Its Enchilada Time!
If you were to ask me Karely what is your favorite food? I would say I have many, but my brain will automatically think Enchiladas. Now there are many different types of enchiladas, there are Enchiladas de Mole, Enchiladas Verdes, and Enchiladas Rojas. From the title, you will see that today you will be learning how to make Enchiladas Rojas for Cinco De Mayo. Specifically, this recipe is from where my mom grew up in Michoacan, Mexico. Not only am I sharing this recipe but I’m also giving you two ways to prepare it. The traditional Mexican way and an adjusted version that is not so messy. Both delicious and both worth trying!
Enchilada Direction Help
The first step to making enchiladas is to make your sauce! In a saucepot boil your chilies until they have rehydrated and are soft and leave them cool, then it’s up to you whether you want to get rid of the seeds or keep them for a little kick. DONT THROW AWAY YOUR CHILI LIQUID. Once you have made your choice go ahead and place them in your blender with your garlic, onion, and four cups of your chili liquid.
When everything is in your blender, go ahead and blend it until it is smooth. Next, you want to go ahead and strain it the mixture so your sauce into a saucepot with a tsp oil. Saute for a minute, and dont forget to salt to taste! That’s it for the salsa, let’s move on to the sides! To start go ahead and slice up your tomatoes, as well as your potatoes. You want your potatoes to be thin
Once you have sliced up your potatoes, go ahead and fry them until they are soft in the middle and crispy on the outside. The next thing you want to work on is your Salsa Dulce. To make this you want to dice up your onions, then you want to add in your salt, sugar, oregano, and apple cider vinegar. Give it a quick mix and add in your water and give it one last mix and set off to the side.
Now that all the sides are done the next step is to fry your tortillas. For this step you have two options, the first is to fry your tortillas until they are soft but a little crunchy. Then dip it into your salsa. Or you can dip your tortillas into your sauce first then fry them which is the more authentic approach. The picture below shows the difference between both options, the darker red ones are the authentic version.
At this point, you want to add your cotija cheese and your salsa dulce. Fold them over, add more cheese, and add your sides, to the side. Enjoy with your tomatoes, fried potatoes, lettuce, and meat of your choice.
Enchilada Recipe
Enchiladas
Equipment
- Sauce Pot
- Blender
- Saute Pan
- Tongs
- Strainer
- Cutting Board
- Knife
- Measuring spoons
Ingredients
For Salsa
- 12 Chile Guajillo Tops removed, snaped in half and boiled
- 2 Garlic Cloves
- 4-5 Cups Water Perferably the one used to boil chiles
- 1 Tbs Salt
Other Important Ingredients
- 24 Tortillas Fried
- Cotija Cheese
- 3 Cups Conola Oil
For Salsa Dulce
- ¼ Cup Onion Diced
- ½ Tsp Salt
- 3 Tsp Sugar
- 1 Tbs Oregano
- 1-2 Tsp Apple Cide Vinagar
- 4-5 Oz Water
Other Sides
- Tomatos Sliced
- Lettuce
- Potatos Fried or Boiled
- Steak or chicken
Instructions
For Sauce
- In a saucepot add in your chilies and boil until rehydrated and soft. Let cool down when done.
- Remove any seeds you may not want and place your chilies in the blender, along with your salt, garlic, and the liquid you boiled your chiles in. Blend until smooth and strain into a sauce pot. Set to the side
Salsa Dulce
- Dice your onion and add them to a small bowl. To the bowl add your sugar, vinegar, salt, and oregano and mix.
- Add in your water and adjust ingredients. Sauce should be sweet and tangy.
Other Sides
- Slice up your tomatoes and potatoes. Fry your potatoes until they are crunchy.
Putting it together
- Fry your tortilla, you want it to be soft but still have some crunch to it. Once fried, dip it into your sauce and shake off the excess. For a more authenic experience dip your tortilla in the salsa before frying. It is more messier but trully authentic
- Add your cotija to your enchiladas and a tablespoon of the salsa dulce.
- Fold them over and add your tomatoes and potatoes off to the side. Dont forget to also add your meat preference adn some nice green lettuce
Notes
How Do You Eat This?
So everything is now put together, how do you eat this. It is fairly simple. Typically this is eaten with your hands and eat everything together. In other words, you want to get a little bit of everything in each bite. But if you are doing this as a date I would recommend using a fork. Cause this can be a little messy, one more important thing is to make sure to try everything a few times! If you are making this for Cinco de mayo don’t be afraid to go on this new food adventure and enjoy!