Adobo Nayarita para Pescado Zarandeado

This adobo is from Nayarit. Specifically from the island of Mexcaltitan and the coastal towns of San Blas and Boca de Camichin, where the men still butterfly snapper at dawn and the women still mix this marinade in plastic tubs the size of laundry baskets. Pescado zarandeado is the dish. The adobo is what makes it that dish and not generic grilled fish.

The chiles are guajillo and ancho. Toasted on the comal, soaked in hot water, blended with garlic, achiote, naranja agria, and the trinity of Mexican coastal seasoning: salsa inglesa, salsa Maggi, and soy. People who have not eaten on the Pacific coast think these are foreign additions. They are not. These bottles have lived on marisqueria tables in Mexico since before my mother was born. They belong in this adobo the way lard belongs in tamales.

The mayonesa is the part that surprises people. Yes, mayonesa. Mexican mayonesa with lime, whisked into the chile paste until the whole thing turns into a brick-red lacquer thick enough to paint on with a brush. The mayonesa is what keeps the fish moist over the open fire of mesquite or mangrove wood, and it is what gives pescado zarandeado its caramelized, almost glossy crust. Cada estado, su propia cocina, and this is how Nayarit cooks its fish.

I learned this adobo from a senora named Dona Mercedes in Mexcaltitan in 2014. She was 78 years old and she mixed her adobo in a five-gallon bucket because she made enough for the whole island on Sundays. She did not measure anything. I measured for her, scribbling in my notebook while she stirred. What you have here is her recipe, scaled down and written out, but the proportions are hers. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.