Chilaquiles Cha Cha Cha Food

CHA CHA BOWL

Steps:

• Pineapple and Zucchini Salsa:
• Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Season with salt, to taste. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to use. Bring to room temperature just before serving.
• Black Beans:
• Place beans in a saucepot. Cover with water and cook at a low simmer until tender but not mushy. Add garlic and salt, to taste.
• White Rice:
• Heat oil in a 4-quart pot. Add rice and cook approximately 3 minutes or until rice starts turning light brown. Then add water, garlic, and salt. Simmer until the water is absorbed, then cover and let stand for 20 minutes. Fluff just before serving.
• Al Pastor Adobo Marinade:
• Place chiles in a pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until softened. Transfer softened chiles to a food processor. Add all remaining ingredients, except pork or chicken, and puree until smooth. Cover pork tenderloin in marinade.
• Preheat a grill. Grill pork tenderloin, turning as needed, until it reaches 150 degrees F when measured with an instant-read meat thermometer. Let rest for 10 minutes before dicing into cubes.
• To serve:
• In 4 or 6 serving bowls, layer rice, beans, and pork. Top with pineapple and zucchini salsa.

EASY CHILAQUILES

Steps:

• Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add tortilla pieces to oil and fry until crisp, about 5 minutes.
• Pour beaten eggs over the tortilla pieces in the skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until eggs have set, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Top with taco sauce and Monterey Jack cheese.

TRADITIONAL CHILAQUILES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Blend tomatillos, onion, poblano pepper, jalapeno pepper, cilantro, garlic, mint, and salt in a blender until smooth. Transfer mixture to a saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until thickened, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Add chicken to tomatillo sauce and continue to simmer until chicken is heated through, about 5 minutes more.
• Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry tortilla strips in batches until crisp and lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
• Layer about half the fried tortillas in a 2-quart baking dish; spread half the tomatillo sauce over tortillas. Mix pepperjack cheese and Monterey Jack cheese in a bowl; sprinkle half over tomatillo sauce. Repeat layers.
• Bake in preheated oven until cheese is golden and bubbly, 30 to 35 minutes. Allow to cool 5 minutes before serving.

LE YELLOW SUB (CHA-GIO)

Steps:

• For the dipping sauce: Combine the hot water, fish sauce and sugar in a bowl and mix until dissolved. Let it cool, then add the vinegar, calamansi juice, garlic and chile peppers. Taste test and adjust the dipping sauce to your liking. (You can prepare the sauce in advance. Extra sauce can be stored in the fridge for up three months.)
• For the cha-gio: Boil the mushrooms in water for 2 minutes, then drain. Chop 1/2-inch large and set aside.
• Submerge glass noodles in a large bowl of hot water. Let soften 10 minutes, then drain and cut into 1-inch lengths.
• In wok or medium deep pot (no oil, ground pork has plenty of pork fat), combine
• ground pork, taro root and wood-ear mushroom. Cook, mixing on low heat until pork and taro are well done. Turn off heat, then combine with carrots, cabbage, glass noodles, onions, fish sauce, sugar and pepper.
• Separate wrappers into individual sheets by pulling them apart slowly to prevent tearing. There will be one side of the sheet with a hard edge (the side that connects all wrappers together). Tear or cut off that hard edge so that all sides are the same thickness.
• Use about 1 full tablespoon filling for each roll, and fold top over, then the right side, then left, and fold down to end. Dab a little egg to seal the roll. Repeat with remaining filling and wrappers.
• In a wok or deep skillet, heat vegetable oil to 325 degrees F.
• Fry in small batches until rolls are golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer rolls to a tray lined with paper towels to drain off excess oil. Serve fresh and hot.

CHILAQUILES WITH CHORIZO

Steps:

