It has been a long week and I really want to take it easy on Friday night, so nothing fancy tonight, simple chiles rellenos and that's it. I have used most of the foods that I had already prepared for tonight's dinner. The only thing I had to invest my time in is getting ancho/poblano chiles ready. That involves scorching the skins under broiler until they blister and after few more manipulations with steam and ice bath, removing the outer skin and then cleaning out the seeds and pith. This step can be done some time ahead. I prepped the chiles right after I got home from work and then went off to gym.
First, wash the chiles, dry them, preheat the broiler and place them inside. Let skin blister and turn the chiles to make sure skin is blistered on all sides:
After chiles are all blistered, put them in a plastic bag and seal it - this will allow the steam to build up and further loosen the tough outer skin:
Next step is to put the chiles in ice cold water. My tap doesn't exactly produce ice cold water, it is ambient at best, so I fill up a bowl and add some ice to lower the temperature of water, then put chiles in the bowl:
Next, peel off the outer skin. It should come off very easily now. After skin is peeled, slit a side of the chile and remove the seeds and pith, keeping the stem on and the rest of the chile intact:
Next, get the stuffing ready. I'm using the chicken livers leftovers from previous evening and rice (rice should be already cooked), mix the two together:
And the last of the prep steps is to prepare the batter. Authentic Mexican chiles rellenos are covered in masa/hominy. I will use my own simple batter of eggs and flour, you may add seasonings to taste:
The tool you see above is quite a cool one, and I prefer to use it for smaller mixing/egg-beating tasks. It is manual, so no electric cords, it is very compact and very convenient. Search for "OXO Good Grips Egg Beater". Amazon and Williams Sonoma sell it.
I like the batter to be somewhat thick, not dripping or runny. Now, prepare for frying. It is best to have everything conveniently situated next to each other: heat the pan, add good amount of oil (I used vegetable oil today), cleaned chiles, stuffing, batter, and a plate with flour:
Order of assembly is to first put the chile in the flour plate, add stuffing, close the chile so that sides overlap a bit (some people would like to secure the seam more, I would just like to be careful in handling the chile from this stage on), roll it in batter, and add to fry pan:
Make sure to fry each one on both sides. Be carful around the seam when flipping the chile. It is best to put the chile on the pan seam down first - that way the seam gets fried sealed. But you still have to be careful flipping the chile.
Traditionally chiles rellenos are served in sauce. My goal tonight is to simplify this dish while still keeping it tasty. I used tomato sauce that I had prepared some time earlier, to add some more flavor to it, I mixed in some Aji Amarillo paste that just happened to arrive in my mailbox today. I know, I know, Aji pastes (Amarillo, Panca, Rocoto, etc) are more of a Peruvian ingredient, but I never said I am preparing authentic Mexican chiles rellenos!
When batter on the chiles in the pan is set and starting to brown and get crispy, take chile out and serve on the plate with sauce.
And this was a simple dinner tonight, utilizing some leftovers from previous night. I liked it as is, Shyam opted to add some hot sauce to it.
I'm off to continue to take it easy this Friday night.
Have a good weekend!
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