Mexican Pulled Pork Enchiladas

 

This recipe was updated on 28 Oct 2013. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

This pork for the enchiladas is from the Mexican Pulled Pork (Carnitas) recipe. Since the pork preparation takes time, I always make more than is needed in order to make other dishes. Homemade salsa is used as part of the filling for the enchiladas, and the pickled vegetables (in this case carrots and onions) and chopped cabbage are the accompaniments to this dish. The enchiladas themselves don’t take very long to make, but if the Mexican pulled pork and/or the homemade salsa is not available, substitute another available ingredient.

Enjoy!

Mexican Pulled Pork (Carnitas)

This recipe was updated on 13 Aug 2013. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

This recipe was adapted from the Mexican Pulled Pork recipe at America’s Test Kitchen. Their original premise was to develop a recipe that did involve lard or deep frying to produce the carnitas’ crispy outside. Their solution, after oven-braising the pork in a Dutch oven, was to use the broiler after coating the pork with a reduction of the remaining liquid and fat. The method works great and I’ve modified their technique to use the barbeque grill instead of the broiler to get a smokier flavor incorporated into the pork. I also use beer and tequila, instead of water, and adjusted the spices to braise the pork. Any leftovers can be used to make Mexican Pulled Pork Enchiladas.

The resulting carnitas are soft on the inside and a crispy brown on the outside, with that distinctive smoked flavor from the grill. Homemade salsa and pickled vegetables (in this case carrots and onions), and chopped cabbage are the accompaniments to this dish. This is an all-afternoon type recipe, but the results are worth it.

Enjoy!

Salsa

This recipe was updated on 20 Jan 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

Homemade salsa tastes best with homegrown tomatoes and hot peppers, but store-bought tomatoes and peppers work well too. The heat of the salsa will depend upon how hot the peppers used in the recipe are, which means that you can never tell until a batch of the salsa is made and tasted. The recipe below is for a “normal” batch of salsa to be used with the Mexican Pulled Pork (Carnitas) recipe. I actually made a huge batch of salsa because I intended to also use the salsa as a part of the filling for the Mexican Pulled Pork Enchiladas recipe. You actually can’t make too much salsa since it goes well with tortilla chips.

Enjoy!

Pickled Vegetables

Homemade pickled vegetables are very easy to make. All you need are the vegetables – in this case sliced carrots and diced onions – vinegar, salt, and some sugar. Just be sure to refrigerate the pickled vegetables and the flavor will develop over time. This recipe also works well for hot peppers. Eat the pickled vegetables with MexicanPulled Pork (Carnitas) and Mexican Pulled Pork Enchiladas.

Enjoy!

Shrimp and Scrambled Eggs (蝦仁炒蛋, Haa1 Jan4 Caau2 Daan6)

This recipe was updated on 11 Aug 2016. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

This is a real easy dish to make. All you need are eggs, shrimp, green onions, and red peppers (mainly for color contrast). You can choose to make this dish more “eggy” by using more eggs, or more “shrimpy” with fewer eggs, so the amount of eggs to use is a personal preference. For this recipe I used fewer eggs to highlight the shrimp in the dish.

Enjoy!

Seafood Pasta Salad

 

This recipe was updated on 11 July 2013. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

I was thinking about making a pasta salad with seafood, and low and behold, shrimp came on sale. So my timing was good since you can really use any available seafood to make this salad. I decided to add two “fake” seafood ingredients, imitation crab flakes and imitation shark’s fin. Most people are familiar with imitation crab flakes, but probably not with imitation shark’s fin. I’ve always used imitation shark’s fin in soup, so this is the first time I’ve used it in a salad.

Imitation shark’s fin is a gelatin-based product that is made to resemble the real shark’s fin long transparent cartilage strands. Both the real and imitation shark’s fin have no taste, but it’s the texture that makes it an interesting ingredient. The imitation version comes packaged frozen and when defrosted, look like transparent brown noodles. I prefer to use the imitation given how the real version is obtained.

Another interesting ingredient is fresh seaweed. You can get fresh seaweed (and the imitation shark’s fin) at your local Asian market and it comes as long strips or tied into bow-ties. I used the bow-tie version in this dish and it gives an added crunch to the dish, as well as a distinct flavor.

Enjoy!

Grilled Chilpotles Salsa Turkey Thighs

This dish mixes both Chinese and Mexican ingredients using turkey thighs, bottled salsa, canned chipotle peppers, and chilpotles sauce. Salsa makes a surprisingly good marinade for meats and the chilpotles peppers, which are dried smoked jalapeño peppers, adds a smoky spiciness. Add soy sauce and other Chinese ingredients, and you get a tasty meal.

Enjoy!