Using Traditional Tools to Create Ethnic Dishes

When you want to make a dish that’s inspired in a certain culture, the use of correct tools is the most important thing. Why? Because you want to keep the result as similar as you can from the origin, that means looking for ways to incorporate the whole power of the tradition into your preparation, it’s not only choosing the ingredients that are traditional, but the utensils and dishes that guarantee great results.

Many cultures have cooking tools that work only for a particular purpose, and as far as the Mexican cuisine goes, one the most traditional and widespread cooking objects is the Molcajete: A volcanic rock mortar that originated from the Mesoamerican cultures; it is used for grinding various ingredients. Nowadays it’s used not only as a kitchen tool, but as a reflection of a culture; if you are in a Mexican themed restaurant, you’ll most likely find one in the kitchen. It’s also used to present dishes at the tables: Its grey colour and texture offer a nice contrast and presentation to any kind of food placed in the bowls.

The usage of the Molcajete is simple: Place an amount of ingredients in the interior of the instrument and press it with the help of the stick that comes with it. The rough bubbles in the basalt stone are perfect for grinding spices, making things like guacamole, and this is actually one of the most famous dishes made in the Molcajete. But you have to break it in first: Grind small portions of uncooked rice or white grains until you find no tiny particles of stone in the product, clean it with a wet cloth and it’s ready to use! One of the great things about basalt stone is that it is self-regenerating: The whole rock piece contains the bubbles and imperfections that work as grinding surface, and while you use it, it  wears out to reveal more of this texture. Although you can use it to serve, it’s not ideal to cook in as it maintains the heat for a long time due to its volcanic origin.

Head to a RG Cocina Mexicana, where some of the dishes are made using traditional techniques and utensils like this, with a secret added twist!

RG Cocina Mexicana address is 314 72nd ST, Miami Beach, FL 33141. Their phone number is: 305-4647404.