Remove the stems and seeds from the guajillo and arbol chiles. In a small saucepan toast the guajillo and arbol chiles until fragrant – about 5 minutes.
Add 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes.
Halve the tomatoes and place them, the red onion, salt, and serrano chiles in a blender. When the guajillo and arbol chiles are ready, add them – with the liquid – to the blender. If still hot, be careful to ensure the blender doesn't explode! Blend on high until you have a smooth puree.
Pour sauce into a medium saucepan and boil for 20 minutes
Strain sauce through a mesh strainer. Add any protein and use to create enchiladas.
Notes
For chamorro and chorizo enchiladas, add 6 oz. of chamorro meat and 1 oz. of cooked chorizo to the sauce. Heat 4 tortillas in the microwave for 30 seconds. On a plate, spoon the meat from the sauce into each tortilla. Add any additional fillings (lettuce, radish, etc.) and roll up. Top with more sauce. Serve with rice and beans and a small salad.
Put 4 cups of the broth reserved when cooking chamorro into the instant pot.
Sort the beans, removing any rocks or misformed beans. Rinse them and add to the pot.
Cook on High pressure for 1 hour without warming and with a natural release.
Let cool slightly, then use an immersion blender to puree the beans and liquid. The consistency will be soupy – this is what you want. Crumble and add the Méxican Oregano.
Put the beans into a refrigerator container and refrigerate. When needed reheat the beans in a saucepan, stirring frequently, until they are the desired consistency.
Place the chamorro on the sheet pan and cover liberally with the salt and Méxican Oregano. Place the sheet pan in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes.
Place 4 cups of water in the instant pot.
Add the rested chamorro.
Pressure cook on high for 1 hour, without keeping warm, and with a natural release.
After the lid releases …
Remove the cooked chamorro to a container.
Strain the liquid and reserve to make Méxican beans.
If serving the chamorro whole, allow to rest 5 minutes, then cover with a mushroom gravy and serve with mashed potatoes.
If you want to use the meat to make tacos/fried rice (both excellent options) then refrigerate until cool enough to handle. Remove the meat from the bones and chop into small dice. Put into a container and refrigerate until needed.
Note that if you are able to get chamorro with the skin on, you can leave it on then place the cooked chamorro into a very hot (450 f.) oven until the skin becomes crispy. This is how it's served in Europe – with a little horseradish, mustard, and a bit of sauerkraut.
Great for dredging chicken and non-oily fish, or as a rub for salmon.
2 Tablespoons whole green cardamom pods
1.5 Tablespoons table salt
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard or wasabi powder
1 Tablespoon black peppercorns
1 Star Anise
Put all ingredients in a spice grinder and blend until powdery. If you don’t mind pieces of cardamom pod, you can stop a little earlier. Make once then adjust for your preferred level of salt.
For dredging, like chicken or non-oily fish then blend 1 Tablespoon of the spice mixture with 2 HEAPING Tablespoons of flour. For oily fish, like salmon, use the spice blend without flour and just rub it all over the fish before cooking.
I’d like to revisit the INAPAM card. I have a post from a few years back when I got mine, but things have changed – and are changing.
There have been reports of residents (permanente and temporal) being turned away from getting an INAPAM card. There have been reports of some offices only issuing them to permanente residents. AND, the location I obtained my card no longer does the processing – so I thought I’d let people know where they need to go.
First, the INAPAM card is government issued to people of 60 or more years of age. It provides many discounts, from travel to drugs, to chicken wings. Each state seems to have agreements with businesses there – so things change when you travel. If you’re in México City and want to use the metro system, you can just show the card to the turnstile guard and they will let you in for free. Many of the long haul buses set aside a few seats for INAPAM card holders, and give them a 50% discount! This really saves on travel. Some people think that using this service takes away from locals who want to use it as well, but I have NEVER seen anyone turned away from using their INAPAM card on a bus. I think the ticket sellers don’t enforce restrictions (if they exist). The card also gets you complimentary entrance to almost all INAH museums and archaeological sites.
Ok. So some people have reported that the requirements for getting the card are different. I suggest you plan on a couple of trips to the office to get a card. The first one to ask what you need to provide, and then the second to give them what they asked for. When I got mine, I needed a couple of ‘infantile’ size photos, a copy of my passport, a copy of my residency card, a utility bill in my name, and I believe a copy of my CURP.