• Remove the chorizo from its casing by splitting 1 end and squeezing out the meat. In a large heavy-bottomed high-sided saute pan, fry the chorizo in the oil until it is grainy but still soft, about 4 minutes, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon to break up the meat and prevent a crust from forming on the bottom of the pan. Set aside and keep hot.
• In a large stockpot over medium-high heat, stir the salsa with a wooden spoon until hot and sputtering. Add half the tortilla chips and stir to coat with the salsa, then cook until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the rest of the tortilla chips, stir to coat with the salsa, and cook until beginning to soften, about 3 to 5 additional minutes. There should be a nice mix of very soft and still slightly crunchy chips when the chiliqueles are finished. Remove from the heat and use a slotted spoon or tongs to heap generous portions into each of 4 bowls. While still piping hot, top with the grated Cheddar and Montery Jack cheeses, chorizo, a dollop of sour cream, and a sprinkling of red onion and cilantro. Serve hot with Guacamole on the side.
• In a medium stock pot, place the tomatoes, onion, jalapeno, and garlic and cover with 2 quarts water. Bring to a boil over high heat and let cook 5 to 8 minutes, until the vegetables are very soft. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a blender and puree until smooth with the cilantro and salt. If the salsa is too thick (it should have the consistency of a very thick soup), add a little of the cooking liquid. Check seasoning and add additional salt, if necessary, and pepper, to taste.
• In a large high-sided saute pan over medium heat, bring the oil to 350 degrees F. Fry the chips in small batches until crisp and lightly golden, about 2 to 3 minutes. (They will continue to darken while resting.) With tongs or a metal frying ladle, transfer the chips to a large bowl lined with paper towels. Season with the salt and paprika while still warm. Repeat with the remaining chips.

STUFFED CHA-CHA CRAB CHILIES

Steps:

• Preheat broiler.
• For the sauce: Place tomatillos, onions, and garlic in a large heavy skillet. Heat over medium-high heat, turning often, until charred all over but still firm, about 5 minutes. Transfer mixture to a food processor and add cumin, cayenne, hot sauce, cilantro, lime juice and salt. Process to a coarse puree. Return mixture to skillet and keep warm while preparing the stuffed chilies.
• For the chilies: Place poblanos on a baking sheet and broil, turning a few times until all sides are charred. Place in a paper bag and seal. Let steam about 10 minutes to loosen the skin.
• Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the goat cheese, Monterey Jack and crabmeat. Set aside.
• Peel poblanos, then cut a slit lengthwise down 1 side only, and carefully remove seeds. Stuff each with cheese mixture and place them cut side up on a baking sheet, gently pressing to seal. Broil until cheese is melted and poblanos are heated through, about 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to serving plates and spoon sauce around the stuffed chilies.

CHA-CHA CHILI

Steps:

• Cook meat, add onion, celery and poblano about halfway through.
• You may have to a dd a little oil if it starts to stick.
• Add salt and pepper to meat so it will not be bland, we are building flavors here.
• Add garlic near the end, be careful not to burn as it will be bitter.
• Sprinkle McCormicks (packaged chili mix) and chili powder over meat and veggies and stir well.
• Cook over medium heat for a minute or so.
• Pour in chicken stock, canned tomatoes with juice and add chipoltles (this is how you control the heat), if using.
• Cook down for 15 or 20 minutes.
• Add rinsed beans and corn (with juice).
• To make this a soup: Add 2 more cans of stock.
• Top with green onion, cheese and sour cream.

CHILAQUILES

Steps:

• Cut the tortillas into strips.
• Cook chicken with a little water, the quartered onion, a pinch of salt and two cloves of garlic. Cover, cook slowly over a medium heat.
• Remove cooked chicken from the pan and discard onion and garlic; allow to cool enough to handle.
• Sautee the chopped onion and garlic in a little olive oil.
• Once the onion is translucent, add tomatoes, cilantro and Tabasco sauce; simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes; salt and pepper to taste.
• Shred the chicken and add to the sauce; lower heat and cook for a few minutes to absorb some of the flavors from the sauce. Do not over cook.
• Deep fry the corn tortillas. When they are crisp, remove and drain on paper towels.
• Assemble the chilaquiles like lasagna. Use a large lasagna pan and layer the following: tortillas, chicken in sauce, thinned sour cream, cheese.
• Repeat layers and finish with cheese and sour cream.
• Bake at 325 degrees F for about 45 minutes.

CHA-CHA-CHA CHIMICHANGAS

Steps:

• Heat the sunflower oil in a large pan and stir-fry the onion, bell pepper, and chicken thighs over a high heat for 3-4 minutes until well browned. Stir in the chiles, garlic, tomatoes, and corn and cook for another 2-3 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
• Stir in the taco sauce and green onions, and set aside to cool a little.
• Warm one of the tortillas in a hot, dry frying pan until soft and flexible. Spoon a quarter of the cooled chicken mixture into the center of a tortilla and fold over the edges to form a neat package; pin in place with wooden toothpicks and repeat with the remaining tortillas.
• Heat 1/2 inch vegetable oil in a large frying pan and cook chimichangas for 2-3 minutes on each side until crisp and golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve hot with shredded lettuce, sour cream and guacamole.