A Mexican Pagoda

By Tim Hazell (September 22nd, 2006)

We associate Mexico with the unique geography and the special characteristics of its mountainous landscapes. Brooding and rugged sierras framing Mexico’s spectacular madrugadas and sunsets harbor plants and animals adapted specifically to complex microclimates. The country is an enigma, easy to stereotype, impossible to categorize from its high plains deserts and temperate central plateaus to the more familiar tropical paradise fronting the coastlines. Mexico is an impenetrable jungle, where timeless Mayan roof combs suddenly emerge from the cups of trees. This treasure trove extends to a living archeological resource — the native traditions of Mexico with its nature-based theocracies and humanism, its myths and motifs. Names of cities such as Palenque, Uxmal, Tula and Tenochtitlan, are a linguists sleight of hand, reaching across centuries and differing ideologies to fascinate us anew with their strangeness and allure. Impenetrable, expressions of kings, gods and monsters of cosmos peer from within the iron grip of dismantling roots and creepers, recounting their histories in pictographs and glyphs of civilizations in flower and decline.

We discover in portraits of monarchs such as Pakal, Chan Ballum and 18 Rabbit, elegant, chiseled features that have no similar associations in Western art. We must turn to writers’ accounts of travels to the Orient, and photographic impressions of the Buddha, couples in Tantric reliefs, carvings that adorn great temple complexes such as Anghor Wat, to find cultures with kindred physionomies. To describe Mexico as an Indian nation would be close to the truth. The wave of its last conquest from Spain was quickly assimilated by native societies with three thousand year legacies of urbanism, long accustomed to upheavals and bloodshed. Modern Mexico’s populations are, by and large, of mixed Indian and Spanish descent. Mexico as a nation of societies with mongol ancestries and “oriental” aspects to art, architecture and cuisine may turn the clocks back further still. Carved stelae and the design of the immense ceremonial complexes have their parallels in Egypt and the impressive monuments of the Khmer kings. The incredible variety of instruments that have been uncovered, preserved in museums at home and abroad, have micro chromatic scales that recall classical sonorities from China and orchestras such as Javanese Gamelan, though no evidence of direct ancient transoceanic contact between these societies has ever been successfully confirmed.

Mexican cuisine at its finest reflects the earthiness of its people, while rivaling Old World gastronomic artfulness in resplendent presentation, innovative combinations of flavors and subtle aesthetics. Components for many dishes representing the myriad regions of the country have their fanciful equivalents in Asian cookery. Ingredients are strikingly idiosyncratic, yet used in different ways. Tamarind, chile, coriander, cumin, turmeric, ginger, lemon leaf and coconut milk are fundamental elements of Mexican — as well as Thai, Malaysian and Nepalese recipes. Seafood and fish abound in Mexico’s lustrous green and blue waters, readily available inland due to modern transport and refrigeration. Here are two definitive ways to cook red snapper, one from Thailand, and the other, a Veracruz heirloom. Both make full use of tropical fruits, ripe tomatoes, chile peppers and garlic, to bring out the distinctive qualities of the fish. Red snapper or huachinango is a carnivore with firm flesh, infused with hints of shrimp, compatible with robust combinations of fruits, spices and herbs. Buen Provecho!

Thai Red Snapper with Piquant Sweet/Sour Sauce

Sauce ingredients:

1 medium ripe mango, sliced and chopped
1 green and 1 red chile pepper, crushed to release the seeds and finely chopped
2 to 3 thinly sliced shallots
1-1/2 inch peeled ginger root, minced
the juice of two limes
2 tbsp brown sugar
a good pinch of coarse salt
1/2 cup finely chopped coriander
2 to 3 finely chopped spring onions
1 tbsp Thai fish sauce

 Prepare and combine all sauce ingredients. Let stand while preparing the fish.

For frying:

3 tbsp peanut or olive oil
1-1/2 lbs red snapper fillets (any firm fish fillets such as shark or catfish can be substituted)

 Heat oil for frying in a saucepan large enough to accommodate the snapper fillets. Fry fillets about 2 minutes per side until done. Do not overcook. Arrange fillets on a serving plate and spoon the sweet sour sauce on top, with a garnish of red chillies, or serve individual portions with sauce on the side.

Huachinango al la Veracruzana

Ingredients:

6 fillets red snapper, about 2 pounds
1/4 cup lime juice (2 large limes)
4 large tomatoes, peeled and seeded, juice reserved
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 jalapeño chilies, seeded and finely minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons capers
10 green olives with pimiento stuffing
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Method:

Marinate snapper fillets in lime juice for one hour, refrigerated, turning once halfway through the marinating.

Strain reserved juice of the tomatoes, pushing through a sieve, so that no seeds are in the juice. Set aside.

Heat oil in large saute pan. Cook onions over medium heat until they lose color. Add chilies and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and 1/4 cup reserved juice. Add capers, olives, cinnamon and cloves. Cook for 10 minutes, or until the tomatoes soften.

Remove snapper from marinade, but do not dry. Add to the tomato mixture, spooning sauce over the fish. Cook, partially covered, about 5 minutes or until fish releases its liquid.

Serve with rice or boiled potatoes. It is traditional to garnish the plate with buttered toasts, cut into triangles.



Original Article in the Archives of Atención San Miguel