Offices used to be at one of the DIF locations on Constitución, but are now at the Bienestar Social offices on Gabriel Leyva, across from the Escuela Náutica. Here’s a google map link to the correct building – https://www.google.com/maps/….. You can even see a big banner saying they process INAPAM cards!
If anyone tries to get an INAPAM card and has more information about the requirements at our local Mazatlán office, please send me a note so I can update this post!
Today’s episode is a repeat from August, 2021, but a well deserved repost! A few updates have been added as well (including prices). And now … how I ‘El Mono’.
Tortas ahogadas are one of those great foods from Jalisco (as is birria). Bolillo roll, carnitas, onion salsa, lime, all swimming in a bath of tomato sauce! I’ve made a couple of posts before about El Mono, but today I thought I’d lead you through the procedure I use when I make my almost-weekly order.
I place my order via WhatsApp. Tacos y Tortas Ahogadas ‘El Mono’s number is +52 669 74 98. They’re closed on Monday’s so don’t order then! I almost always get a response to my whatsapp message within 5 minutes. They speak Spanish, not English – so make sure you use something like Google Translate to cut/paste if you don’t speak Spanish. I usually order four tortas ahogadas de carnitas (pork). They also have a decent birria, tacos, tacos dorados, and other items – check out the menu on their facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/elmono.tortasahogadas). They charge me a 10 peso delivery fee. I’m not sure if it changes on how far they have to go, so you should ask them what your total is, including delivery. Currently (and for quite a while now) the tortas ahogadas are 80 pesos. My four come to $280. Add the delivery charge and a tip and I’m out $340 pesos. It’s a great deal for four meals. You can always go there in person too!
Tortas Ahogadas de Carnitas
If you’re like me and are ordering ahead you’ll have a little prep to do to get them ready for the fridge/freezer. The tortas arrive packaged as in the photo above. Styrofoam tray, bolillo roll stuffed with carnitas, a bag of demon hot onion relish, a couple of lime wedges, and tomato sauce. You will probably get a plastic spoon – which I find difficult to use so I tell them not to include them.
Step one
Step one: Get your torta ahogada dish ready, remove the outer bag, and the bag from the torta. Place the torta in the dish! Make sure your dish is torta ahogada friendly! You want it to be fairly deep, and small enough that the tomato sauce ‘drowns’ the torta. Mine was a gift, but I think you can find them at either Sharks’ Dean in the Gold Zone, or the place near the corner of Azueta and Zaragoza. [2024 update: Since the original post I have purchased an air fryer. I have added a step of air frying them at 375 f. for 8 minutes. This makes them very toasty, and helps to keep them crunchy as I’m eating them. I’m a big fan of crunchy – if you aren’t, then skip the air fryer, or just put it on reheat for 3 or 4 minutes.]
Put the torta in the dish
Step two: Add the onion relish. If you haven’t had it before give it a LITTLE taste!!! I’m pretty sure the sauce around those onions is pureed habanero. It’s HOT. It will definitely get your endorphins flowing. Be forewarned! I usually squeeze the lime over the torta now. ** El Mono says the sauce is from chile de árbol. I don’t know … those are supposed to be the same heat, or a tad more, than the serrano chile and I don’t find serrano’s all that hot. I think they’re not telling me about a secret ingredient!
Step two. Add onion relish
Step three: Add the tomato sauce. The easiest way I’ve found to do this is to make sure the bag has been tied securely, flip it so a corner is at the top, snip off the corner with kitchen shears and slowly pour the sauce over the torta. [2024 update: I add a pinch of Méxican oregano to the tomato sauce. Just a little pinch makes a big difference!]
Step three
The bolillo rolls used are fairly dry and take a few minutes to soak up enough tomato sauce for you to be able to eat it with a spoon. Let your torta ahogada sit for 5 or 10 minutes, then grab a spoon and dig in!
Ready, set, eat!
Now – prepping the other tortas ahogadas for the fridge/freezer. First you’ll want to open each bag and make sure the components are secure. Tighten each knot, and place things upright on the tray. Remove the limes if it’s going in the freezer. Place the tray back in its bag and tie it closed. When I order I eat one when they deliver. I put one in the fridge, and the other two go in the freezer. When I eat the one in the fridge, I replace it with one from the freezer.
