Puerto Rico - At the Table: Food and Family around the World - Ken Albala

At the Table: Food and Family around the World - Ken Albala (2016)

Puerto Rico

Melissa Fuster

It’s a mid-August late afternoon in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Victoria, a woman in her early 60s, returns home from the day’s errands. She turns the air conditioner on, enters the kitchen, and gets ready to prepare dinner along with her husband Felipe. The menu for the evening: Bistec empanado (fried breaded steak), brown rice, habichuelas (beans), salad, and sorullitos de maíz (corn fritters). Except for the sorullitos, tonight’s menu is no different than what they usually have any night. The menu was mostly planned by Victoria although influenced by my cravings. As her daughter recently arrived home for a visit from allá afuera (out there), referring to the United States, Melissa was longing for the type of home-cooked meals that only one’s mother can make.

The meal itself is the result of remembered family recipes and traditional Puerto Rican staples with a healthy twist. The bistec empanado is prepared following the recipe of Victoria’s mother. who died several years ago. The traditional combination of rice and beans (colloquially known as casamiento, or “marriage”) is changed with the substitution of brown rice instead of the traditionally used white rice. Salad is always present at their table. Felipe will make the sorullitos de maiz, following his mother’s recipe.

Cooking starts promptly at 4:00 p.m. Melissa sits attentively, ready to take her notes, at the granite breakfast counter that separates the kitchen from the dining area. The cooking space is big enough for only one person to move around freely, leaving Felipe out to wait while Victoria prepares her dishes first. The kitchen is modern and well equipped. The refrigerator is stainless steel with a water filtering system and ice maker. The stove is electric with induction technology, four hotplates, and an integrated oven. On top of the stove is a microwave with air extraction, which Victoria always turns on to avoid the accumulation of cooking smells inside the apartment. Despite their newly constructed apartment having windows, these usually remain shut to avoid the outside heat and onlookers from the street. The kitchen itself does not have a window but does have a door to access a small side patio full of potted plants and a small grill.

Victoria starts with the brown rice. She pours one cup of rice, along with 1¾ cups of water, sea salt, and olive oil, into her rice cooker. The salt and the oil are not measured but added instinctively a ojo (eyeballed). She reaches for a plastic spoon, mixes, and closes the rice cooker. While the rice cooks, Victoria opens the refrigerator and takes out a plastic container with peeled garlic cloves bought at a wholesale store. “They are from China,” she remarks, lamenting about not being able to find garlic from the United States or a closer location. Using the QuickChop, an “as seen on TV” gadget bought at the local pharmacy, she quickly chops a few garlic cloves with several loud and quick taps. The chopped garlic is saved in a repurposed glass jar with olive oil, which she will later use for the rice and the salad dressing.

Albala

Victoria and Felipe enjoying the evening meal: empanadas de bistec (breaded steak), rice and beans, salad and sorullitos de maiz (corn fritters). (Courtesy of Melissa Fuster)

Contrasting with the electric rice cooker used to prepare the rice are the traditional tools used to prepare the bistec empanado. Central in the process is the pilón, the traditional wood mortar and pestle found in most Puerto Rican kitchens (along with the tostonera, to make fried mashed plantains we call tostones). This particular pilón is made from cedar wood and has been part of Felipe’s kitchen for several decades, passed on from his grandfather. Victoria uses the pilón to crush soda crackers for the bistec breading. As a recent modification from her mother’s original recipe, she substituted the regular soda crackers with a whole wheat version, which they buy in bulk from a wholesale market. These soda crackers come in aluminum packets of four, and she pounded about one and a half packets. Once the crackers are ready, she takes out the steak from the refrigerator. The night’s meat is a cube steak labeled “from the USA,” bought at the nearest supermarket. She takes two eggs from the refrigerator also “from the USA” and bought from the same supermarket. She pounds the steak with the pilón’s pestle. The meat is seasoned with adoboGoya light, a low-sodium version of the ever-present powder mix of dried spices including garlic and onion powder, salt, and oregano, and fresh garlic. The adobo is sprinkled liberally a ojo, alternating between pounding and seasoning. Once the steaks are seasoned, or adoba’os, Victoria sets them aside and washes her hands in the sink. She then beats the eggs in a glass bowl, immerses the steaks in the egg bath, and coats them with the crushed crackers. She prepares about five pieces of meat, setting them aside for frying right before dinnertime.

Supermarkets

The supermarket is a phenomenon only a century old and differs in certain key features from other food retail outlets. The size of the floor space and the range of goods carried is the most obvious, but so too is the fact that the vast majority of products are prepackaged, preweighed, and prepriced. Produce and the meat and deli sections are the exception. Most important, customers serve themselves, and wide aisles accommodate shopping carts that can hold a week’s worth of food. Piggly Wiggly, A&P, King Kullen, Kroger, and Safeway were among the earliest supermarkets in the United States. The concept eventually spread to Europe and around the world, increasingly making small or specialized shops obsolete.

