Homemade Tacos

Today, I will be sharing how to make homemade, delicious Mexican Tacos.

This is yet again another favorite for me. This is our own version of the famous mexican classic, a delicious Mexican food that is flavorful and spicy that's guaranteed to satisfy your appetite.

The ingredients that we used are pocket-friendly without sacrificing the taste and quality. For example, instead of taco shells that can be bought from the market, we used lumpia wrappers. The lumpia wrappers are cheaper but equally crunchy and good tasting.

What's more is that it's guilt free! You can have big servings of it and you don't need to feel guilty about it. It's low in carbohydrates and high in fiber, vitamins and minerals. Good for our health, our tastebuds and our tummy, too! Hope you'll like it!


INGREDIENTS:
- 1 whole cabbage
- 10 pcs slightly ripened tomatoes
- 2 cucumbers
- 1 180g pack cheddar cheese, grated
- 20 pcs lumpia wrapper
- 1/2 cup cooking oil

For the Taco Meat:
- 1/2 kilo ground pork or beef (I only used pork)
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 medium onion
- 1 tbsp atsuete powder
- 4 tbsp water
- 3 tbsp taco mix
- salt and pepper, to taste

For the Taco Sauce:
- 500 mL water
- 1/2 cup sweet and spicy banana ketchup (UFC)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- pinch of salt, to taste
- chili powder (optional only and adjust according to desired spiciness)


STEPS:
1. Mix well all the ingredients for the taco sauce in a small pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally until thickened. Set aside.
2. Slice the cabbage thinly. The thinner, the better [as shown in the picture at the right]. Set aside. Note: I like the cabbage better than the lettuce because of its taste and crunchiness but you may use lettuce.

3. Dice the cucumbers and tomatoes as displayed in the pictures. Set aside.
4. Next, we will saute the taco meat but first, we need to dissolve the atsuete powder in 4 tbsp water, set aside. In a medium skillet, heat the oil then fry the garlic into golden brown. Add the onions and let it caramelize then add the ground pork, atsuete mix, taco seasoning then add salt and pepper to taste. Stir occasionally until well done. Set aside.
5. In this step, we will fry the lumpia wrappers so that they will resemble the commercially available taco shells. I like to prepare the wrappers at the last part, just before serving the tacos, because I want them really crunchy. In a frying pan, heat about 4 tbsp of oil over low heat only because the wrappers cook very quickly. Using your kitchen tongs, hold half of the wrapper upward while letting the other half fry flattened in the pan, until golden brown. Then turn the wrapper so that you will be holding the fried half and curve it at a 45 degree angle and let the other half fry flat into a golden brown. When done, place in a drying rack to drain excess oil. Continue doing this until you are done with the 20 wrappers.
6. Now, all that's left to do is assemble the tacos! Get one taco shell, put 2 spoonfuls of cabbage at the bottom, 1 tbsp each of cucumber and tomatoes, 2 tbsp of taco meat then top with cheese. Serve with sauce on the side.

Tadaaah! And that is our homemade version of the famous tacos. It's quick, easy on the pocket and delicioso!

So I hope you enjoy this and let me know how yours went. Happy eating!

I'd like to hear from you! What do you guys think about my post? Your comments and suggestions are very much welcome and appreciated! Or if you'd like to request a recipe, please let me know. Thanks!


TAGS: Between You and Cherry, Cherry Yutuc, Panlasang Pinoy, Pampanga, Lutong Kapampangan, Budget friendly, Cooking Tips, Pampanga's Best, Recipe, Pampanga Cuisine, Cook from Pampanga, Philippines, Asian Food, Pinoy Food, Mexican Food, Homemade