it’s vegetal, slightly sour, and can have a nice texture. Flavor like green beans but fresher and better tasting. Nopales + beans + salsa make excellent vegetarian tacos. They are also great added to meat tacos and the acidity means you can skip the lime (or not)
the trick is to cook the shit out of them. When you cook them, they release a goopy mucus that burns in the pan. most restaurants (at least near me) stop when they turn translucent. this gives them a slimy texture i don’t care for.
i recommend continuing to cook the until all the mucus burns off and you have nice non-slimy bits. taste and texture are much better this way IMO. i have heard you can get the same or better results grilling on an open flame, but i haven’t tried that yet.
I’d call the flavor a cross between green bean and asparagus.
To get the slime out without mucking up your pan, boil it for 15 minutes. Add a chunk of onion, cloves is garlic, salt, pepper to the water for flavor. Then drain, rinse with water, and 90% of the slime will be gone. Then just combine with the rest of your cooked filling.
If you are going for a vegetarian taco, I recommend adding queso de frier (friable cheese) for that hit of salt, fat, and chewy texture. Dice it up into small pieces. Fry it with a touch of neutral oil until it’s brown and crispy on all sides.
Rick Bayless on YouTube has this method on a recent video. He adds a little salsa that can taste pretty good. Reminds me of the way we had it where I grew up.
Not sure how to describe it. It’s chewy and slimy. Idk kinda like a cucumber maybe? If you’ve seen it you can probably guess how it feels like. I forgot the flavor, guess it wasn’t too memorable.
I’ve always wondered what Nopal was for. Seen it a few times in a Mexican grocery store in the US but haven’t had the opportunity to try it yet.
What’s it like?
it’s vegetal, slightly sour, and can have a nice texture. Flavor like green beans but fresher and better tasting. Nopales + beans + salsa make excellent vegetarian tacos. They are also great added to meat tacos and the acidity means you can skip the lime (or not)
the trick is to cook the shit out of them. When you cook them, they release a goopy mucus that burns in the pan. most restaurants (at least near me) stop when they turn translucent. this gives them a slimy texture i don’t care for.
i recommend continuing to cook the until all the mucus burns off and you have nice non-slimy bits. taste and texture are much better this way IMO. i have heard you can get the same or better results grilling on an open flame, but i haven’t tried that yet.
I’d call the flavor a cross between green bean and asparagus.
To get the slime out without mucking up your pan, boil it for 15 minutes. Add a chunk of onion, cloves is garlic, salt, pepper to the water for flavor. Then drain, rinse with water, and 90% of the slime will be gone. Then just combine with the rest of your cooked filling.
If you are going for a vegetarian taco, I recommend adding queso de frier (friable cheese) for that hit of salt, fat, and chewy texture. Dice it up into small pieces. Fry it with a touch of neutral oil until it’s brown and crispy on all sides.
i will try this next time! My method does leave the cast-iron pan pretty crusty
the cheese is also a great suggestion
Awesome, now I have to find some. Thanks for sharing.
Rick Bayless on YouTube has this method on a recent video. He adds a little salsa that can taste pretty good. Reminds me of the way we had it where I grew up.
Not sure how to describe it. It’s chewy and slimy. Idk kinda like a cucumber maybe? If you’ve seen it you can probably guess how it feels like. I forgot the flavor, guess it wasn’t too memorable.