Salbutes

Salbutes, commonly eaten for lunch or as an afternoon snack, owes its origin to the Maya/ Mestizo people of Belize. It is made of corn and red recado, which are both staples in Belizean cuisine. It is a fried corn tortilla topped with shredded chicken and vegetables, making it both delicious and nutritious. It is a must that students, or any Belizeans leaving home for an extended period of time, take a pack (or several) of Maseca, or frozen corn masa and frozen corn tortillas, if moving to somewhere these corn products are not easily accessible for when the corn cravings kick in.

 

Makes – 8-10

 

INGREDIENTS:

Masa

1 cup corn flour (Maseca)/ 1 lb. fresh corn masa

1 tsp red recado powder/ small piece of red recado paste

pinch of salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1 – 1 ½ cup water

cooking oil

 

Toppings:

Cabbage sauce

½ head of cabbage, shredded

1 cup cilantro, chopped

¼ cup vinegar

½ cup room temperature water

1 tsp salt

black pepper to taste

 

Tomatoes

2 medium tomatoes, diced or sliced

salt and black pepper to taste (optional)

 

Jalapenos (Optional)

1 can, sliced

 

DIRECTIONS:

for the cabbage sauce

1.      Combine the cabbage and cilantro.

2.     Add the vinegar, water, salt and black pepper.

for the shredded chicken

How to Make Shredded Chicken

 for the masa

1.      Add the salt, baking powder and recado powder into the corn flour. If using recado paste, dissolve a little piece into water before adding to the dry ingredients.

2.     Mix the dry ingredients to combine.

3.     Add water little by little while kneading until a dough is formed. It should not be too wet and sticky, nor should it be dry and crumbly.

4.     Divide the dough into sections and roll into golf sized balls. Leave to set for about 5 minutes.

5.     Heat a large frying pan on medium and add enough oil to deep fry.

6.     Place one sheet of the cut ziplock bag on the tortilla press. Then put one of the balls in the center of the press then another ziplock sheet on top. Close and press until thin, but not too thin. If you don’t have a tortilla press, you can use a large glass plate; put the dough in between two ziplock sheets and mash with the bottom of the plate.7. 

8.     Fry the dough until golden brown on each side then drain on paper towels.

9.     Assemble the salbutes by adding the chicken then the cabbage and then the tomatoes. If you want it spicy, you can add jalapeno slices on top.

10  Ready to eat!