New Taco Stand Central Pattaya

[Taa_Saparot]

TY, Soi7!

 

I walked by there and had NO idea. Maybe 'Sues Place' should put up sign regarding 'Mexican Food'?

 

They do !

 

And have since, the menu moved to their a few years back.

[Taa_Saparot]

'Tacos Con Carne' at Sue's Place last week.

 

 

 

 

[expatdude]

How was it? And how much did it cost?

[Taa_Saparot]

How was it? And how much did it cost?

 

Average, but nostalgic.

 

225 baht, I think.

[just hanging]

Ingredients are NOT hard to come by at all.  I've got room on my porch and used to do them on the weekends.  Ingredients here are EASY!  Prices are CHEAP!  and we could damn sure use some more American business owners.

 

where do you buy your Mexican cheese?

[jiz]

where do you buy your Mexican cheese?

 

I have used the Jalapeno Monterey Jack Cheese, available in Villa.

[just hanging]

I have used the Jalapeno Monterey Jack Cheese, available in Villa.

so all ingredients are not readily available, nice alternative, although Mexican cheese is hard to come by

 

Not sure what cheese Sam's uses, but right on..   he makes his own chips to, and they are perfect

 

Pastrami on Rye makes all their own meats, cant get them here and very time consuming to make them authentic

[expatdude]

Many Mexican ingredients are available (or excellent substitutes are), but not all.

 

Mexican cheese is a good example of one that is not.

[Fritos0519]

so all ingredients are not readily available, nice alternative, although Mexican cheese is hard to come by

 

Not sure what cheese Sam's uses, but right on..   he makes his own chips to, and they are perfect

 

Pastrami on Rye makes all their own meats, cant get them here and very time consuming to make them authentic

If you are referring to actual Mexican cheese, like Queso Fresco, it is not exactly difficult to make at home.  What most people refer to as "Mexican Cheese" is not Mexican at all.  When it comes to tacos, most Mexicans that I know do not eat them with cheese anyways.  Meat, Cilantro, Onion and/or pico de gallo normally.

[Pheat]

If you are referring to actual Mexican cheese, like Queso Fresco, it is not exactly difficult to make at home.  What most people refer to as "Mexican Cheese" is not Mexican at all.  When it comes to tacos, most Mexicans that I know do not eat them with cheese anyways.  Meat, Cilantro, Onion and/or pico de gallo normally.

No mayo ?

[expatdude]

If you are referring to actual Mexican cheese, like Queso Fresco, it is not exactly difficult to make at home.  What most people refer to as "Mexican Cheese" is not Mexican at all.  When it comes to tacos, most Mexicans that I know do not eat them with cheese anyways.  Meat, Cilantro, Onion and/or pico de gallo normally.

 

 

Yes, after my post above, I looked and realized it's quite easy to make Mexican cheese. Another ingredient that is hard to find here: lard. Might be interesting to you as well as it's used in many baked goods. Well, I went to the market yesterday and bought 2 kilos of pig fat for 60 baht, threw them in the slow cooker, and now I have a couple liters of lard. Flour tortillas are next on the agenda. I need to figure out how to make some good al pastor too. I've got carnitas cracked pretty much, though will continue to tweak.

 

Carnitas I made last night. Yes, they're delicious:

 

[Fritos0519]

No mayo ?

That is TOTALLY not a thing...

[jiz]

Yes, after my post above, I looked and realized it's quite easy to make Mexican cheese. Another ingredient that is hard to find here: lard. Might be interesting to you as well as it's used in many baked goods. Well, I went to the market yesterday and bought 2 kilos of pig fat for 60 baht, threw them in the slow cooker, and now I have a couple liters of lard. Flour tortillas are next on the agenda. I need to figure out how to make some good al pastor too. I've got carnitas cracked pretty much, though will continue to tweak.

 

Carnitas I made last night. Yes, they're delicious:

 

carnitas.jpg

 

Those carnitas look like the stuff I used to get in Salinas. Care to share the recipe?

Open a taco stand. I'll be there.

[Fritos0519]

Sen

 

Yes, after my post above, I looked and realized it's quite easy to make Mexican cheese. Another ingredient that is hard to find here: lard. Might be interesting to you as well as it's used in many baked goods. Well, I went to the market yesterday and bought 2 kilos of pig fat for 60 baht, threw them in the slow cooker, and now I have a couple liters of lard. Flour tortillas are next on the agenda. I need to figure out how to make some good al pastor too. I've got carnitas cracked pretty much, though will continue to tweak.

 

Carnitas I made last night. Yes, they're delicious:

 

carnitas.jpg

Sent you a couple recipes that should fit into your experimenting.  One is for traditional Al Pastor.

[expatdude]

Those carnitas look like the stuff I used to get in Salinas. Care to share the recipe?

Open a taco stand. I'll be there.

 

I'd love to open one, but the logistics of opening a business in Thailand is so difficult. We'll see.

 

Carnitas, it turns out (after googling it) are traditionally twice-cooked in huge vats of lard, first at low temperature to break down the connective tissue, then at high temperature to crisp them up.

 

I simulated that by cramming some pork neck I got at Makro into a pyrex dish. I had cut it into carnitas sized chunks to fit it well. Then I poured on some lard and covered in tin foil and baked at about 350f for 3 hours. This was basically cooking in lard. Then I took them out and put them on the oven pan you see spaced out, and cranked the oven up to the top temp for about half an hour until they looked like above, turning them so all sides got crisped. Oh, I salted the chunks before cooking and allowed them to come up to room temp. The outside is crispy, the inside is moist. Nice stuff.

