5 Things: Making tasty tacos in Guangzhou

For this week's 5 Things we decided to investigate how you can make great tacos in Guangzhou. To find out how to make tasty homemade Mexican food in the PRD we hunted down Guangzhou's premier taco expert.

Tristan Sapp has been making tacos and burritos for twenty-three years. Professionally, he has been a taco expert for four years.

Originally from the United States (splitting time between Boston and L.A.) he has been in China for the past two years.

Sapp currently runs taco night every Tuesday at El Cafetel and burrito night at The Brew Zhuijiang on Saturdays. He also cooks up Indian-style curry and international cuisine at The Standing Goose on Sunday evenings. 

Rice

Amazing rice is essential. It’s an integral part of making a great taco or burrito. 

There are two different styles of rice that make a great taco. The first one is Spanish style rice – which is what you see at most Mexican restaurants. This type of rice is firm, not sticky and utilizes onions and tomato sauce.

The other style of rice, which I prefer personally, is called taqueria rice. It’s essentially onions, a small amount of peas and carrots, salt and vegetable stalk. I learned this one from the chef at Ponchos in San Francisco.

These are the two preferred rice styles.

Pico de Gallo

This is the tomatoes and salsa that you generally get with your Mexican food. It sounds really simple to make, but there is a lot more to Pico de Gallo than tossing water-filled tomatoes in a bowl with some cilantro and onions.

The trick is to make it in small batches and - if you do make it in big batches - you need to use it quickly.

You want tomatoes that are as non-watery as possible, if there is a lot of water – drain it.

(Click here for an introductory Pico de Gallo recipe.)

Beans

The good thing about being in China is you can find canned beans - although they will be very different than in North America.

Ninety-nine percent of beans here are black soybeans. It took me about six months to find regular black beans in Guangzhou. You can purchase canned refried beans and pinto beans at Corner’s Deli (these are your preferred beans).

You are still going to want to add some salt, chili pepper and lime. 

Dairy

It’s hard to find real cheese in China, most places only carry processed cheese. If you want real cheese and real sour cream the places are Corner’s Deli, Metro and the bulk market in Baogang Dadao.

Portions

You can find tortillas in Guangzhou at Corner’s Deli and Metro, but it is very easy to over estimate the amount of stuff you are putting into your taco or burrito.

It's easy to think, when you have all these great ingredients in front of you, that you want lots of everything - but this isn’t very wise.

When you break down the ingredients in a great taco it's made of relatively small portions of each ingredient. When assembled (if done correctly), it makes a hearty meal.

Portioning is a balancing act, because if you put in too much of any ingredient, it totally changes the taste of the taco – whether it becomes too earthy, creamy or meaty. Everything has to be balanced.

// For more information on making tacos in China contact: Tristeau (WeChat)

//  To see more from our 5 Things series, click here.