This week, Mexico Cooks! has cranked up the way-back machine for a trip down Memory Lane. This article, and the articles for the next two weeks, are from 2008. The Guadalajara newspaper El Mural asked me to give their reporter a food tour of Guadalajara "as if it were for tourists", and we had a fantastic time going places the reporter and the photographer had never been–in their own city. A short while after the tour, Mexico Cooks! was the big news on the first and subsequent pages of Buena Mesa, El Mural's food section. Here's Part 1 of where we went and what we ate.
Denisse Hernández, reporter from Guadalajara's newspaper El Mural, interviews Rosario Reyes Estrada about the coctel de camarón (shrimp cocktail) that Mexico Cooks! proclaims to be the best in Mexico. Behind the two women you can see another tianguis (street market) booth that sells balls and toys.
In February 2008, while Mexico Cooks! was deep in the heart of Chiapas, I received an email saying that El Mural, the prominent Guadalajara newspaper, wanted Mexico Cooks! to guide a reporter and a photographer on an eating tour of…Guadalajara! The initial email from the editor said Mexico Cooks! was the best blog in the blogosphere, they were dying to meet us, and that the article would be featured in an upcoming Buena Mesa, El Mural's Friday food section. Flattery will get you everywhere, so of course we said a delighted YES.
Sra. Reyes, her family, and a small staff operate El Ostión Feliz.
Mexico Cooks! met reporter Denisse Hernández and a staff photographer in downtown Guadalajara and off we went on our eating outing. Our first stop was westernmost Guadalajara's enormous Tianguis del Sol, an outdoor market specializing in sales of everything from bales of gently used clothing shipped in from the United States, to replacement parts for your blender, to incredible prepared food and every possible raw ingredient to cook at home. What a delirious experience!
When I was first living in Guadalajara, a dear friend introduced me to Rosario Reyes Estrada at her mariscos stand, El Ostión Feliz (the Happy Oyster). Sra. Reyes is at the Tianguis del Sol every day it's open, serving concoctions of fresh fish and seafood. Her tiny booth, where about eight hungry diners at a time sit on plastic stools at a long, oilcloth-covered table, is definitely where the desayuno (breakfast) and almuerzo (brunch) action is. We've been eating her coctel de camarón (shrimp cocktail) for years, and as far as Mexico Cooks! is concerned, it's the best in Mexico. We don't know what magic ingredient she incorporates into the coctel (she swears her only secret is the use of the absolutely freshest ingredients), but from the first bite several years ago, we were instantly addicted.
Look at the size of the shrimp in that soup spoon! Each of doña Rosario's cocteles de camarón includes a dozen shrimp like that.
A Mexican coctel de camarón resembles a shrimp cocktail from the United States or Canada only in that both are made with shrimp. When asked for her recipe, doña Rosario, originally from the state of Veracruz, just smiled. This approximation of her coctel will have to satisfy you till you get to Guadalajara.
Coctel de Camarón Estilo Mexicano for Four
Ingredients for Poaching the Shrimp
48 fresh large (U25) shrimp, heads removed and shell on
1 clove garlic
1 stick celery, with leaves if possible
1 carrot, washed but not peeled
1 medium white onion, peeled
1 Roma tomato
1 chile serrano, split from tip almost to stem
A few stems of cilantro
Ingredients for composing the coctel
Caldo (broth) reserved from cooking shrimp
Sea salt to taste
1 cup tomato catsup (yes, catsup, really)
1 Tbsp minced white onion per serving
1 Tbsp minced Roma tomato per serving
1 Tbsp minced cucumber per serving
1/2 tsp minced chile serrano
Roughly chopped cilantro to taste
Ripe avocado
Mexican limes, halved and seeded
Salsa de mesa (table salsa) such as
Cholula, Valentina, Búfalo, etc.
DO NOT USE TABASCO!
What You Might Not Have On Hand
Ice cream soda glasses–optional, but authentic for serving
Procedure
In simmering water, poach the shrimp, along with the garlic, celery, carrot, onion, tomato, chile serrano, and cilantro until the shrimp are just done, firm and pink but still tender. Discard the vegetables from the caldo. Reserve and cool the caldo de camarón (poaching liquid) for later use. Be careful: a friend of mine poached his shrimp and drained it into the kitchen sink–without a bowl under the strainer–inadvertently pouring all the cooking liquid down the drain! Be sure to put a container under your strainer.
Shell the shrimp, cover, chill, and reserve.
At serving time, mix the catsup, the reserved, chilled caldo de camarón (shrimp broth), and sea salt to taste. Add a squeeze of fresh Mexican lime juice.
In each ice cream soda glass or other large glass, put the indicated quantities of minced onion, tomato, cucumber, chile serrano, and chopped cilantro. Add 12 shrimp to each glass. Pour the catsup/caldo de camarón mixture to cover all ingredients.
Serve with sliced or diced avocado. At the table, offer Mexican lime halves for those who prefer a limier flavor, a small dish of sea salt, a dish of minced chile serrano and another of chopped cilantro for those who prefer more, and a salsa de mesa or two for those who like more picante (HEAT!).
A coctel de camarón is traditionally served with saltine crackers and tostadas, those crunchy fried or dehydrated salty, crisp tortillas. Tostadas are usually rubbed with the cut side of a squeezed lime for added flavor. Buen provecho!
The lovely Sra. Josefina Naranjo of Guadalajara has eaten at El Ostión Feliz for years, going every Friday to enjoy doña Rosario's fish and seafood.
The assortment of doña Rosario's salsas includes Valentina (in the bottle), a house-made salsa of cucumber, onion, and chile habanero (in the bowl), a green avocado/cilantro salsa, and my favorite, the little jar of hotter-than-the-hinges-of-hell salsa de ajonjolí (sesame seed) and chile de árbol. This one is so popular that doña Rosario sells it to take home. Mexico Cooks! wouldn't be without a jar of this salsa muy picante in the refrigerator.
Tianguis del Sol
Avenida Copérnico at the corner of Avenida Tepeyac
Colonia Chapalita
Guadalajara
Open: Every Wednesday, Friday, Sunday 7:00AM – 3:00PM
Wear comfortable shoes and clothing
Paid parking on the premises–be sure not to lose your ticket!
Next week with Mexico Cooks! and "El Mural": Taco Fish La Paz.
Looking for a tailored-to-your-interests specialized tour in Mexico? Click here: Tours.
Leave a Reply to Jim Browne Cancel reply