I recently spent a Saturday afternoon at the Long Beach home of Sonia Canchola, a Mexican-American woman who is an expert at the art of making chile rellenos. Perhaps you’ve had this dish before, since living in Southern California presents many opportunities to indulge in Mexican food. Originating in Puebla, Mexico, chile rellenos, or “stuffed chiles,” can come in myriad fashions. Some use poblano chiles, others use pasillas. The fillings of cheese, and at times meat, can also be adjusted.
Ingredients:
There are just a few. First of all, we used pasilla chiles, which according to Sonia are the real authentic chiles for this popular dish. In addition the recipe requires jack cheese, eggs, vegetable oil, flour and tooth picks.
Step 1: Chile Preparation
The initial step in producing this decadent delight is to prepare the chiles. First grill them over the stove until the skin is black and burned. This is done so that the chiles can be stripped of the skin prior to cooking. This step is crucial, as leaving the skin on will result in chiles that are too tough to eat. No skin!
After the skin has been stripped, the chile will be slightly broken apart. This is helpful so that the second element of chile preparation can take place: removing the seeds. This should be done in relation to the amount of spice desired in the final product. We removed almost all the seeds, resulting in a mildly spicy chile relleno. Leaving a few more in, or all of them in, respectively, will produce a medium or high spice level.
Step 2: Stuffing the Chiles This part is tedious. As a result of grilling off the skin, the chiles will have some exposed holes or long lines throughout. This is helpful as it is now time to stuff the chiles with jack cheese. The cheese should be shredded and then inserted at the quantity desired. The cheesier the better if you ask me, but that’s your call. After the chiles are stuffed, use the tooth picks to reconnect its separated strands. This will keep the chile together during the final pan frying process.
Step 3: Battering the Chiles
An essential element to the amazingness of eating a chile relleno is the slightly fluffy, slightly soggy exterior coating the main ingredient. Start by separating egg whites from the yolks, and keep the whites only. Whip the whites until they form a foamy substance. Upon removing the whisk or utensil, it should have soft peaks of batter attached to it.
Also prepare a liberal plate of flour. Carefully pick up the cheese-filled chiles and coat them with flour, then dip them in the bowl of egg white batter.
Step 4: Pan Frying the Chiles
The soaked and battered chiles can now be inserted into a fry pan. They should be cooked to a golden brown throughout the surface. About three chiles will simultaneously fit in normal size pan.
Step 5: Post-Frying Cool Down
The completed chiles should be placed on a flat surface with paper towels. After ten minutes they are ready to serve. Sometimes these dishes are served with a salsa or ranchero sauce. Sonia prepared a chunky ranchero sauce, which complemented the richness of the chile relleno really well. The recipe on this sauce isn’t included here. Sorry!
This experience was fun and simple. With just a few ingredients and the patience for preparation time, chile rellenos can be made at home quite easily. The dish always impressed me with its robust, unique flavor that mixes savory and spice. Learning how to make it was a pleasant surprise of ease.