A Taste of Mexico

After nearly two months of Japanese food I hadn't begun to miss Mexican food until my family reminded of their dinner plans a few days ago.
That being said, after the video chat with my family I was left the mental image of a carne asada burrito and big glass of horchata. Even though I am thousands of miles from the real thing, I was determined to make a Mexican dinner here in Japan. After a few days of searching the markets, grocery stores, and gourmet food marts of Takamatsu, I had gathered the essentials. Flour for the tortillas, chili-powder for the rice and chicken, and of course salsa, which to my surprise is sold at most grocery stores for around $3.

The only thing which I'm afraid I had to do without are pinto beans. Pinto beans are sold here, but for a bag the size of one burrito it costs more than $3, a little out of my budget but good to know if I am ever desperate.

With pinto beans off the menu I decided to go with chicken rice burritos. I made the rice just like Mom always showed me and even though the rice was another type, to my surprise it came out just like it does at home.

For the tortillas I was able to find lard from the grocery stores and mixed that with the flour and baking powder. I then rolled them by hand like I've seen my Nana do many many times before and cooked them on the stove like an authentic Mexican.

For the rest of the meal I pan-fried the chicken with lemon, chili-powder, a few other spices creating a nice chipotle flavor.

Since food tastes best when enjoyed with friends, I invited one of my Japanese friends over for dinner that night and showed her how we do dinner in Mexico. It was a feast!

Next on the menu is horchata!

--to see more pictures of robert in japan click here--