Homemade Corn Tortilla Chips

If you've lived here in Shanghai awhile chances are that you have heard of the Avocado Lady. She is a Chinese lady that has a little "no frills" shop in the Former French Concession where, among other imported things, she sells avocados and corn and flour tortillas.

When I was preparing to come to Shanghai I heard from a friend(who had lived here close to ten years ago) that you couldn't get corn chips or corn tortillas here, so I actually packed a bag of masa de harina in one of my suitcases so I could make corn tortillas and corn tortilla chips. And while I quickly discovered that times had changed since that friend lived here and that I could buy corn tortilla chips(albeit for a small fortune), I did in fact put that masa to good use and laboriously made fresh corn tortillas and tortilla chips.

Needless to say I was seriously grateful the day my husband came home from a little trip to the Avocado Lady with a huge bag of about 50 corn tortillas for only 28RMB. I'm not sure what the going rate is here for a bag of tortilla chips but I can tell you that you will get a whole lot more than a bag with half of one of these bags of corn tortillas cut into wedges.

This is one DIY secret that is too good to keep to myself, even if it does mean that the next time I go to buy corn tortillas the Avocado Lady will be out of them! This is so easy to do and you will be surprised at how quickly you can turn out fresh corn tortilla chips!

Ingredients:
Corn Tortillas
Corn Oil
Salt

Directions:

*Here is the bag of corn tortillas so you can see what it looks like- I usually use 1/4- 1/3 of a bag at a time. Make sure you refrigerate or freeze the remaining tortillas or they will go moldy after they have been opened.

Using a sharp chef's knife, cut stack of tortillas into six wedges.

Add about 1 inch of oil to your wok. Heat oil over medium heat until hot.

Add corn tortilla wedges and fry until they are crisp and inflexible. You want to cook them just until they get firm, but not too toasted.

Stir with a slotted spoon, so that they cook evenly.





Using a slotted metal spoon or strainer, remove chips from oil and drain on paper towels.
 

Place in large bowl. Sprinkle with salt to taste. (Careful not to add too much salt- amount depends on how many tortilla chips you decide to make that day!)

Yum! (Not many left at this point!) Serve all the ones that you didn't consume for a taste test with guacamole and fresh salsa.

Homemade tortillas

I had never made homemade tortillas before I came to Shanghai. Why bother when it is so easy to pick up a pack at any grocery store in the States? But this really is an awesome recipe. Homemade are so much tastier (though they don't keep long- again no preservatives) and they beat the month(s) old ones at City Shop any day. And truth be told, my ayi often helps me roll them out so we get them done pretty fast.

As long as you make the dough really soft and let the tortillas rest the right amount of time they roll out really thin.
These tortillas are perfect for soft flour tacos, fajitas and eating out of hand.

Ingredients:
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup lukewarm milk

Directions:
Stir together the flour, salt and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.

Add vegetable oil to the lukewarm milk and whisk briefly to incorporate. Gradually add the milk to the flour, and work the mixture into a dough with a fork. It will be sticky.

If too gooey add a little more flour, but be careful not to add too much.

Turn the dough out onto a surface dusted with flour and knead vigorously for about 2 minutes (Or you can just knead in the bowl). The kneading will take care of the stickiness.

Return the dough to the bowl, cover it with a damp cloth or plastic wrap, and let it rest for 15 minutes. (This dough will not rise, but it needs a rest.)

Divide your dough into 8 balls of equal size, cover them, and let them rest again for about 20 minutes.

Keep the pieces of dough you aren't working with covered so they won't dry out.

Dust your work surface with flour. Working one at a time, remove each piece of dough and pat into a circle. With a rolling pin, roll out the tortilla, working from the center out, turning 1/4 turn every few rolls. Roll out until you have a 10 inch tortilla.

Transfer the tortilla to a dry skillet or griddle over low heat. It will begin to blister. Let it cook for 20-30 seconds, turn it, and let the other side cook for 15-20 seconds. It is done when it has small brown spots. Repeat for the remaining tortillas.