For me, tacos are a soulful experience. There’s nothing like feeling a warm corn tortilla in my hand, taking a bite, and tasting the lushness of pintos borrachos or the smokiness of grilled veggies. A taco is Mexican comfort food you can hold in one hand. The best tacos, though, aren’t just comfort food. Riding on top of that comfort is a complexity and liveliness that should make your mouth want to sing! And, you don’t need to spend hours in the kitchen to create that experience. It’s really just based on four key flavor and texture principles and just one of them will do, although the more the better in my opinion. Those principles are heat, acidity, salt, and crunch.
When I want to add a little extra pop and sizzle to my tacos, I look at those four principles to see if any of them are missing and I find easy-to-use ingredients that fill that gap. The following five ingredients are quick, no-fuss ways that will take your tacos to the next level. When you use these ingredients, don’t overload your taco with them. A little bit goes a long way, allowing them to balance the other flavors and textures of your taco without overwhelming it.
Fried Chiles de Arbol (heat, crunch) – Just one or two of these are enough for any taco. They provide a satisfying crunch and are perfect for people that love heat. They have what I like to call a back-end heat. They don’t seem too hot when you first bite into them, but the heat sensation develops over several seconds. It’s a really cool experience, if you like spicy food. To make these, simply drop a small handful of dried chiles de arbol into a couple inches of 375°F oil for a few seconds, until they puff and crisp, then set them aside to drain. I love using these with tacos that feature beans.
Roasted Poblano Strips (heat on the lighter side) – A great way to add mild heat to a taco, these are simply roasted poblano chiles that have been cut into strips. They provide a full-bodied chile flavor without the searing heat of the chiles de arbol. To make them, simply roast the poblano, remove the seeds and stems, and cut it into strips sized to fit your taco. These are great additions to just about any traditional Mexican taco and many of the fusion tacos, as well.
Pickled Onions (acidity) – These are thinly sliced red onions that have marinated in vinegar for at least an hour. They’re a little sweet and they hop with acidity. The longer you let these pickle, the sweeter they become and the more the sweet flavor of the onion and the pop of the vinegar meld. To make them, just make thin slices of red onion and submerge them in vinegar. Apple cider vinegar is my preference. An hour is my minimum time for these to marinate. You only need four or five slices of onion per taco to get the effect of them. I like adding these to tacos that have flavors that are on the heavier side, like seitan-tacos.
A Light Squeeze of Lime (acidity) – Fresh and bright, limes add a refreshing high-end note to just about any taco. I only use one wedge at most on a taco, a wedge being one-eighth of a lime. It may not seem like a lot, but lime juice can easily overtake other flavors, so just a squeeze is enough to lighten the flavor of a taco.
Toasted Salted Pepitas (salt, crunch) – Pepitas are hulled green pumpkin seeds and they are absolutely delicious. You can find these in the Mexican aisles of many grocery stores, at Trader Joe’s, and just about any Mexican market. They’re easy to toast and salt yourself, but even easier to buy them that way. A sprinkle of these guys on a taco is enough to get shots of saltiness and bits of crunch in each bite.
Adapted from Vegan Tacos by Jason Wyrick. ©2014 Jason Wyrick. Used by permission from Vegan Heritage Press.
