Enchiladas

A friend at work says that Mexican food is a rip-off... it's the same 5 ingredients rearranged on a plate.  While there are a few staples, it's all so different.  And of that multitude of arrangements, enchiladas are probably the easiest to make.  This is how my mom taught me.  This one you MUST read the whole recipe first.  Being a recipe passed down over the generations, there's no such thing as measurements.  And it can get pretty messy so wear something you're okay with getting dirty.



Ingredients
- Two boneless chicken breasts (make sure they're thawed)
- 2 cloves of garlic, smashed
- Canola oil
- Corn tortillas
- Shredded Monterey Jack (or other white) cheese
- Small white onion, chopped
- Dried oregano
- 1 large can of red enchilada sauce (I think they're like 28 oz cans).
 
1. Bring a pot of water to boil.  Once boiling, add the garlic and chicken.  Boil until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink.  Remove from water.  [If you're making Spanish rice as a side, save some of the left over stock and garlic to use for the rice.]  Once cool, shred chicken.  Putting it in the freezer for 10 min or so helps it cool down faster.  Or use a fork and knife.   

2. Preheat oven to 400 deg.

3.   In a mixing bowl, combine the chicken, cheese, onion and oregano until everything is evenly distributed.  You're mix should be about 50% cheese, 30% chicken, and 20% onion.  These proportions will probably make about 15 - 20 enchiladas.  Of course, you can change the proportions to your liking.  Oregano will probably be about one Tbl.  For my family of 6 growing up, we would use 2 chicken breasts, a 1-lb block of cheese, and half of a medium white onion.  My brother didn't like onion or oregano so my mom would always set some aside for him.  

4. This is the hard part: setting up the area around your stove to match the order of preparation.  After reading the next few steps, come back to this one and set up your area.  Trust me, it helps to have this done first, rather than risking getting burnt with oil.

Step 5

5.  Heat oil in a large pan.  You'll need maybe about 1/2 cup.  Once hot, one at a time, dip each tortilla into the oil and let soak for a bit so it becomes slightly stiff but still pliable.  DO NOT let them get crispy!  They only need to be in the hot oil for approx. 30 seconds on each side.  Take out and let drain on a plate that is covered with paper towels.

6. Once you have fried all your tortillas, open the can of sauce and empty the whole thing into the pan.  You'll probably have oil still left in the pan, which is what you want.  If not, add a Tbl and let it heat up.  Note: IT WILL SPLATTER!  The faster you pour the can in the faster it will stop making crazy sounds.  It'll start to boil, so reduce the heat.  Let the sauce fry a little bit, about 5 minutes.

Step 7

7. Dip each tortilla into the sauce, one by one, just long enough for it to get coated in sauce.  DO NOT let them get soaked with sauce.  Place on a plate.  Once done with that, turn off the heat and let the remainder of the sauce sit.

8. Arrange an oven safe dish (13 x 9 should be good) close to where you have your chicken filling mix and tortillas.  Align a row of the mix in each tortilla close to an edge.  Not right on an edge, maybe like a third of the way over.  The roll.  Arrange in the dish so the open side is down.  Continue until all your tortillas are filled, or you run out of filling.

Step 8

9.  Remove about 1 cup of the sauce from the pan.  Pour the rest over the enchiladas.  Bake in heated oven for 20 min, or until sauce begins to harden.  Remove and pour the remaining sauce over the top to help remoisten.

10. Serve with a dallop of crema on top.  Some people like a little shredded cabbage too.








Now, that's the way my mom taught me.  My boyfriend's mom taught me this slight variation.  Ingredients are the same, except no onion or oregano.  And you can use a smaller can (14oz?) of sauce.  

2. Same as Step 1 above.

2. Heat oil in large pan.  While you wait, pour sauce into a shallow dish.  Once the oil is hot, dip each tortilla into the sauce (enough to get coated) and then place straight into the oil.  Let fry approx 5 seconds on each side so that it becomes pliable.

3. Immediately fill and roll each enchilada and place on a serving dish.  Repeat until all tortillas are filled or until you run out of filling.

4. Follow Step 10 above.




So my friend was somewhat right: Either way you get enchiladas, but they're made in two very different ways.  The baked enchiladas have a different texture than the ones that are just fried.  And this is just from what my family and my boyfriend's family have done for years.  Guaranteed any other Mexican family has their own variation...