 

Sen

 

Sent you a couple recipes that should fit into your experimenting.  One is for traditional Al Pastor.

 

Thanks, man. If I get better and you'd like, I'll have you over to try some of my experiments.

 

I doubt I'll do the Carne Asada (as much as I love it). I don't do beef much--the pork here is so much cheaper and better and beef tends to just stay in my gut too long.

[Soi7]

I cook as above but incoca cola instead

[expatdude]

Carnitas?

 

This is the pastor recipe I'll try:

http://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/grilled-pork-tacos-pastor-style/

 

I need to find somewhere that will slice the pork as in the recipe.

[just hanging]

rich man poor man

 

[expatdude]

I've got to give them a try. Doesn't look that great, but the proof is in the eating.

[mr21]

Not a bad looking quesadilla - Chicken or cheese only? How was it?

[just hanging]

Not a bad looking quesadilla - Chicken or cheese only? How was it?

chicken and cheese and really good    everything there is good

[Evil Penevil]

Nearly all the food on offer in Mexican restaurants outside Mexico is actually Tex-Mex or a variation thereof (Cali-Mex, Mex-Am, call it what you like). Some of the hallmarks of Tex Mex cuisine, such as chili con carne, fajitas and chimichangas, were invented north of the Rio Grande. Others, like tacos, enchiladas and burritos, are very different from the Mexican foods of the same name.

 

Ground beef is the main ingredient in most Tex-Mex dishes, but rarely occurs in traditional Mexican cooking. Shredded yellow cheese is seldom used as a topping in Mexico and cumin is an uncommon spice. Sour cream is the Tex Mex approximation of Mexico's crema and guacamole is more prominent in Tex Mex dishes. "Refried beans" is a misleading translation of frijoles refritos (well-fried beans) and the Tex-Mex variation based on mashed pinto beans is quite different from the frijoles refritos of central and southern Mexico.

 

Basically, what's often called Mexican food in actually Tex Mex or Mexican dishes adapted heavily to North American tastes and ingredients. I wrote about this in the past:

 

 

There's a huge difference between Tex Mex and the "authentic" Mexican food served in central and southern Mexico. Even in pre-Columbian times, the cuisine of what's now northern Mexico was very distinct from the rest of the country. The native American people of central and south Mexico were agricultural and their diet was largely based on corn (maize), beans and other fruits and vegetables. The tribes of northern Mexico were hunter-gatherers whose diets were based on wild game.

 

After the conquest of Mexico by the Spanish, the colonists introduced domesticated animals like cows, pigs and chickens; diary products like milk and cheese; and a variety of spices and cooking techniques. Since northern Mexico was suited for cattle raising and ranching, beef became the dominant ingredient in the region's cuisine. Until the late 19th century, the food served on the either side of the Rio Grande was very similar, but vastly different from the food in central and south Mexico.

 

With time and increased immigration of plain vanilla settlers to Texas, Tex Mex emerged as a regional cuisine in its own right, but didn't spread much outside the U.S. Southwest until the 1970s.

 

 

Evil

[expatdude]

Nearly all the food on offer in Mexican restaurants outside Mexico is actually Tex-Mex or a variation thereof (Cali-Mex, Mex-Am, call it what you like). 

 

Perhaps, but you can get relatively authentic Mexican food if you eat where Mexicans do in the US.

 

I remember driving down East 14th Street in Oakland about 30 years ago (now called International Ave?) and seeing a line of Mexican workers at a taco truck (before people knew about food trucks). I decided to give it a try and had tacos al pastor for the first time in my life, a dollar a taco. Those were quite authentic, and if you know where to look in places with a large Mexican population, it's amazing what you can find.

[Evil Penevil]

Perhaps, but you can get relatively authentic Mexican food if you eat where Mexicans do in the US.

That can be true in some cities in the U.S. because of their large Mexican immigrant populations. But in Pattaya, the so-called Mexican restaurants offer Tex Mex or Cali Mex, not the dishes you'll find in restaurants south of the border that cater to locals.

 

However, authenticity is a difficult and even dubious concept when it comes to food, especially a culinary tradition as complicated as Mexico's. There's no generally accepted standard for what makes a food "authentic." More importantly, "authentic" doesn't always mean "good." Fried grasshoppers (chapulines) are undoubtedly an authentic Mexican snack and street food, but wouldn't want to eat them any more than I want to eat off a bug cart in Thailand.  In fact, I'd rather have a bowl of Tex Mex chili con carne or a plate of sizzling fajitas than several authentic Mexican dishes.

 

 

I remember driving down East 14th Street in Oakland about 30 years ago (now called International Ave?) and seeing a line of Mexican workers at a taco truck (before people knew about food trucks). I decided to give it a try and had tacos al pastor for the first time in my life, a dollar a taco. Those were quite authentic, and if you know where to look in places with a large Mexican population, it's amazing what you can find.

 

Even today, some of the best Mexican food comes from mobile taquerias:

 

 

 

 

This one is located in Jersey City, NJ, which has a sizable Hispanic community. El Chilango Taqueria uses two trucks, one that sticks close to Mexican neighborhoods and the other that stays downtown for the office and non-Hispanic trade.

 

Evil

[striderman]

happy taco has bought the farm in the last few days

 

 

 

 

it's done