Pozole days

I love to cook. Living out of a van, though, means that cooking is limited by a few things—

1—what we can buy and store (meat only if we’re going to consume it that day)
2—what we can fit in our two little pots or on top of our griddle (usually either or, since the griddle takes up both burners)
3—how long it takes to cook (to economize on propane used and to avoid turning the van into a sauna)

I am in charge of all the meals. Typically, the most complicated thing I will make in the van is meat tacos, which requires only the cooking of meat and the chopping of a lot of garnishes. We do pasta once in a while, but our pot fits barely enough pasta to feed both of us, and it has a long cook time. We eat a lot of quesadillas, sandwiches, and soups, which is fine for the not-so-active lifestyle that lots of driving brings.

This month, in our two-burner cabin, we splurged on a large pot and have definitely gotten our 180 pesos out of it. What I really miss from Life Before are soups and stews (Vietnamese Pho, Malaysian Bah Kuh Teh, Butternut Squash Soup). This month, we have been feasting on stew-like things a lot. In addition to two huge pots of curry, courtesy of some spice mixes from my mother, I have made pozole four times, with each pot making enough for at least three meals. Today I’m going to share with you this easy recipe which has been warming our cabin and our bellies all month.

Pozole is a stew that can be made with any kind of meat, but pork is the mainstay. It can also be made blanco (white) or rojo (red). The red color comes from ancho chiles (dried Serrano chiles) and in my opinion is not spicy at all, but gives the stew more of a smoky and slightly sweet flavor.

Pozole rojo, in four steps and using only two pots. If you only have one large pot, do step one ahead of time and then set it aside in a separate container.

This amount will feed 4-6 people

Ingredients
4 large ancho chiles
Pork, 1-2 lbs—any cut will work, as long as it is not super lean
Chicken broth
hominy—pre-cooked kernel corn can work too, or precooked garbanzo beans
garlic
onions
salt
Extras and garnishes
potatoes, cubed
carrots, diced
raw onions, diced
cilantro
limes
radishes, diced
cabbage, chopped
tostadas or chips—something crunchy

1: Prepare the rojo part. Take at least 4 ancho chiles and heat them in a hot pan, turning them. Once they feel soft, immerse them in a small pot of salted, hot water for at least ten minutes. If you have a blender, blend this with a few cloves of garlic. If you don’t have a blender, wait a little while longer, then take out the chiles and dice them when they’re cool enough to handle, taking care to drain the water out. (If you’re worried that the chiles will be too spicy, just remove one or all of them altogether and keep the red water.)

2. Prepare the pork. Cube the pork, salt it, and then brown the pieces with some oil (or butter), diced onions and garlic.

3. Put it all together. Cover the pork with water and then some, add bouillion if you have some. Once the water boils, add whatever else you want. Pozole usually contains hominy and meat and nothing else, but we like to add potatoes and vegetables as well. (Diced carrots and squash work particularly well.) Now is also the time to add the rojo mixture. Bring this again to a boil, add some salt, and allow to simmer for about an hour. If you want to make it spicier, do your thing.

4. Garnish it. Pozole at the very least must be served with limes, diced onions, and tostadas or chips. Many places also serve it with cabbage or lettuce, radishes, and cilantro.

If you’ve got leftovers, shred the cubed pork back into the stew once it’s cooled, and this makes it so much tastier the next day.