Mexican Food...in Japan

Oh, Mexico, I never really been so I don't really know.
And oh, Mexico, I guess I'll have to go now.

James Taylor

Sure.  I’d like to go to Mexico at some point, but this post is really about Mexican food.

I love Mexican food.  As a kid, Chichi’s was one of my favorite places to eat.  I mean seriously, can anything beat fried ice cream?  It’s like eating an oxymoron, for crying out loud.

Awesome.

Going out to eat Mexican in Japan is not impossible, but it might as well be.  It’s either over priced, or just not good.  We rarely bother.

Instead, we make burrito salads, inspired by the restaurants Chipotle and Burrito Union.  We do the best we can without staples like fresh cilantro and varieties of peppers. 

But we make do.  The results?

 Delicious.

Recipe

Prepped lettuce

A couple tablespoons olive oil

one sliced onion

one sliced green pepper

one sliced red pepper

one sliced yellow pepper

minced garlic

sliced tomato

sliced avacado

one can of black beans

1-2 cups cooked rice

sliced chicken

juice of 1-2 limes

grated cheese                                               

cumin seed

ground cumin

salt

pepper

cilantro (fresh if at all possible)

tabasco

Heat up olive oil in two pans.  Sautee garlic and cumin seed in both pans over medium heat.  In one pan, sauté onion until beginning to soften.  Add peppers and sauté. 

In other pan put in cooked rice.  Spice desired amount.  Add lime juice and black beans.  Cook over low heat to blend flavors.

Once the veggies are sautéed, remove from pan and set aside.  In same pan, add a bit more oil and heat up.  Put in some minced garlic and sauté.  Add meat of choice and spice as desired.  Fry until just cooked through. 

Assemble salads in a pretty fashion!

Note:  I apologize for the ambiguity of amounts…I tend to not measure ingredients.  Start with a small amount and spice from there, tasting along the way. 

We like drinking either Negra Modelo Mexican beer, piña coladas or margaritas with these salads.  Yum!