Xipu Hotel: Pot dishes and side dishes.

Mexico and the Americas south of Mexico are traditionally called Latin America, because these countries mainly use Spanish and Portuguese and belong to the Latin family. Historically, Latin American cuisine has been influenced by many cooking traditions, including the customs of aborigines, European raw materials and practices brought by colonists, and African, Indian and China elements brought by labor migration.

Unlike Latin American cuisine, Spanish and Portuguese restaurants in North America are more suitable for the tastes of local diners in the United States and Canada.

Because there are a large number of descendants of Italian immigrants in North America, Italian restaurants can be found almost everywhere. As a representative of European food classics, there are many French restaurants. Even if it is not a special French restaurant, many high-end restaurants advertise the ingredients and techniques that are integrated into French cuisine.

In contrast, Spanish restaurants and Portuguese restaurants are relatively small in North America. There are two extremes in this niche, one is a petty bourgeoisie bar with small dishes and snacks, and the other is a big pot of rice, a large plate of chicken and a large portion of seafood with southern European traditions.

1. Spanish pot rice

When it comes to Spanish cuisine, the most famous one is paella. Rice mixed with meat and vegetables is served in an iron pot with flat bottom and round bottom and ears. There are several different legends about the origin of the name "paella" One of them is cooking utensils and food-the pot used to cook this delicious food is called paella, and so is rice.

Another way of saying about the origin of paella is that the word is transformed from Arabic "leftovers". Paella first appeared in Valencia, which is one of the two most important producing areas in China after rice and irrigation technology were introduced to Europe through Arabia. To this day, there is Spanish paella Valenciana named after this place name.

Interestingly, although western restaurants in China are used to calling paella paella, the most traditional way for this paella Valenciana is to use rabbit meat and snails as the main ingredients instead of seafood. This seemingly unpretentious collocation does not originate from the aristocratic class, but more like a folk gourmet who is busy cooking and throws leftovers and other ingredients in the pot, so it may make sense to say "leftovers".

Of course, I have seen paella with seafood in Spanish restaurants in North America, and I don't know which one is the most in line with the historical origin. I just want to remind you that if there is no seafood on the paella menu, don't think it's because the restaurant cuts corners, not because it's not authentic, but because paella really has too many different combinations.

The menu may describe the main ingredients of paella in Spanish. It doesn't matter if you don't know, because the ingredients are usually marked in small English characters below. Common paella include paella de conejo (rabbit paella), paella de mariscos (seafood paella), paella de langostas (lobster paella) and paella vegetariana (vegetable paella).

Many paella are orange or bright yellow, which may be due to the addition of a spice called Chili powder. This spice is mixed with several red and yellow sweet peppers, dried and ground into powder. Not spicy, but brightly colored. Another seasoning that can create such bright colors is Safran. In China, saffron is a very precious medicinal material, and it is not often used as seasoning. In the Middle East and southern Europe, it is common to season with saffron. From Risoto to paella, saffron is often added to rice.

In addition, there is a kind of paella named after color (black cuttlefish rice), which is dyed with cuttlefish juice. Cooking with squid juice also seems to be a major feature of southern Europe. Besides this cuttlefish rice, there are Su En squid (cuttlefish), which is seasoned and cooked with cuttlefish juice and served with white rice. Italy also uses cuttlefish juice to dye dark pasta.

It should be pointed out that some Spanish restaurants will cook a large pot of paella in a big pot, and guests will serve a bowl after ordering, instead of cooking it now. Of course, this requires a large number of passengers to ensure freshness, so it is not common to cook a large pot in advance in North America.

2. Portuguese barbecue

The Portuguese food that China people are most familiar with should be said to be Portuguese chicken, because it is very popular in Macau and once spread all over the mainland together with Hong Kong-style tea restaurants. However, Portuguese chicken dishes in Hong Kong and Macao are not exactly the same as those in Portuguese restaurants in North America.

The "Portuguese chicken" in Portuguese restaurants is called frango no churrasco (roast chicken). Frango means chicken in Portuguese. One of the common ingredients for making this Portuguese roast chicken is peri-peri, also written as piri-piri, which is a small red pepper popular in Portugal and Latin America. Because it is very common, piri-piri is also regarded as a special condiment of Portuguese food.