[2024 update: As I said earlier, I now have an air fryer. 375 f. for 8 minutes to get them a crunchy, toasty, golden brown. No need to remove the carnitas. While it’s air frying, I bring the tomato sauce, with a pinch of Méxican oregano, to a simmer. When the torta is done, it goes right in the dish, the sauce gets poured over it, and then I sprinkle some of the onions, and sauce if you’re brave, over that.] To reheat them, I pull out the carnitas from the bolillo roll, crumble them, and put them in a skillet. I add the onion and the tomato sauce, cover, and bring to a simmer for about 5 minutes. If you’ve frozen it, the tomato sauce will have separated – it’s still good. While it’s reheating I open up the bolillo roll and lay it fairly flat in the serving dish. I eat these open faced as its much easier just to pour everything slowly over the bolillo roll when ready. And it lessens the time I have to wait for the roll to get soggy enough for the spoon!
Of some small note, if you visit México City there’s a restaurant very near the main entrance to Chapultapec Park called El Pialadero de Guadalajara that also has excellent tortas ahogadas – and they’ll even give you a plastic glove if you want to get down and skip the spoon!
Went on a little walk today. From Centro to Juárez where I browsed the Mercado Miguel Hidalgo. Cut over to Insurgentes and had a nice burger and fries at Restaurante MiYeya. They’re always really nice. This is the first time I’ve had a burger there, and it was pretty good! $174 pesos for the burger, fries, and jamaica. They bring totopos to the table too, so I had a few of those.
The bun had grilled onions baked into the top – it was tasty!
After lunch I popped over to the Soriana. They’re on Insurgents just across the waterway from the restaurant. I needed ginger and a loaf of bread and then ‘found’ a couple more items I desperately needed too!
The clerk at Soriana told me that my ‘rewards’ card needed updating, and pointed to the customer service desk. If you don’t have a card, or it’s been a while since you’ve been in a Soriana, then I recommend you visit the customer service people and get the updated card. Purchases will give you points (that now expire after 12 months) which you can use to get free or discounted items.
Once you have the card, you can register on the website: https://www.soriana.com . The website also has the listing of what items are free/on sale.
12,744 steps so far. I think it’s siesta time! ¡Hasta la proxima!
The new year brings hope, well wishes, and a brighter outlook on life. In Mazatlán it also brings the annual property tax bill (Predial).
There are two ways I know of to pay the property tax bill. First, I saw a ‘Predial’ sign on the window at Jumapam, so I think you can visit the offices just off of Gabriel Leyva in Centro. You’ll have to navigate the big flight of stairs, so if you’re mobility challenged keep this in mind. Second, you can access your account online at: https://servicios.mazatlan.gob.mx/predial/ . You will need to have your ‘Clave Catastral’ handy … it’s a series of six, three number sections. The first starts with ‘011’. Once you’ve entered the number, click the ‘consultar’ button. This will pull up your tax account. I’ve already paid my taxes, and I didn’t pay much attention – I believe it either just displayed the current year’s billing, or I clicked on another button to do it. This is what it looks like:
Now you’ll have options to pay – I believe it’s another button. Install google translate and translate the page if you can’t determine which one to press. When it comes to the credit card payment, they accepted my Charles Schwab debit card – so it doesn’t have to be a Méxican bank.
If all else fails, you can make the trip to the Jumapam offices and take care of it there. There is a 10% deduction for early payments, so pay early to take advantage! It had been applied to my bill automatically.
That web site, https://servicios.mazatlan.gob.mx, is also where I usually pay my Jumapam bill. They’ve been working on the website for a few months now, and I haven’t been able to get to the place to pay – so I just walk to the offices and do it in person. I need the exercise anyway!
Have a prosperous and healthy new year, and don’t forget to pay your property taxes!
I was thinking that maybe now that I had the bus schedule, I should take the bus to El Quelite and have myself a birthday lunch. So I did.
Prices shown on the previous post have gone up, but the bus I took left almost at 11 am on the dot. It actually left two minutes early, so be sure not to be late!
The details:
There’s a bus driver, and a second person who at some point will go through the bus and collect the fares.
The bus wasn’t one of the really old rickety ones – it wasn’t new, but it was fairly comfortable and the air conditioning worked!
It takes around an hour and a half to an hour and 45 minutes for the trip. Depends on traffic and how many people get on and off every few kilometers along the way 🙂
As of today it was 55 pesos each way.
The return bus was at 4:30 pm. The bus had been parked up the street from El Mesón de Los Laureanos for a while, so look for it around 4:15 pm.
Same time to get back.
