Poblano chili peppers are the most versatile Mexican chili pepper. They are used for stuffed Chile Rellenos and when dried (called an "ancho chile") makes a Red Chili salsa. And, I like to stuff them like a bell pepper (my recipe here.)
A pastilla pepper is another name for poblano pepper.
For most of my Latin recipes I make Mexican Rice using tomato sauce. But, I like to mix it up, so here's my Rice with Poblano Chili Peppers recipe.
Poblanos are mild for a chili. They are larger than familiar hot chilis, about the size of a bell pepper, so you only need a couple to make this recipe. And at Latin markets they come cheap. Look for pastilla or poblano peppers, they are the same thing.
I blacken them on my gas stove top burner. It only takes a few minutes to do, but use thongs so you don't burn yourself. You do have to watch and turn them as they burn. Next, you cover the heated chilis and allow the skin to soften, so you can peel off the blackened skin, which reveals the tender, smokey, green flesh.
Now, you know that rice is a good deal, especially at Oriental and Latin grocery stores. The other ingredients, garlic and onion, come cheaply.
If you are into Mexican food then give my Rice with Poblano Chili Peppers a try. It's a delicious change of pace over boring white rice or typical tomato sauced rice.
1 and 3/4 cups water - or follow package directions if brown rice is used.
Directions
Char poblano peppers on stove top. I have a gas stove so it's pretty easy to do. You can blacken peppers in a pan on an electric stove top. It takes longer to do. Place poblano on the gas grill with fire on medium/high. Be careful and rotate poblano as it blackens. You don't need to blacken the total surface - charring half the surface is good enough.
Place blackened poblano peppers in a bowl and cover it with a plate, so the skin will continue to steam. This will make it easier to rub off the burnt skin. Let the cooked peppers set covered about 5 minutes.
While peppers steam covered, saute chopped onion in your rice pot with a tablespoon of oil. Saute about 5 minutes to soften. Add chopped garlic to cooked onions and saute another minute.
Add a cup of rice and saute it with the onion for another 5 minutes. (You can skip this stage if you are in a hurry.)
While rice is cooking you can rub off blacken skin from poblano peppers. Open the peppers and
remove seeds and the stem. Give the peppers a quick rinse of water to
get the remaining blackened bits. You don't have to remove all the char,
though - it's extra flavor.
Next, add the cooked, chopped, poblano peppers.
Add 1 and 3/4 cups of water (or follow rice package
directions.) If you have a preferred way to cook rice, then do it your
way. Salt and pepper to taste.
Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cover the pot. Cook about 20 minutes covered.
After the rice is cooked, uncover the pot and give the rice a stir. Cover the pot again and let it set another 10-15 minutes. This will give all the rice a chance to cook evenly.
Rice freezes well, so make plenty to serve with my other Mexican recipes, anytime.
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 $1.69 per pound, while whole pork shoulder is often on sale for about 99 cents per pound (usually comes as a twin pack.)
Of course, you can always add as much meat as you want. You may want to add a couple more cups of water, three more chilies, and one more can of hominy, to double this recipe.
You can leave the pork in larger pieces (but cook it longer) and break it down later.
This Pozole recipe works well with chicken. If legs are on sale then use them - don't even worry about removing the meat from the bone. Use any favorite chicken pieces you like.
Put some spice on your plate with The 99 Cent Chef's Sauteed Chili Peppers. You can use any small chili peppers, I used mild ones. I've also run across sweet mini-bell peppers and chili peppers -- these are good substitutions if you are heat averse.
I simply saute small whole chili peppers in a teaspoon of oil and finish with a sprinkle of chili powder or paprika. This gives the peppers an extra smoky kick. They soften and slightly sweeten but still have a spicy heat.
It all depends what kind of chili pepper you use and how much heat you can take. This recipe came about after a trip to East LA for 99 cent fish tacos at Tacos Baja. This is a great cheap$kate deal sold on Wednesdays only (other days their fish taco is $1.69, still a bargain.) After I got my fish taco I headed to the salsa bar and noticed a tray of yellow small Chili Peppers dusted with dark red powder.
The first bite had a spicy kick that was a great contrast to crunch fried fish topped with cool cabbage, pico de gallo and sweet creme. I was hooked. And be sure to check back, I have a Cheap$kate Dining video on the Wednesday Special 99 cent Fish Taco from Tacos Baja coming up.
I ate a couple more Chili Peppers, trying to analyze how they did it. The lady who took my order said they didn't roast them, all they have is a fryer and a grill. Then I noticed a fry basket loaded with the peppers being dunked in the fryer - probably cooked for a minute or so to soften them up. As for the powder on the chili peppers, I figured it was either chili powder or paprika. Both are similar in flavor, so you can use whichever one you have on hand.
If you are looking for a spicy accompaniment to one of my Latin recipes (especially my homemade Fish Tacos - recipe coming soon) be sure to add some Sauteed Chili Peppers.
