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Tuxtla Gutierrez's chiquiadas are small fried quesadillas of fresh corn masa and queso fresco, sealed tight, fried in manteca, and eaten hot with salsa de chile de arbol.
Chiapas, especially Tuxtla Gutierrez in the Central Depression, is where these chiquiadas live. They belong to the market table, the afternoon craving, the tray carried out hot enough that the cheese still softens inside the masa. This is food from the Maya south, but not a tamal and not a northern flour quesadilla. Corn masa does the work here.
The filling is queso fresco, or a good fresh Chiapas cheese if your market has it. The masa is pressed small, folded like a quesadilla, sealed hard at the edge, then fried in manteca de cerdo until the shell turns golden and crisp under your teeth. No me vengas con atajos. If the edge opens in the fat, the cheese escapes, the oil spits, and the cook has not done her job.
I learned to watch the hands before I watched the pan. The señoras in Tuxtla press the masa thin but not fragile, spoon the cheese only in the center, and close each chiquiada with the heel of the palm, not with fancy little fork marks. The lesson is practical: control the moisture, control the seal, control the heat. Así se hace y punto.
Chiquiadas belong to Chiapas's corn-masa snack tradition, a family of market foods that includes empanadas, garnachas, and fried quesadillas sold around Tuxtla Gutierrez and nearby towns. Their form reflects the older Mesoamerican habit of cooking filled masa parcels, while the deep-frying in pork lard became common after Spanish-introduced pigs made manteca available in colonial kitchens. In Chiapas, fresh local cheeses from the highlands and central valleys gave these small fried quesadillas their identity, separate from the flour-tortilla quesadillas of northern Mexico.
Quantity
2 cups
mixed with warm water if using masa harina
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
Quantity
1 tablespoon
softened, for the masa
Quantity
10 ounces
crumbled
Quantity
2 tablespoons
finely chopped
Quantity
1/4 cup
finely chopped
Quantity
2 cups
for frying
Quantity
1 cup
Quantity
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| fresh nixtamal corn masa or masa harinamixed with warm water if using masa harina | 2 cups |
| fine sea salt | 1/2 teaspoon |
| manteca de cerdosoftened, for the masa | 1 tablespoon |
| queso fresco or fresh Chiapas cheesecrumbled | 10 ounces |
| epazote leavesfinely chopped | 2 tablespoons |
| white onionfinely chopped | 1/4 cup |
| manteca de cerdofor frying | 2 cups |
| salsa de chile de arbol (optional) | 1 cup |
| lime halves (optional) | for serving |
Put the fresh nixtamal masa in a bowl with the salt and 1 tablespoon of softened manteca. Knead for 2 minutes until smooth and pliable. If using masa harina, mix it first with the warm water, rest it for 10 minutes, then knead in the salt and manteca. The masa should feel like a soft earlobe, moist but not sticky.
Combine the crumbled queso fresco, epazote, and white onion in a bowl. Taste the cheese before you add salt. Many fresh cheeses are already salty enough. The filling must be dry and loose, not wet. Wet filling opens the chiquiada in the fat, and then you have a mess, not a botana.
Divide the masa into 16 balls, each about the size of a walnut. Line a tortilla press with two pieces of plastic cut from a clean bag. Press each ball into a 4-inch round, thin enough to fold easily but thick enough to hold the cheese. Do not make them as thin as tortillas. These must survive frying.
Place 1 generous tablespoon of the cheese filling on one half of each masa round, leaving a clean border. Fold the masa over the filling and press the edge firmly with your fingers or the heel of your palm. Check every edge. If you see a crack, pinch it closed with a damp fingertip. The seal is the recipe here.
Melt the 2 cups of manteca in a heavy pot or deep cazuela over medium heat until it reaches 350F. If you do not have a thermometer, drop in a tiny piece of masa. It should bubble immediately and rise slowly, not darken at once. La manteca es el sabor, but hot fat still needs discipline.
Fry the chiquiadas in batches, 3 or 4 at a time, turning once, for 3 to 4 minutes total. They should turn deep golden with small blisters across the surface. Do not crowd the pot. Crowding drops the temperature and makes greasy masa. Drain on a rack, not paper towels, so the bottoms stay crisp.
Serve the chiquiadas hot, with salsa de chile de arbol and lime halves at the table. Bite carefully. The shell should crack under your teeth and the cheese should be soft, not running like melted yellow cheese. This is Chiapas, not a stadium nacho stand. Cada estado, su propia cocina.
1 serving (about 70g)
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