Sauces, Salsas and when you can't decide, Divorce (Divorciados)

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog.  We thank you for stopping by to read.  On this lovely Friday of a very busy October weekend, Kirk is working a lot of stressful overtime, while Ed (from Yuma) is gearing up for a busy weekend of research for future postings and Cathy is relaxing in front of the computer and writing this post.

For the past few decades, I've been more than interested in condiments.  Numerous varieties of ethnic cooking are common here and so many ingredients are available.

Living in San Diego County, the varieties of sauces and salsas used in and on and with Mexican food are numerous.Walk into any generic grocer and the choices are overwhelming...

  Walk into a Mexican Market and the choices increase exponentially.  

 

Step into any taco shop and the fresh made vats of salsas and condiments are unique in flavor and selection.Have a seat at primarily mariscos (seafood) restaurant and the hot sauce selection on each table leads to some interesting flavor points if you become curious about what makes each differ from the other.Depending on what you order, at certain establishments, the 'proper' salsa/sauce (made in the restaurant) will be brought out to the table. One of our favorite Mexican places, Maritza's (it's in Clairmont; I'll have a post ready soon) makes a special chopped green salsa, served only with carnitas, which are prepared and served only on Wednesdays.  It's multi flavored with a medium heat, a little salty and compliments the chunky seared pork absolutely perfectly.Then there is mole: complex flavored, multi ingredient sauces with flavors unique to various regions of Mexico.  The above breakfast (over eggs) mole is from Vanessa's Deli and has a distinct sweetness.These three moles served over chicken enchiladas from Rana's (again, I have a post forthcoming) are each wildly unique: the red mole is poblano chili based and, like the other two, is made with more than 20 ingredients, the white mole has pecans in its base while the green mole uses fresh herbs, tomatillos and sunflower seeds.  Each is wonderful on its own and when I can't decide..well the 'Tricolor' plate is my choice.The enchilada suizas at Ponce's is my usual choice.  Suiza means 'Swiss' and the sauce is cream based, thick and with a mild green salsa mixed in for this version.Similarly, the Karina's sauce is green and creamy, but more of a culiché sauce: cream, poblano chilis and garlic dominate the flavors.Sometimes, I crave a rich flavored, chili pepper and tomato based red enchilada sauce on top of cheese filled corn tortillas.  The above is from my neighborhood taco shop; each taco shop makes a unique version. 

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Then, there are this days when I can't decide and everything sounds good.  The wonderful Mexican people have a solution on their menus - Divorciados!

Huevos divorciados (divorced eggs) is a Mexican breakfast made with two fried eggs, separated in the above version by refried beans and potatoes (I've sometimes had chilaquiles as the separation food item).  One egg is covered in salsa roja (red sauce) and the other egg covered in salsa verde (green sauce), giving each egg a distinct flavor.  (The above Divorciados Plate is a breakfast item at El Portal ). Dropping in at Carnitas Uruapan, there is a white board of daily specials and lately 'Carne Divorciados' has been an available special.  

The top plate has the red sauce covering chicharron (fried pork rinds) and the green sauce covering pork pieces.  

The second plate has the green sauce covering chicharron and the red sauce covering beef rib meat (they were out of cooked pork at the time of our order).  You can see how different the sauces are from the same kitchen on different days.  

Finding new flavors makes me happy, finding divorciados means I don't have to make many decisions on some days...

Have a great weekend!

Comments

[Dennis]

Mmm, mouthwatering...

[Ning Wei Wang]

I love these food, especially Divorciados and Salas!! It is amazing! I used to taste some Mexican food in Yuma. yummy, yummy, Ning .

[caninecologne]

Great and informative post Cathy. I always enjoy seeing the different condiments and sauces at Mexican eateries, especially mariscos places. I have not tried anything divorciados yet but after this post, I'm kind of craving it.

[jack]

Great post Cathy...now I'll have you have some mexican food for dinner tonight!

[Dan]

This is great. It's rare to see a place here in El Paso with salsas and condiments set out like that because the focus here is on the meat.

There are over 400 Mexican-style restos in El Paso and most of them serve tacos with just meat.

Granted, the meat is very, very good. The style comes from Chihuahua and Sonora and they have a long-standing competence in cooking meat.

They do make a fried tortilla style where the corn tortilla is folded over meat and cheese is put atop that.

Some new thinkers have arrived who are doing bulgogi meat tacos as one example. Pork belly. Tofu. These are quite popular with an under-40 crowd.

[Cathy]

Thanks, Dennis. I try for informative and semi-interactive photos.

Good to know you tried the local food in Yuma and liked it, Ning.

I tried to approach this posting a bit differently, cc. Glad it was also a bit of teaching. It's almost always interestingly good to try something 'new to you' from menus.

Thanks, Jack; hope dinner was good. I'm now thinking of other ethnic condiment posts...

Very interesting, Dan. I thought it was more that way with BBQ...then again, I'm guessing you have more 'Tex-Mex' than our plethora of 'Taco Shops'. Bulgogi, pork belly and tofu are just wrong as a taco filling; so glad I'm out of that influential age group.

[Lynn @ Oh-So Yummy]

Mmm, as long as the salsas and spices are not spicy, I like trying different ones. Divorciados sounds like something I'd want to eat. I'm just imagining it to be like a two for one kind of deal haha!

[Cathy]

I agree, Lynn. I want to taste flavors, not heat (maybe just a bit if a mild heat is complimentary). El Portal is in the far corner of the same lot as 85C (look out the 85C doorway, to the right, past the Kohls-that corner of the same block); they serve breakfast all day (Breakfast number 1 is Divorciados).