Ingredients
Small package of Chili Peppers - about 6-12 small peppers. Okay to use any favorite sweet, mild or spicy peppers, including mini-bell peppers.
1 teaspoon oil
1 teaspoon chili powder or paprika
Directions
Heat frying pan over medium heat. Add oil, coat pan and add Chili Peppers. Saute Chili Peppers, for a couple of minutes.
Cover pan and reduce heat to low/medium. Cook about 5-7 minutes. Rotate chili peppers every couple of minutes to heat through on all sides. Saute chili peppers all at once or in batches.
You don't need to char the chili peppers, just lightly brown them, enough to slightly soften.
Remove Chili Peppers and place in a bowl. Sprinkle on teaspoon of chili powder on all sides. Serve with your favorite Latin dish, backyard BBQ or spice up a party with these appetizers.
Originating along coastal Baja, Mexico and spreading into San Diego's, California surf culture, Fish Tacos are ready to go mainstream.
If you like deep fried British Fish & Chips (my video recipe is here,) or Japanese Tempura (my recipe is here, too) -- Fish Tacos are a handheld sidewalk version.
Locally (here in L.A.) you find them at Mexican seafood Taco Trucks; made by street vendors with a portable deep fryer (Ricky's Tacos are a fine example;) and many mom and pop taquerias. Some have no batter and are grilled to suit the local skinny-jeans wearing types, but I prefer mine coated and deep fried. (I don't eat them that often so I go for this belt-loosening version.)
And if you were here last week then you saw my Cheap$kate Dining video of Tacos Baja 99c Wednesday Fish Taco special. They do them perfectly. Just scroll down to the next blogpost to read all about it. (Even The Wall Street Journal has weighed in on fish tacos, read it here.)
Fish Tacos are a perfect combination of contrasting flavors, usually consisting of: crisp shredded cabbage, cool crema, crunchy coated deep fried fish filets and a dash of spicy chile, all on a soft warm corn tortilla.
You can use any cheap firm fish, like rockfish, tilapia and cod. I get my frozen fish filets at local Latin markets and 99c only stores. The veggie topping is inexpensive, just cabbage (sometimes a pico de gallo of tomato, onion, cilantro and lime juice is added.) Of course, corn tortillas are always a bargain.
And a Fish Taco is topped with a Mexican Crema sauce, which is Mexican sour cream with a little milk and mayo. But you can substitute with any type of sour cream - it's close enough.
You don't have to tote a surfboard to enjoy The 99 Cent Chef's savory Fried Fish Tacos, but bring a hearty appetite -- along with an ice cold cerveza or two.
Ingredients (about 8 fish tacos)
1 pound fish - use a firm flaky fish like: halibut, cod, tilapia or sea bass. Cut into 2-4 inch pieces. Okay to use smaller prepackaged frozen fillets, just cut ingredients by half.
1 cup flour
1 cup water - or beer. Add a little chicken bouillon (a teaspoon amount) to water for extra flavor.
Enough oil for frying fish - at least a couple inches deep in a pan or pot.
Package of small corn tortillas.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Veggie Toppings
2 cups shredded cabbage - okay to use packaged pre-shredded coleslaw.
Salsa - from jar or fresh (for my Pico de Gallo recipe click here.)
Crema Topping
1/2 cup Mexican Crema or regular sour cream.
1/4 cup mayo - optional
1/4 cup milk
Directions for Toppings
You can make cabbage and Crema Topping first or while the fish fries.
For the cabbage, just shred it or fine chop it. Set aside on a plate or bowl.
In another bowl make the Crema Topping by adding sour cream or Mexican crema, mayo and milk. Mix well. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.
My Pico de Gallo salsa recipe (here) is a good addition, or just use your favorite jar of salsa and hot sauce.
Fried Fish Directions
Start the oil heating in a pan or pot over a medium heat.
For the fried fish, first make a dipping batter. Mix in a bowl: flour, baking powder, garlic, oregano, and water (or beer.) Season with salt and pepper.
Mix batter well. It should be the consistency of pancake batter.
Cut fish into 2 to 4 inch pieces (so they will fit snugly into a corn tortilla.) When oil is hot enough, coat each fish piece in batter and add one at a time to the hot oil (350 degrees.)
Be careful as oil may splatter some at first. Oil should bubble around fish pieces right away. Allow each fish piece a few seconds of cooking before adding another one to the oil.
Watch the edges of the fish to check when the coating turns brown. Turn each fish fillet to brown on each side. Should only take around 5 minutes total, depending on oil heat. As each piece is done set aside on a paper towel or metal rack to drain. Okay to store in low heated oven while you cook all the fish. Or hand them out as they are done.
You can microwave the corn tortillas, heat them up in the oven or on a frying pan. They just need a minute of heating to soften them.
Layer on fish, cabbage and crema. Extra toppings include salsa, avocado and hot sauce. You could also mix salsa or pico de gallo (recipe here) into the shredded cabbage.
