Tacos de Carnitas

Early in 2019 in Kanazawa I was able to meet and chat with Dan Krohmer, the chef at the famous Las Vegas restaurant “Other Mama”. In addition, I also got the chance to learn how to make real tacos directly from the kitchen manager, Angel Barba, who is Mexican and was visiting Japan together with Dan. That encounter changed the way I viewed the world of tacos. I had previously been interested in South American and American cuisine, however I never knew that tacos are a food deeply rooted in the lives of the local people. And the more I learnt about them, the more surprised I was by their variety. Tacos have many different ingredients, and in Mexico each store uses a recipe passed down through generations. So I tried many times to reproduce the flavour. When Angel taught me, I didn’t have any tortilla masa. It’s a powder required to make tortillas, made by first soaking corn in limewater, before grinding it down. I also searched long and hard in Japan for tortilla masa in the same form as they use in Mexico, and the Mexican chillies used for salsa. Tortillas should be eaten freshly toasted, however there is a limit to how many you can toast at once. So I tried deep-frying them. I also succeeded in creating my own original dish by slightly modifying the cooking method. However I feel I was able to stay true to what Dan and Angel had taught me. Tacos, including their connection to people, have become a deeply important dish in my life.