Tips For Fixing Mexican Food At Home

Here are some suggestions from renowned Chicago chef Rick Bayless for executing Mexican fare with flair at home:

When roasting chilies, don’t peel or seed them under running water, which leaches much of their flavor.

When cooking beans, add a pinch of baking soda to soften the beans more quickly (too much alters their flavor and affects their nutritional value). To preserve the texture of beans, start them off slowly and keep them at a gentle simmer. Salt should be added only after the beans are cooked.

Authentic Mexican red rice is first fried raw, then simmered in broth. Frying rice cooks the kernels’ outer coating, which minimizes sticking and browns the rice, giving it a distinctive flavor.

To soften the potency of raw onions before adding them to a dish, rinse them (chopped) with cold, vinegar-spiked water. The result will be a fresher onion flavor in the finished dish.

When making guacamole, choose a slow-browning variety of avocado such as Haas, return the pits to the guacamole (they retard browning) and cover with plastic wrap pressed directly on the surface to keep out air. Before serving, scrape off any dark layer that may have developed. For best results, guacamole should be served within an hour of being made.