Rediscovering Salsa, the Soul of Mexico in a Bowl - mexican restaurant menu side dishes

It is not easy to make a Mexican restaurant in the United States.
Some customers get angry if there is no burrito on the menu;
If so, others.
When the chips and salsa are not on the table, some people will see the authenticity;
Someone else saw a crack. off.
"Everyone here thinks they know what Mexican food is," says Nicholas Cox, chef at NoLIta La Esquina.
"Especially if they're from Texas or California.
Salsa, in particular, has become the most misunderstood food outlet in Mexico.
In Paris, Mexican restaurants are made of chopped pickles and ketchup.
In Japan, there are Chili Peppers and mayonnaise with scones;
There are corn syrup and red pepper in factories in the United States.
Shortly after the United States "discovered" salsa in the 1980 s, it quickly became popular, known for selling more ketchup than it sold in 1992.
American chefs play with peach salsa and corn salsa, while supermarket salsa has evolved into a thick and sweet mix.
But on its global journey, in fact, salsa is often lost in Mexico.
Irma Verdejo, owner of Hell's Kitchen Tulcingo del Valle, says her customers often think it's an ordinary mixture --and-With condiments.
"I 've been talking to people about salsa dancing," she said . ".
"They want to put this salsa with that dish, or they want to be more spicy or less spicy.
They always think it should be free.
Javier Ormeau, a student at Oaxaca University and aspiring chef, said: "It's strange for Mexicans to watch someone shovel something in salsa with cornflakes.
Just like an American looking at the feeling of someone drinking salad sauce from a bottle.
Salsa dance is the cornerstone of the Mexican Kitchen, in sharp contrast to the repeated diet of corn, pumpkin and beans.
As French chefs know, Brazilian sauce is suitable for some dishes, and Dutch sauce is also suitable for some dishes. Mexican chefs know that sauce has different qualities and functions.
Recently, true salsas found its place at the Mexican Table in New York.
"There is now a conversation between Mexico and the United States about what good Mexican food is," said Iris awella, he grew up between Guadalajara and the San Francisco Bay area, where her parents opened a restaurant.
She is the owner of La Superior in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, a restaurant specializing in well-crafted Mexican street food.
"When my parents opened their restaurant 20 years ago, we had to have a 'foreigner without chili, '" Ms. Avelar said.
"This will never happen now.
"The delicious and delicious salsas made in a classic way have become easier to find here, whether on a hipster magnet --
Like pull Superior;
The cascabel tarculia hotel on the Upper East Side;
Melcadito, East Village;
Barrio Chino, Lower East Side;
And Hecho en Dumbo, who just opened at the bowling alley.
In addition to traditional places like Tulcingo del Valle in Queens, there are tortillas Nixtamal and Tia Julia.
The chefs in these kitchens make salads that go through "red or green" and "mild or hot.
"They highlight the green, herbal flavor of fresh peppers and the sweetness of raisins from dried peppers;
They use the heat wisely to compare the rich meat like the house
The tongue of a sausage or braised veal;
They let some salads rest overnight to soften their taste and let others order to emphasize the delicacy of the ingredients.
These places do not have what chefs call "contemporary Mexican cuisine," a complex blend of Mexico, Spain, France and the Americas.
Instead, they give fashion compliments to the most basic and common tapas in Mexico.
"The delicious taco is the perfect food," said Danny Mena, chef of Hecho en Dumbo from Mexico City . ".
"Tortillas, protein, and salsa are just a genius way to season in Mexico, with sour, hot, and salt in every bite.
Felipe Mendes, owner of La Superior, said, "In Mexico, we say meat is a good thing for taco, but salsa is the reason it's different.
The word "salsa" only means "sauce" in Spanish, but in fact, salsa in Mexico almost always means there will be chili peppers.
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But salsa is more than just a liquid delivery system that heats up the pepper: it is intended to have a flavor and depth, mixing the effects of pie, sweet, salty and hot.
It should be hot "bitter", Sir.
