For a potato substitute with a tropical Latin flavor, try Yuca -- which I first tasted at Versailles, LA's premier Cuban restaurant. Yuca is also called Cassava.
Yuca looks more like a sweet potato, with an outer waxy texture. They can grow quite large, twice the size of a Russet potato.
When boiled, Yuca is similar to a russet potato. There is a stringy center that's easy to remove after cooking.
At my local Latin market, Yuca is often on sale for around 99 cents a pound. I've even found peeled and cooked Yuca in the frozen deli case at my neighborhood 99c only Store.
And the preparation couldn't be easier: Yuca is peeled and sliced, boiled for about 20 minutes, then drizzled with a Garlic Mojo Criollo Sauce comprised of olive oil, lime juice, garlic, and sliced onion.
For Garlic Mojo Criollo Sauce, mix the above-mentioned ingredients and saute them for a few minutes. The tangy and pungent sauce goes well with boiled mild Yuca.
Of course, Yuca & Mojo Sauce with Onion is just the start. I like Cuban Black Beans with White Rice as an accompaniment. I have a homemade Cuban Black Beans recipe, just click here.
Canned black beans are quick and easy, so go for it. I've tried them and they are fine. My local 99c only Store always carries rice and canned black beans (An Value Added trick while heating canned black beans is to add a little sauteed onion, bell pepper, and garlic.)
Start your meal with a Cuban Salad: thin-sliced onion with thick slices of avocado mixed with olive oil and lime juice. There you have it, a Cuban vegetarian meal.
Yuca & Mojo Sauce with Onion - Video
Play it here, video runs 3 minutes, 16 seconds.
My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.
Ingredients for Yuca (about 2 servings)
1 Yuca root - peeled and roughly chopped into large chunks.
Water - enough to cover chopped Yuca.
Directions
Peel and chop Yuca into large chunks. I use a potato peeler to remove the skin. Raw Yuca root is very tough like a sweet potato so be careful cutting through it.
Place the Yuca in a pot of boiling water until the Yuca is just covered. Reduce heat, cover, and low boil until tender, about 20-30 minutes.
When done, Yuca should break apart easily like a boiled potato, but be careful not to overcook, as Yuca will turn to mush. Drain the Yuca when done.
When cooked, there are sometimes a few tough strings in the middle of Yuca, but they are easy to remove before serving. You can make Mojo Criollo Sauce as the Yuca boils.
Mojo Criollo Sauce with Sliced Onion
1/2 sliced onion - purple, yellow, or white onion. I use purple onion for a colorful serving.
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
Juice of 1 Lime or Lemon - fresh or froma jar.
1/4 cup of olive oil - any favorite veggie oil. Okay to use less oil.
Directions
In a medium-heated pan, add olive oil and sliced onion. Saute for a couple of minutes to soften the onion.
They say this is the cure for a hangover. Well, my Pozole video recipe is a cure for anything! Made with rehydrated pungent dried chili pods this deep red hued Mexican stew is loaded with flavor.
Pozole, in one form or another, has been a part of Latin American cuisine for centuries.
The heart of the recipe is hominy and chili pods. Hominy are dried corn kernels that are treated and soaked until tender. I get large cans of it from my local 99c only Store. Hominy has a slight nutty flavor, quite different than sweet fresh boiled corn. I compare Hominy to a starch, like rice.
The texture is a bit mealy, but it still holds up well for this recipe. I guess it's serves the same purpose as pasta or rice - more to absorb the main chile and meat flavors.
I made this Pozole with more expensive chunks of pork stew meat, and pork that's cut especially for Pozole (it has bones and some fat) from my local Latin market.
The cheapest pork is from a whole pork shoulder. I get mine for around a dollar per pound - hey, that's why I'm called The 99 Cent Chef. They come in at about 5-9 pounds per shank. There is a lot of skin to remove, along with the center bone. Even with a 6 pound pork shoulder, you can expect about 3-4 pounds of usable meat.
Next to pork shoulder, I like to use thick, country-style pork ribs when they come on sale. These ribs are mainly all meat with a thin bone part. It's easy to add to the pot with little preparation (okay to remove some of the more fatty parts.)
You can also do a cheapie poultry version with chicken breast, legs and/or thighs. It's all good.
The trick is to get some dried chili pods and rehydrate them. It's easy, really. Tear off the stem, scoop out and discard the seeds - that is where most of the heat lies. Then let the chiles set in hot water for 10 minutes. When the water and chiles cool down some, finally blender it all, and add it to the stew pot.
And as a bonus, rehydrated and blended chili make a fine fiery Chili Salsa, my recipe is here.
I used dried California and Ancho Chiles. It's okay to use any large red dried chilies. (For an easy substitution go with a couple cans of red chili or enchilada sauce.) Other chilies are New Mexico and Guajillo.
Click on photos to see larger.
Each chili has a slightly different flavor. Ancho chiles are darker and more pungent than the rest, while Guajillo is slightly hotter. California and New Mexico chiles are mild. Do stay away from the tiny red chili peppers, they are too fiery hot. (Most of the heat from dried chilies come from the seeds, so make sure to remove them.)
