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Tamales de Chipilín en Hoja de Maíz

Name: Tamales de Chipilín en Hoja de Maíz
Prep time: 2 h 26 min
Total time: 2 h 56 min
Cuisine: Mexican · Chiapas
Ingredients: corn masa for tortillas — 1000 g; pork lard — 300 g; salt — 10 g; baking powder — 5 g; chicken stock — 500 g; chipilín leaves — 150 g; queso doble crema chiapaneco — 300 g; corn husks — 4000 g; tomatoes — 600 g; guajillo chiles — 400 g; white onion — 100 g; garlic — 9 g; sour cream — 200 g

Tamales de Chipilín en Hoja de Maíz reads umami 5.2, richness 4.9 and salinity 4.6 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Mexican · Chiapas main, about 2 hr 56 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 5.9 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 2.9 / 10
Sour & Bright — 3.8 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 1.2 / 10
Rich & Fat — 5.0 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 4.4 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 5.2 · Richness 4.9 · Salinity 4.6 · Allium 4.1 · Sourness 3.6 · Funk & Ferment 2.6 · Fruity 2.3 · Sweetness 1.9 · Heat 1.7 · Herbaceous 1.5 · Earthy 1.1 · Warm Spice 0.8 · Bitterness 0.7 · Citrus 0.6

What's in it (13)

corn masa for tortillas — 1000 g
pork lard — 300 g
salt — 10 g
baking powder — 5 g
chicken stock — 500 g
chipilín leaves — 150 g
queso doble crema chiapaneco — 300 g
corn husks — 4000 g
tomatoes — 600 g
guajillo chiles — 400 g
white onion — 100 g
garlic — 9 g
sour cream — 200 g

Time & effort: about 2 hr 56 min (2 hr 26 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 226.6 kcal, 4.7 g protein, 2.5 g fat, 46.5 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains dairy — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (9 steps)

Chiapas wraps its everyday tamales in corn husk and its festival ones in banana leaf; this is the everyday one, and the chipilín leaf is what makes it Chiapaneco. It tastes faintly of green beans and hay and it is not interchangeable with any other herb.
Soak the corn husks in hot water 30 minutes until they are supple, then drain and pat them dry.
Whip the cold lard alone for 10 minutes, by hand or with a mixer, until it is white, aerated and doubled. Test it the way Chiapas cooks do: drop a pinch into a glass of cold water and it should float. If it sinks, keep beating.
Beat in the masa in handfuls with the salt and baking powder, adding the warm stock a little at a time, 12 minutes, until the mixture is light and spreadable.
Fold the chipilín leaves through by hand so they stay whole and streak the masa green.
Spread 3 tablespoons onto each husk, lay a finger of cheese down the middle, fold the sides over and the tail up, and stand them upright in a steamer over boiling water.
Steam 75 minutes. They are ready when the masa pulls away from the husk cleanly and holds its shape; if it smears, close the pot and give them another 15 minutes.
For the salsa, toast the guajillos 20 seconds a side, char the tomatoes, onion and garlic 10 minutes, blend, and simmer 10 minutes. Serve the tamales with the salsa and a spoonful of crema.
Substitutions: queso fresco can stand in for the queso doble crema chiapaneco.

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Skillet White Bean and Kale Stew with Parmesan — Italian
Cajun Meatloaf with Tomato Gravy — Cajun/Creole · Cajun

Keep reading: what umami, richness, salinity mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.