The bus was very easy to use, so please don’t hesitate to take a day trip on your own if you would like. The only downside for me is that I’ve been to El Quelite several times and I had about 2 hours of being parked on a bench in their zócalo.
El Mesón de Los Laureanos:
I always go to El Mesón de Los Laureanos, even though there’s a second place that tour groups go – Los Arrieros (and it looks inviting – maybe next time!). I always get the lengua. It’s really good. I mean incredibly good. Usually I get the lengua roja, but today I went with the verde. Incredible. I ate it all. And I ordered a chorreadita as well, and it was a nice addition (it’s a little tortilla with pork fat and cheese). Prices at El Mesón de Los Laureanos are high – this is definitely a special occasion/destination spot for me. My meal, with a glass of jamaica, came to just under $400 pesos with tip. Remember that I usually eat a 70 peso torta ahogada for lunch, so when I spend $500 pesos on lunch (including the ride) then it needs to be a special occasion! Birthday treat was definitely covered, and I did enjoy the whole day.
Do yourself a favor and add day trips using the ‘local’ buses to your agendas – your tummy will thank you!
El QueliteEl QueliteEl QueliteEl QueliteEl QueliteEl QueliteEl Mesón de Los LaureanosEl Mesón de Los LaureanosEl Mesón de Los LaureanosEl Mesón de Los LaureanosEl Mesón de Los LaureanosEl Mesón de Los LaureanosEl Quelite
I’ve been meaning to get to this post for the past two years. Good intentions don’t mean much until you get your behind to move and actually do something – which happened today.
This is the main bus station in Mazatlán. It’s a big ugly round building that you can spot from just a couple of places – if you know where to look. Buses to far and wide in México can be found here, and a recent remodel of the interior has made it much more inviting than it used to be.
What many people don’t realize, is that there is a second bus station – INSIDE this one, that serves the outlaying cities in the area. La Noria. Villa Union. Concordia. Cosala. And even El Quelite. These are likely the type of buses that your brain will picture a Méxican bus to be, unlike the ‘luxury’ long haul buses. They aren’t pretty. They aren’t comfortable. They often don’t even look like they’re able to make a 20 mile trip. But they’re an option, and an experience, and if you approach them with the right mindset they’re a fun adventure for the day! Study up on the lyrics to the ‘wheels on the bus’ song (in Spanish?) and prepare to shake, rattle, and roll!
To get to this bus station, enter the main station and proceed out the back exit into the main boarding area. Tell the guard (if there is one) that you’re going to the other terminal for a bus to {fill in the blank}. You’ll turn to your right and then follow the sidewalk all the way around until you are almost opposite where you started. There’s a building here – and halfway down is the entrance into the waiting area. No one was stationed under the schedules when I was there – I’m assuming that’s where you’ll pay for your ticket. If no one is there then the driver will likely take payment. Ask if you’re unsure. Google Translate can be your friend here! [Edit: At least with the El Quelite bus, you pay on board. Someone will come down the aisle collecting once you’re on your way].
I also do not have the return schedules – if you take one of these buses you will want to make sure you have a way to get back. If the bus goes someplace, then there will be a return bus – but you may find that the return bus is the next day. Have options. Villa Union, La Noria, El Quelite – these are all close enough that you should be able to call an Uber if you really need to – or take a cab. I would also bet that wherever you go there will be a hotel where you can grab a room for the night (be sure to ask if they have agua caliente!). Most of the locations I’ve mentioned have several departures a day; your best bet would be to take the earliest one and ask the driver when and where to catch the return bus. [Edit: There’s a return bus in El Quelite at 4:30 pm – it’s on the same street that it let you off. Should arrive about 10-15 minutes early and park a little up the street from El Mesón de Los Laureanos].
I give this information because once you’ve paid a tour company for a tour of El Quelite, do you really need to see the rooster farm, bakery, and leather shop (and any jewelry store along the way) again when you just want to have lunch at El Mesón de Los Laureanos? Same for La Noria. Or getting to Villa Union when you want to go to that seafood restaurant everyone talks about. Tours and cabs can get pricy, especially when you just have a single destination in mind – or want to have a self guided tour. So here are the schedules that were current as of today. Prices have gone up since they posted this, so be prepared to pay a little more. [Edit: cost of the trip to El Quelite is $55 pesos each way, at the date of this post]. Have a little fun!
Central de Autobuses – MazatlánCentral de Autobuses – MazatlánCentral de Autobuses – MazatlánCentral de Autobuses – Mazatlán
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