The first thing I tried to cook was beans, at 13. I used beans water salt and baking soda, I don't know why baking soda, but soon after my mother taught me the right way that she learned from her mother, that I also was taught from her.
In Michoacan we don't always have the luxury of having washed, cleaned beans, and my grandparents grew most of their beans so I do this out of habit. The communal cleaning of beans, usually done on a table with a sac of beans, the objective is to rid the beans of pebbles, old beans, dirt, sticks and anything else that's not beans. This is best done with other people. In our family this is a time to scold children, or catch up on chismes.
Receta de Frijoles Fritos estilo Garcia
Ingredientes:
2 Cups of Pinto Beans
2 Quarts Water
2 Tablespoons Salt
3 Dried Chiles De Arbol/Chiles Japoneses
Vegetable oil, enough to coat the entire bottom of your pan
Modo De Preparacion:
1. Boil the beans with the salt for five minute, the turn flame down to medium low and cover.
You do not want to boil them on the entire cooking process because the skin of the beans will come right off and you'll end up with bean skin all over your fried beans and it will ruin the texture.
2. Cook the beans until inside the beans are soft but the beans retain their shape, maybe an hour or more, when beans are done turn of the flame and cover them.
Do not cook the beans 'AL DENTE' al dente to Mexicans is RAW, no one likes gritty beans.
3. Coat the bottom of your pan with vegetable oil, heat the oil on high and add the chiles de arbol. Cook the chiles in the oil until brown.
There is a fine line between brown and black/burnt, you don't want beans that taste burned.
4. Turn off flame, and while the oil is still super hot and chiles are brown. Using a slotted spoon slowly transfer cooked beans directly from the pot to pan of oil .
BE CAREFUL OF THE SPLATTERING HOT OIL, MAKE SURE ALL BURNERS ARE OFF BEFORE ADDING THE BEANS TO THE OIL, You may want to use a cover to stop the spattering.
5. Continue to add all of the beans and turn the flame back to high onto the pan of beans and chiles.
6. As soon as the beans begin to boil, add broth from the beans to the pan, in a 1/2 Cup increments, using a potato masher or metal whisk mash about six to ten time to release some of the bean starch to thicken the broth. Add enough broth to make the beans soupy, like a thin chowder.
The end product should resemble a consistency of gravy, not mashed potatoes, when this soupy consistency has been reached turn off beans and enjoy. Add more salt to fried beans if necessary.
These beans have always been enjoyed during breakfast, alongside any kind of eggs, chilaquiles, or accompanied with cotija cheese tacos, corrundas, with sour cream, or just sopping them up with tortillas or bolillo.
*For added spice as the chiles are done browning flatten the with a spoon to release the spicy oils inside
*If you cannot find any dried chiles de arbol/Chiles Japoneses simply use chiles seranos, chiles jalapenos, or believe it or one crushed pepper packet from your local pizza place.
*With the fresh chiles cook them until al of the outside skin is charred. The cushed pepper willl almost immediately turn brown in the oil, cook them less time than the whole dried chiles.
