Nayarit Zarandeado Marinade (Adobo Zarandeado)

This comes from Nayarit's coast, from the line of mangroves, estuaries, and fishing towns that run through San Blas, Mexcaltitan, and the Riviera Nayarit. Pescado zarandeado is not just grilled fish. It is fish opened flat, painted with adobo, held in a metal basket, and turned over fire until the flesh tastes of chile, garlic, smoke, and sea.

The chile here is guajillo, with ancho for body. The mustard is not a mistake. Coastal cooks use what works, and in Nayarit the mustard helps the adobo grip the fish while the soy and Worcestershire bring salt and depth. Do not confuse practical with careless. The women who cook for fishing families know exactly why each spoonful goes in.

I learned one version near San Blas from a señora who kept her adobo in a glass jar next to a clay bowl of limes and a stack of tortillas wrapped in a cotton servilleta. She told me, 'If the paste runs off the fish, you made salsa, not adobo.' She was right. This paste should cling. Cada estado, su propia cocina.