star anise, and ¼ cup water to a boil. Whisk until smooth and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half and very fragrant, for about 10 minutes.
In a small bowl, stir the cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water together until smooth to make a slurry. Whisk the slurry into the tamarind sauce, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Cook until thickened, about 1 minute. Remove the saucepan from the heat.
Make the stir-fry: in a wok (or large nonstick skillet if none are on hand) over high heat, add 2 tablespoons of the oil. When the oil is hot, working in two batches, cook the shrimp in an even layer, turning once, until lightly brown, for about 1 minute per side. Transfer to a large bowl.
Pour 2 tablespoons of the oil into the same wok, then add the onion, jalapeños,, and cashews. Cook, tossing frequently, until the onion is just beginning to brown but is crisp-tender, for about 2 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the shrimp.
In the same skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Add the garlic, and giner and cook, stirring frequently, until the garlic is beginning to get fragrant and brown, for about 1 minute. Return the shrimp mixture to the skillet and toss to combine, and bring to a boil. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Top with scallions, basil, cilantro and coasted coconut. Serve alongside rice and lime wedges.
Cochinita Pibil
Serves 8
Pork is a regular guest at any Mexican table and this is the most famous one from the Yucatán Peninsula. Smoke is a major flavor in the Yucatán and the recipe is a good example of how it meshes with the tropical flavors of the region. Pibil is a Mayan word meaning buried or cooked underground. The pibil is lined with specific local woods, as are leaves and branches from other native trees, all contributing a spicy flavor. When my wife and I visited Mérida, the capital of the Mexican state of Yucatán, I tasted three or four versions of Cochinita Pibil, trying to capture the best tastes so I could recreate it at home. Unfortunately, she said “no” to digging up the garden to form my own rock lined cooking pit (which I also planned to use to bake Hawaiian Kalua pork), but I do think the banana leaves are essential to creating the traditional taste. Remember, this is not fast food, so plan ahead on this one. I cook Cochinita Pibil on my Big Green Egg grill at the same 250°F given for the oven for an extra bit of flavor.
8 garlic cloves, peeled
1/3 cup achiote paste
1/3 cup fresh grapefruit juice (about 1 grapefruit)
1/3 cup fresh lime juice (about 3 limes)
8 wide strips orange zest, plus 1/3 cup fresh orange juice (about 2 oranges)
4 ½ teaspoons Morton kosher salt
2 teaspoons Recado de Todo Clase (see note below)
2 pounds boneless pork Shoulder
2 large fresh or thawed frozen banana leaves (most Mexican stores have packages of banana leaves in the frozen food aisle but if you have your own banana tree, you are blessed)
For serving: warm corn tortillas
In a blender, puree the garlic, achiote paste, grapefruit juice, lime juice, orange juice, salt, and recado de todo clase until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the pork and orange zest and toss to coat, Cover the bowl with plastic and refrigerate for at least 5 hours but, really, plan on overnight. The more time the better. Arrange a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 250°F.
Unfold a banana leaf (it will be roughly 2 feet to 3 feet long). If you have gas burners, heat one gas burner on high (if not, preheat the oven to 475°F. Hold a leaf at each end and very slowly move the leaf over the flame, leaving it in one place until you see a slight char coming through the top, then continue moving slowly until the entire leaf is charred. It’ll take3 to 7 seconds to see char marks in one spot. Repeat with the remaining banana leaf. (If drying the leaves in the oven, unfold them and arrange on a sheet pan-it’s okay if they are piled on top of each other—and bake until the leaves are browned and dried out in places, for about 20 minutes. Lay the leaves across the bottom and up the sides of a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven, arranging them so there’s about 6 inches of overhang draped over the rim.
Remove and discard the orange zest. Transfer the marinade and pork to the prepared pot. Fold the overhanging leaves over the top of the pork so it is completely covered. Cover the pot with a lid, transfer to the oven and roast the pork until it’s very tender and easily falls apart when pokes: 2 to 2 ½ hours. Remove the pot from the oven and set it aside, still covered, for 45 minutes or up to 2 hours. Using two forks, shred the meat and stir into the accumulated juices. Serve with warm tortillas and your favorite toppings.
Recado de Toda Clase
Recados are a seasoning paste used throughout Central America, particularly the Yucatan peninsula. It boosts the flavor of any grilled fish or chicken on the grill, so don’t save them just for this recipe.
Makes ¼ cup
3 tablespoons dried Mexican oregano
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
8 allspice berries
5 whole cloves
1 1-inch stick canela or cassia cinnamon
1 dried bay leaf
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
In a spice mill or blender, grind all ingredients until finely ground. Transfer to an airtight container and store in a cool, dark spot for up to 3 months.