Churrasco in the name of the dish is a unique baking method of Portuguese food, similar to the common BBQ barbecue. Churrasco restaurant is called churrasqueria, which is similar to grill house and steakhouse in English.

Since it is a barbecue, of course, it will not only be roast chicken, but also bife (beef) is indispensable on the menu of churrasqueria. The most common is bife? At home. Casa means house in Portuguese, so this dish is house steak (our signature steak).

Portuguese steakhouse also has a special steak bitoque, which is also a traditional Portuguese dish. In North America, eggs generally only appear in breakfast, and there is hardly any on the dinner menu. The way to eat steak with fried eggs can only appear on the menu of breakfast shops or brunches. But this Portuguese-style grilled steak must have a hard-boiled egg on it.

The steak used to make Bitok is generally not the upper part of beef, but a thin slice cut from the back waist.

3. Portuguese seafood

Another protagonist of Portuguese restaurants is seafood-eating by the sea, and Portugal's per capita seafood consumption ranks first in Europe. Among marine fish, bacalhau (cod in English) is the most common one on the menu of Portuguese restaurants. It is not surprising that two or three different bacalhau methods appear on the menu of restaurants at the same time. Some people joke that the Portuguese have 365 different cooking methods of cod, which guarantees that they will not eat the same thing for a year.

The Portuguese like cod so much because cod used to be one of the important economic pillars of Portugal, and it has been caught in large quantities since the15th century. Because there was no refrigeration technology at that time, and Portugal was located in hot southern Europe, the cod caught was often preserved as salted fish for a long time. Today, Bacalhau in Portuguese restaurants is still made of salted cod.

Bacalhau à Brás is one of the most famous salted cod dishes. Here? "à Brás" is a unique cooking method of Portuguese cuisine. Slice salted cod, mix with onion, French fries and scrambled eggs, and garnish with some black olives and parsley. This "à Brás" method can also be used to make chicken, mushrooms, vegetables and so on. Because of the addition of French fries, this dish was translated into "Ma Xie Xiu with shredded potatoes" in Macau, which is the transliteration of Portuguese bacalhau in Cantonese.

Another equally famous salted cod is Bacalhau? à Lagareiro This dish is mainly barbecue. à Lagareiro is characterized by adding extra virgin olive oil, garlic, coriander, lemon juice and other seasonings after baking. This method can also be used to make Polvo à Lagareiro (roasted octopus). The difference is that when you cook octopus, you cook it first, then cut it into pieces and bake it, instead of baking it directly in the oven.

The names of these two salted cod dishes are named after the founder of the cooking method, and so is a famous salted cod dish, namely Bacalhau à Zé do Pipo. This dish is served in a big baking tray. Like lasagna, the ingredients in the baking tray are layered one by one. A layer of salted cod boiled in milk, a layer of onion or pickled cucumber and a layer of mashed potatoes are baked in the oven. Different from the first two dishes, this method is only used to make salted cod, and other ingredients are not cooked in this way.

In addition to salted cod, the menu of Portuguese restaurants often includes flounder (flounder, written in the same English), garoupa (grouper, written in English), robalo (sea bass, written in English), salmao (written in English) and other marine fish. Grelhada (grilled in English) is the most common cooking method for these fish, while stewed fish (grilled fish) is a dish with Portuguese characteristics. Fish and shrimp with variegated colors are cooked in a pot with soup and water, which is very characteristic of China.

4. Spanish appetizers

After talking about the big dishes in the cauldron, I can't help but say the most famous tapas in Spain. In most parts of North America, there are many bars that advertise to provide tapas or introduce tapas elements, which is more high-profile than Spanish restaurants.

The so-called tapas is actually a side dish, but the Spanish style has its own uniqueness. Tapa means "cover" in Spanish As a snack type, there are many different versions of its origin, but most legends have the action of covering the glass with a small plate full of snacks-one version is that there was no seat in the pub in those days, so the drinker could only lean against the barrel with a cup, and the side dishes were covered on the glass without place; Another way of saying it is that mosquitoes and flies are flying around in the pub, and the wine glasses are covered with plates.

