The Long Beach Post is here to help, and this week we are publishing a series of videos ahead of New Year’s Eve on how to make our favorite drinks.
Today, reporter Crystal Niebla makes a michelada:
Who in Southern California doesn’t like a michelada on a hot day? Yes, yes, I know we’re technically in winter or whatever, but I could’ve sworn it was 75 degrees the other day; I digress. So, because I’m a vegetarian, I’m gonna show you how to make a vegan michelada. The traditional tomato juice ingredient, Clamato, had some clams sacrificed in its making, so we’re just swapping it out from good-old, I-hated-drinking-it-as-a-kid V8 tomato juice.
Ingredients:
- Chamoy dip
- 1-2 vertical slices of cucumbers
- Ice cubes
- V8 vegetable juice (should be the original, tomato-liking one)
- Beer
- ¼ slice of lime juice
- Chile and lime seasoning (Tajín)
- Soy sauce
- Tapatío (optional if you like spice)
First thing’s first (“rest in peace Uncle Phil”; don’t mind my J. Cole references), grab a tall glass and dunk the rim into chamoy dip. (If you don’t have chamoy dip, you can substitute it by rimming the glass with lime.) Then, sprinkle Tajín onto the rim to your liking.
Put about two pours of soy sauce (I guess about three-fourths of a teaspoon?) at the minimum, but you can definitely add more at the end if you want it to be a bit more salty. If you like spicy drinks, here’s where you could add Tapatío. My preference is about three shakes of the hot sauce.
Squeeze your lime juice, and add your ice to cover about ¾ of your glass. Pour one part of V8 juice and stir the mixture. Then, pour two parts beer.
Peel and then vertically slice thick strips of a cucumber. You’ll just need two, and they’ll be nice to nibble on while you drink. Top it off with sprinkles of Tajín, take a sip, and see if you need to tweak it in any way (e.g., adding more soy sauce).
Micheladas are one of my go-to drinks because they’re refreshing, flavorful and unique. Everyone kind of makes it a little different, so here’s my version of it.