#tortilla chips
Tostilocos are a mess. A delicious, crazy mess. A popular street food developed in Tijuana in the 1990s, tostilocos are best described as the tasty brainchild of a Mexican stoner. Essentially chips (i.e., Tostidos) are topped with fresh cucumbers and jícama, cacahuates japonéses – a sweet-and-savory coated peanut snack popular in Mexico – and whatever else you have on hand, and then dressed with sweet/spicy/sour chamoy.
Cacahuates japonéses, a popular Mexican snack, are hard to come by in NYC. Honey-roasted peanuts on the other hand are sold by street vendors throughout the city.
There are no rules to making tostilocos but our version contains a few regional variations. We start with a base of Garden of Eatin’s Red Hot Blues, blue corn tortilla chips dusted with cayenne pepper. Cacahuates japonéses are hard to come by in NYC but that’s not the case for honey-roasted peanuts which are available from street vendors throughout the city. You can find jícama, a root vegetable which must be peeled before eating, at many grocery stores though it can be replaced by green apples which has a similar flavor. Chamoy is what ties all the ingredients together. Regular hot sauce lacks the sweet and sour notes of chamoy and isn’t a great substitute.
Jícama, also known as Mexican yam or Mexican turnip must be peeled before eating. It has a crunchy texture and mild flavor similar to apples.
Here are our suggested ingredients for tostilocos:
• Blue corn tortilla chips
• Diced cucumber
• Shoe-stringed jícima or green apple
• Cacahuates japonéses or honey-roasted peanuts
• Red onion, minced
• Jalapeño, seeded and minced
• Chicharrón (pork rinds)
• Fresh cilantro, minced
• Chili powder
• Lemon juice (see below)
• Chamoy
Build a plate of tostilocos layer by layer, squeezing chamoy over the ingredients as you go. Squeeze lime juice over cucumber, jícima and/or green apple before tossing with other ingredients.
February 24th is…
Chili Day - Chili is most commonly made up of tomatoes, beans, chili peppers, meat, garlic, onions, and cumin. However, cooks offer up so many variations to the basic chili recipe. And, with so many varieties, chili cook-off competitions love to feature chili as a favored entry. American frontier settlers used a “chili” recipe of dried beef, suet, dried chili peppers, and salt. All this was pounded together and formed into bricks and dried. They could then boil the bricks in pots on the trails.
Toast Day - Perhaps we have overlooked the necessity of toast, and it shall have its due. We’re able to toast it to a variety of shades pleasing everyone. Whether we lightly toast it or char it to a dark crisp, it serves as a perfect medium for building breakfast or sandwiches. It accepts seasoning quite well, too. Add butter, gee, avocado, or honey. It doesn’t matter your preference. Cinnamon and sugar? Well, it might depend on your mood.
Tortilla Chip Day - We most commonly served them with salsa, chile con queso, guacamole, cheese dips, or other dips. Tortilla chips are made from corn tortillas cut into wedges and then fried. The tortillas are made from corn, vegetable oil, salt, and water. Typically made with yellow corn, tortillas can also be made with white, blue, or red corn.
World Bartender Day - While a bartender may seem like a modern profession, they have been around since the 1400s. Some of the first bartenders lived in Europe. They were innkeepers who served spirits and ales to their guests. In 1862, popular American bartender, Jerry Thomas, published The Bar-tender’s Guide. It was the first drink book ever distributed in the United States. Even during the prohibition in the 1920s, bartending was a popular profession in the country.
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Jinkx wants some tortilla chips