In any case, this practice of holding small snacks on small plates has been handed down. There are many kinds of appetizers, and they are often very innovative.

Like Portugal, Spain is close to the sea, and seafood also plays an important role in its cooking tradition. The difference is that Spain has a wider territory and closer ties with other parts of the European continent, so there are more kinds of special ingredients. As far as condiments are concerned, olive oil is extremely important in Spanish cuisine, and garlic is almost used to make a dish without garlic. In addition, due to Spain's long colonial history around the world, especially in Latin America, mixed dishes from many Latin American countries have also spread to Spain, especially Chile.

In tapas's menu, these characteristics of Spanish flavor have been fully reflected. Boquerones (anchovies in English) is the first seafood. This is a small silvery fish, usually pickled with olive oil and vinegar. In North America, this is a very popular side dish and a classic pizza filling, and it is also an essential pre-dinner snack in Spanish restaurants.

In terms of species, Cantabrian anchovy is the best anchovy, and its meat quality is thicker than that of ordinary anchovies. Moreover, this kind of fish is not farmed, but caught in the wild, and the process of salting and canning is not industrialized, but a manual method handed down from the place of origin for hundreds of years. Of course, this kind of anchovies is much more expensive than ordinary anchovies. Some restaurants serve two kinds of anchovies at the same time, and the price of this deluxe edition is almost twice that of the standard edition. Personally, I don't like the strong taste of anchovies, so I don't want to try it.

In addition, scallops and clams are also common snacks. On the other hand, pickled fish with lime juice is a popular side dish in Spanish restaurants in Chile. It is made by pickling raw fish with lemon juice, garlic, pepper and other condiments.

Spanish olives will also appear on the pre-dinner snack menu. Pickled olives sometimes appear alone, and sometimes they are strung together with other pickles with small sticks. The common practice is to wrap anchovies around olives and string pickled garlic and small bell peppers together, which is most suitable for drinking.

Cold-cut bacon is also a good appetizer. The Spanish national treasure Ibé rico (English Iberian) is most suitable for toad in the hole and sausages. Jamón ibérico (Iberian ham) is made from this kind of pig, which is very expensive. At the top is Jamon Berico de Bellotta. This kind of ham is made of Iberian black-haired pigs raised in oak forest and eating acorns, and it must be aged for more than three years before it can be put on the market.

If you are not particularly picky or don't want to spend so much money, the next best thing is Jamón Serrano pickled with white-haired pigs. The storage time is usually 12 ~ 24 months.

There is good pork, besides the toad in the hole, you can also make sausages. Spanish sausages are usually sliced in Spanish snacks.

Tapas also has many vegetarian dishes, among which Pan con Tomate (tomato bread) is a typical one. Chop tomatoes, mix them with oil and salt, and spread them on bread. You can also spread a layer of garlic on the bread first, then spread tomatoes on it, and bake it after laying. Just as all Italian restaurants have Italian bread, almost no Spanish restaurant lacks this tomato bread on its menu.

As the first stop for potatoes to go out of America, Spanish cuisine naturally needs potatoes. Patatas bravas is the most common one in Tapas. Potatoes are cut into small hob pieces, fried and seasoned with hot sauce.

Speaking of spicy, Shuipao Stone Room is a slightly spicy snack, which is made of a kind of small pepper with low spicy degree, a bit like the tiger skin green pepper in Sichuan. Interestingly, shishito, as a pepper variety, is produced in East Asia and is common in Japan and South Korea. A similar pepper variety in Spain is padrón, but shishito is often used as the name of the dish on the tapas menu, despite the fact that it is probably made of Padró n.

There are two kinds of ingredients commonly used in Spanish food that cannot be mentioned. Like all European and American cuisines, cheese is indispensable in Spanish cuisine, which is called queso in Spanish, and cheese is listed as a separate category in many tapas menus. The most famous Spanish cheese is Manchego, named after the place of origin, and this place is the hometown of Don Quixote in the novel.

Another raw material is Jerez (English sherry). This is a fortified wine originated in Spain, and sherry is added to many pre-dinner snack dishes to add flavor.