You then add enough water to cover the meat and add some sauteed onion and garlic with plenty of dried oregano. Cook the meat until tender then finally add a large drained can of hominy. Let it all cook for a few more minutes, while you get some fresh toppings ready.
Pozole is quite intense on it's own, so traditionally it's topped with fresh chopped onion, cilantro, and sliced greens like cabbage or lettuce. You can even add a slice or two of avocado, and finish it all up with a squeeze of refreshing lime juice.
This one-pot Mexican meal also freezes well, so you can come back to it another day, when you may really have a hangover that needs curing!
Pozole - VIDEO
Play it here, video runs 4 minutes, 2 seconds.
My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, justclick here.
Ingredients (about 4 - 6 servings) 3 pounds pork - pork butt, shoulder, stew meat or country-style ribs (the extra meaty type.) A cheaper substitution are your favorite chicken pieces, like thighs and legs. 1 large 29 ounce can hominy - drained. Any type will do, just make sure it's the cooked type (usually located by canned beans in the grocery shelves.) I used Mexican hominy. 6 dried red chiles - remove stem and seeds. I used California and Ancho Chili. Okay to use any type of dried red chilies, except for the very small fiery ones. Other dried red chiles are New Mexico and Guajillo. For an easy substitution use a couple cans of red chile or enchilada sauce. 5 cups water - for the stew. 2 cups water - to hydrate the dried chiles. 1 onion - chopped. Yellow or white, I used yellow. 1 tablespoon garlic - chopped. Okay to use garlic powder, flakes, or from a jar. 1 tablespoon dried oregano - okay to use fresh oregano. Salt and pepper to taste.
* When served, Pozole is often topped with any combination of the following: sliced radish, chopped onion, slices of avocado, cilantro, some more oregano, greens like cabbage and lettuce, and a squeeze of lime.
Directions
Get the dried chilies ready, rinse them off if necessary. Bring 2 cups of water to boil. While the water heats up, prep the chiles.
Remove the stem and seeds. Just cut or tear open the dried chili and remove seeds and light colored membranes. Don't worry if the chili falls apart, you will just blend it later.
The seeds are not as hot as a jalapeno, but still don't rub your eyes. Make sure to wash off your hands with soap after handling them, especially if you are sensitive to spicy things.
Once the water is boiling add the dried chiles and submerge them. Cover the pot and turn off the heat. They need to soak and soften for about 10 - 15 minutes.
Roughly chop one onion, and about 3-5 cloves of garlic (or about one tablespoon.) Okay to used dried garlic or garlic from a jar.
Depending on the pork you get, cube it into about 2 inch pieces, if necessary. For country-style ribs you can cook them whole and separate the meat off the bone later (same for chicken - cook the pieces whole.) Okay to remove any excess fat from pork pieces, but leave a small amount for extra flavor.
In a large pot, over a medium heat, add a few pieces of fatty pork. This will provide the oil to saute the onion in. If the pork is lean, then just go right to sauteing the chopped onion in a tablespoon of cooking oil. Leave out the pork, you don't need to brown it. Saute and stir onion until soft, about 3-5 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and saute for another minute.
By this time the chiles should be soft, and the water will not be too hot for a blender. Add the chiles and chili water to a blender or food processor.
Blend until chiles are pulverized. It should only take a minute or so. It will be a soupy mix. There will be some very small pieces floating around (like red chili flakes) and that's okay. You don't need to turn every bit into sauce. Some recipes call for straining, but I don't go that far. Further cooking will smooth it all out.
Now time to bring it all together. Pour in 5 cups of water into pot of sauteed onions and garlic, and mix well. Add all the pork. Finally add the pureed chiles into the pork stew. Sprinkle in
the dried or fresh oregano. Salt and pepper to taste.
Bring it all to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer and cover the pot. Simmer for about 45 minutes.
Now time to add the hominy. Since it's already cooked, you just need to heat it up in the stew and allow the hominy to absorb some chili flavor.
Open a large can of hominy and drain it. Remove pot cover add the drained hominy to the pork and chili broth. Stir to mix.
Continue low simmering for another 15-20 minutes to reduce the broth a little bit, and heat the hominy all the way through. This will also intensify the flavors. If the liquid cooks down too much then add half cup of water at a time.
Take out a larger piece of meat to check for tenderness; just see if it cuts easily, to your satisfaction. Usually an hour total of simmering is enough, depending on the size of meat pieces. If the meat is not tender enough, then just cover the pot, continue simmering, and check back every 10 minutes or so.
Pozole is very intense, so I like to add some fresh chopped or sliced veggie topping when serving. Mainly, I use a little chopped onion. You can also add sliced radish and avocado, cilantro, some more oregano, and a squeeze of lime. Some recipes call for chopped cabbage (white and red) or lettuce. You can top the Pozole with any favorite chopped greens like kale or spinach, too.
If you have a favorite salsa then use that. Click here for links to my homemade salsas. You can also serve Pozole with fresh heated flour and corn tortillas, or tortilla chips.
