In Western Mexico, the State of Michoacán is known for its delicious food and vibrant culture. It’s even nicknamed “The soul of Mexico.” Michoacán can show its culture with simple things like pieces of clothing to delicious cultural dishes made with love. A plate native to Michoacán that has won the hearts of many people who visit or live in Michocán are corundas.
Corundas are triangular and wrapped with fresh milpa leaves from corn fields and topped with salsa that’s made with tomatoes and chiles to give it some spice. This recipe I want to share is a specialty passed down by family so that now anyone can enjoy this delicious dish.
Ingredients for Corundas:
1 Bag of Maseca Tamales 4 chiles perones
1 Manteca Puerco 2 cloves of garlic
6 cups of chicken broth 1/2 onion
2 tablespoons of salt 3 little bags of pork
2 tablespoons baking powder
And fresh milpa leaves
8 Tomatoes
Salsa de tomate y chile perones
1). Start by cutting up the pork into thick pieces and set the pieces in a pot with ½ cup of water on medium heat (Make sure to put a lid on the pot.2). To cook the pork properly, stir it around every twenty minutes. After an hour the pork should be a golden crispy brown.
3). Wash the tomatoes and chile perones and saute on medium heat for twenty minutes then boil with two cups of water. Once both are done cooking, pour them in a blender with two garlic cloves and half an onion.
4). After blending, pour the salsa on top of the cooked pork. Stir the pork so that it can be submerged underneath.
Add a pinch of salt and leave the salsa to boil on medium heat for twenty minutes and done!
Corundas
1). The two key ingredients you need for the corundas are maseca and pork manteca. These ingredients can be found in most supermarkets in the Hispanic aisle. 1). For this part, it is best to use a mixer instead of hand mixing. The first thing you need to do is add the whole bag of maseca.2). Once the maseca has been added, turn on the stirrer and sprinkle one tablespoon of salt and one tablespoon of baking soda.
3). Next, add in the chicken broth slowly while mixing. After the chicken broth has been absorbed add in the manteca puerco the same exact way. Mix until the masa is spongy and thoroughly combined with all ingredients.5.) To make a triangle-shaped corrunda start by making a small ball of masa. With both hands, gently squish the circle between both your palms till the masa is thick and oval. Then wrap the masa tightly around on each side till all the masa is covered. Do this multiple times until all masa is used.
5). In a big pot add in all corundas and on medium heat and leave to cook for one hour.6). Unwrap the corundas and serve with salsa. You can also top it off with sour cream. And enjoy!
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Katie Fernandez Vargas (she/her), a thoughtful senior hoping to mentor and inspire anyone to become a writer. Katie was inspired to join the school newspaper...