"But it's not to hit you in the head," said Mena. (
Only salsa
Thin red sauce like Cholula, tapatio and Valentina-is simply hot. )
Salads can be made with fresh peppers (
Like Mexico, jalapño mint or abanello)
Or dried peppers (
Guajillo, cascabel, ancho, morita or chipotle)
But the two are rarely merged.
There are plenty of pumpkin seeds and peanuts here, or heat up with cloves and the cinnamon-like bark of the Mexican native canela.
Salad with tomatoes and raw salad (cruda)and cooked (cocida).
I like salsa ranchera (country sauce)
Or parsley (
Made from tomatillos)
, Can be used as a table sauce or cooking medium in dishes such as chili (
Fried tortillas stewed with Sasha).
Raw salt is explosive, with hot and sour fireworks on every bite.
Cooked food is more like candlelight, sending out slow and stable warmth.
The most basic fresh salsa of cut tomatoes, green peppers and onions
Basically, what are the chips in a nearby Mexican restaurant?
It is often called "pico de gallo" in North America, but it is called "salsa Mexicana" in most parts of Mexico ".
The most authentic salsas ads are based on some ingredients-
Peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlic
This is easy to get started with for family chefs here.
How these ingredients are cooked produces a dazzling variety of flavors, flavors and textures (or not)—
Burnt on a dry surface because the smoke is shallow
Fried into creamy oil, stewed in the water to light, or simply buzzing in a blender.
One of the best salsas in the city is balanced, slow
Salsa ranchera in La Esquina, made by Gloria renosso, has been working in this restaurant since its opening in 2005.
Its bottom is a thick deep red paste, sweet but with a bitter and earthy taste, made of soaked dried guajillo peppers.
Salsa blends delicious egg yolks and sour black beans in the restaurant's huevos rancheros.
"The connection is very correct," he said . "
The restaurant's chef Cox also uses salsa on the barbecue, as he says, "when the braised beef gets drier than you want.
"Another real use of salsa is as a moisturizing agent for cooking or time-dry dishes, which is a handy trick for home chefs.
Other memorable New York City salads: Mercadito's salsa de caachuetes, a sexy mix of flowers and four different types of dried peppers;
Salsa borocha, a traditional "drunken" Salsa with tequila and long sweetness
Cooked onion, on top of the Cabrito roasted goat in West Village;
The newcomer Dos Toros near Union Square, an unauthentic but delicious red sauce made of gorgeous, fiery fresh habanello peppers, rarely used in Yucatan
At Tulcingo del Valle, roja, a creamy salsa, adds cloves and canela, a soft Mexican cinnamon --like shards.
Chef Jesus Verdejo says this is the basic red sauce in his hometown of Puebla, rich and complex in taste.
Because dried peppers and onions are fried with oil, the sauce becomes creamy pink when stirred in a blender, a key part of modern Mexican cooking equipment.
The traditional tool for making salsa dance is molcajete, a rough
Textured mortar, and a tejolote (pestle)
Made of black volcanic rock, the ingredients can be smashed into fine purple.
Sometimes the texture is satisfying, but most chefs interviewed say that the perfectly smooth salsa here and in Mexico is the standard for modern restaurants. Mr.
Mena of Hecho en Dumbo used a big hunger-
Looking for his outstanding salsa Cape Verde hand mixer, a round tomatillo-
It is based on the concentrated trickle and serrano chilies.
Salsa dance, he says, is infinitely adaptable, does not obey the label and is able to adapt to whatever the good chef wants to do.
In modern Mexico, salsa often gets extra fun from salsa (
Worcester County sauce)
Soy salsa (soy sauce), jugo Maggi (an MSG-based sauce)
Or a spoonful of chicken soup.
"Salsa is not even a vegetarian in Mexico . "
Mena is talking about what makes salsa really real.
"Who knows what is authentic?
Last Wednesday, an article about the salsa dance misrepresented Felipe Mendes's role at the Brooklyn premium restaurant.
He is the boss, not the chef, and this is the job of Nacxitl Gaxiola.
A version of this article was printed on page D1 of The New York edition on March 17, 2010 with the title: The Soul of Mexico (Hold the Chips).
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