Hindsight
You can soften and blend the dried chiles ahead of time - store in the refrigerator until ready to use. When you remove the chili seeds you have reduced the spicy heat. There is a little bit of spice left, though relatively mild.
(And, by the way, the softened and blended chiles are a rich homemade salsa! Just blend-in half a raw onion and a clove of garlic for extra flavor.)
If you don't want to deal with dried chilies then use a large can of enchilada sauce instead (a 29 ounce can or 2 fifteen ouncers).
Depending on the fattiness of pork pieces, you can skim off some oil before serving Pozole. I leave some for lusciousness.
As I mentioned earlier, the cheapest pork is a large pork shoulder. They come with skin and a large center bone. So even a 6 pound pork shoulder may only have 3 to 4 pounds of meat to cook with. It's a little messy to work with, but with a sharp knife you can slice off the meat without much trouble.
Easiest to use stew pork meat, it's more expensive though. I also like to cook with country-style pork ribs, they're meaty and cost somewhere between pork shoulder and stew meat.
Some Mexican groceries sell cuts of pork (with some bone attached) that's especially used for Pozole, just go to the meat counter to see if it's there. I saw it for $1.69 per pound, while whole pork shoulder is often on sale for about 99 cents per pound (usually comes as a twin pack.)
Of course, you can always add as much meat as you want. You may want to add a couple more cups of water, three more chilies, and one more can of hominy, to double this recipe.
You can leave the pork in larger pieces (but cook it longer) and break it down later.
This Pozole recipe works well with chicken. If legs are on sale then use them - don't even worry about removing the meat from the bone. Use any favorite chicken pieces you like.
I don't eat Korean cuisine enough. I really like a smoky room of sizzling meat on Korean barbeque grills. It's a heavy meal when you get their Bulgogi. If you've done it, it's quite a raucous show with pungent garlic smell and sizzling meat.
Usually the waiter takes your order and fires up your own personal small bbq grill in the center of your table. They return with thin sliced slabs of marinated protein, anything from beef to chicken, and pork (and a selection of veggies to grill, too.) They will get things going for you, and you finish cooking the meat to a desired doneness.
But the thing I especially like are the myriad of small veggie filled small bowls that come with your meaty meal. Banchan or "side dishes" are an essential part of any Korean dining experience. Usually the veggies are pickled or lightly cooked. Gamy, spicy cabbage, called Kimchi, is the most familiar. I especially enjoy the milder spinach and cucumber dishes.
I'll be cooking up a few of these Banchan for you, so keep checking back.
First up is a lightly marinated Cucumber Salad. I used smaller cucumbers for this recipe. You can get them in an oriental market, but an easy substitution are Persian cucumbers, that are starting to appear at regular grocery stores. These smaller cucumbers also have tiny seeds, but still taste like the typical cucumber you can get anywhere.
For this recipe you can use regular, or Korean/Persian cucumbers. My local 99c only Store sometimes stocks one pound bags. The other ingredients are cheap, too, just a little garlic, green onion, vinegar, oil, sweetener, and some sesame seeds.
I thin-slice my cucumbers, but you can slice them any thickness or even cube them. For typical large cucumbers it's okay to scoop out the larger seeds (or just leave them in - it's up to your taste.)
Some recipes call for salting the sliced cucumber and let them "sweat" to remove excess liquid. I don't go that far. I really don't see the point, as the sliced cucumber is in a liquid of oil and vinegar anyway, so a little extra "water" is not a problem, really. And you can drain the Cucumber Salad before serving.
Recipes also call for a Korean chili sauce, but I use a few chile pepper flakes instead.
This is a refreshingly light small Cucumber Salad I think you will enjoy anytime, whether you're in a smoky Korean restaurant, or just kicking back at home.
Ingredients (2 servings)
1/2 pound of cucumber - I used 3 small Persian cucumbers. It's okay to use 1 regular large cucumber. They both taste the same, the main difference is seed size, Persian cucumbers have very small ones.
2 green onions - chopped.
1/2 teaspoon garlic - chopped. Fresh or from jar.
1 tablespoon rice vinegar - okay to use any favorite.
1 teaspoon sesame oil - okay to use any favorite tasty oil.
1/2 teaspoon sugar - or any sweetener. Okay to add more to taste.
Salt to taste
A small sprinkle of red chile flakes - optional. Even 4-6 pepper flakes is enough, especially after some marinating time has passed.
1/2 teaspoon of sesame seeds - When serving sprinkle on a little bit more for appearance.
Directions
Simple really. Thinly slice cucumber. I used the slicing part of my metal box grater, but you can do it with a sharp knife, too.
Slice 2 green onions. Discard any yellowing greens stem parts and the white root.
Add veggies to a bowl. Add sesame seeds and chopped garlic.
Sprinkle on salt, sugar and red pepper flakes (optional.)
(Some recipes call for salting cucumbers 20 minutes before, so they sweat out extra liquid. I don't see the point; even rinsing off salt later, they will still sweat. And there is liquid from vinegar and oil, so extra cucumber water is not big deal to me.)
Drizzle on rice vinegar and sesame oil. Mix it all together. Refrigerate until ready to eat. Okay to drain some excess marinade when serving.
