Many people wrongly believe that Cinco de Mayo is the Mexican Independence Day. It’s actually a day celebrated in memory of the Battle of Puebla in 1862. On this day, the struggling Mexican army rose up and defeated the stronger (and probably very well dressed) invading French army.
What if they hadn’t had the moxie to dispel the French? What would the effect have been, culinarily? Think about the influences of the French occupation on Vietnamese cuisine: bahn mi is a popular Asian sandwich on a baguette. Pa tes chauds are little meat filled pastries sold from street carts all over Saigon.
What would have become of my favorite breakfast item? Chilaquiles are tortilla chips fried with salsa, topped with onions, cheese, chicken and a beautiful fried egg. Would it have ended up as a croissant topped with shallots, chicken paillards, a hunk of brie and a poached egg drenched in a lemony buerre blanc? Actually, they both sound good right now.
Would burritos have been wrapped in puff pastry? Would foie gras have replaced frijoles refritos? Would the queso fresco on freshly grilled corn cobs (elote) have been supplanted by camembert? And what of the chiles? Would they have been eschewed by the French, banned as unpleasant perspiration-inducing berries from hell? Invariably, everything would have been muted by cream and butter.
French food is glorious, there’s no doubt, and it has always been recognized as a Great Cuisine. The food of Mexico has lacked such global recognition, yet I would argue with anyone that it, too, is one of our Great Cuisines. Today should be a celebration of the tenacity of the Mexican spirit, the vivacity of Mexican food, and its sweet freedom from overbearing cream sauces.
Viva Mexico!
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