After hand washing and clearing the space, Victoria continues on to prepare the salad. Like all of the ingredients of this meal, its components come from either the supermarket or a wholesale store—none are grown in Puerto Rico or measured. These include Roma tomatoes from Canada, iceberg lettuce (because it was on sale; they prefer Romaine), strawberries from the United States, jarred pimento-stuffed olives, carrots, sesame seeds, and an energy blend of nuts and dried fruits from the wholesale store. She chopped the lettuce and placed it in a medium-size crystal bowl. The carrot is peeled and washed, and then using the peeler, thin slices are added to the lettuce. The tomatoes are cut to quartered slices and added to the bowl along with chopped strawberries. The olives are added whole, followed by a sprinkle of sesame seeds and a small handful of the nut and dried fruit energy blend. She sets the bowl aside to prepare the dressing separately. Victoria prefers to make her “Arab” dressing passed on from a recipe of her older sister, who learned it from her Lebanese mother-in-law. The dressing is an unmeasured mixture of extra virgin olive oil, garlic, lime, sea salt, and balsamic vinegar, the latter a recent modification from her sister’s recipe. These ingredients are mixed in a repurposed small glass jar that already contained a small quantity of previously mixed dressing from last night’s dinner.

With the rice almost cooked, the steak ready for frying, and the salad served at the table, Victoria continues on to her last item on the menu: the habichuelas. While traditional bean recipes call for overnight-soaked dried beans boiled for at least two hours, in this urban home dried beans are seldom used. These are substituted by canned ones, as in an ever-increasing number of Puerto Rican households. For this meal Victoria uses pink beans, also from the Goya brand. The canned beans and their liquid are added to the pan, followed by water, measured using the can (about one-third). With the stove set on low, she adds about one tablespoon of olive oil, a big spoon of store-bought sofrito (the traditional mixture of peppers, onion, garlic, culantro [long coriander], and sweet peppers), canned tomato paste (as “Canned tomato sauce has too much sodium,” she explains), pieces of ham, and half of a cubed medium-size potato. She does not add salt, noting that the ham already adds that saltiness, but finishes with a pinch of sazón, a powdered dehydrated condiment with culantro and achiote (annatto), usually added to meals for color and a hint of flavor. The beans cook for about 15 minutes, or until the potato is tender. After this last step, Victoria cleans the area, leaving the counter free for Felipe, who has eagerly waited to get started with the sorullitos.

Felipe takes out the deep fryer stored under the kitchen sink, already prepped with clean canola oil. As the oil heats, he uses a metallic bowl to mix about two cups of very fine corn flour, along with a teaspoon of adobo, garlic powder, and sea salt. Next, he stirs in pregrated store-bought Parmesan cheese (about three tablespoons) and tastes the mix, making sure the seasoning is just right. Then, he heats one and a half cups of water in the microwave, adding slowly to the dry mix until a consistency similar to cookie dough is reached.

Using a plastic cutting board, Felipe cuts several two-inch pieces of white queso de papa (meaning “potato cheese” but better known as Gouda). “The important thing is to use sharp cheese,” he says, while shaping the sorullos.These are best explained as having the shape of a very thick cigar, about two and a half inches long and half an inch wide. Then, Felipe inserts a piece of cheese and drops them in the already hot oil in the deep fryer for about 10 minutes. Now it is Victoria’s turn to fry the breaded steak. She uses a medium-size frying pan with canola oil and cooks the steaks about 5 minutes on each side. The fried steaks are placed in a plate lined with paper towels to take the excess oil off before serving.

While the empanadas are cooking, Melissa sets the table with the usual everyday fabric place mats, paper napkins, and the silverware. The table setting is informal, with the place mats covering most of the round glass-top table. The silverware is set on the right, and glassware is placed on the left. Only the salad and the sorullitos are served at the table. The plates stay in the kitchen, along with the main meal components. This mode of serving is a recent modification in this household. Before, food used to be brought to the table family style, whereby each person would serve themselves and repeat if desired. In order to avoid overeating, Victoria and Felipe recently decided to leave the main dish components in the kitchen, bringing only the salad and any small side dish (in this case the sorullitos) to the center of the table.

Salad is a constant and important component for Victoria and Felipe. Victoria enjoys experimenting with different vegetable and nut combinations, resulting in creations that are a far cry from many other salads found in Puerto Rican households and restaurants: a bowl of iceberg lettuce served with a slice of tomato and a splash of Thousand Island dressing on top. Victoria explains that aside from liking the taste of the different combinations she comes up with, colorful salads such as the one prepared tonight are important, especially given her husband’s diabetes and her own high blood pressure.

Felipe brings a pitcher full of iced water to the table and sits. Meanwhile, a few steps away in the kitchen, Victoria serves the main meal, starting with Felipe’s plate. She serves the empanada, about a cup of rice with the beans on top, and leaves space on the side for the salad. Dinner is served on their everyday dinnerware, a set of circular leaf-shaped crystal plates. She brings his plate to the table and proceeds to serve herself, using equal portions but a smaller quantity. Finally, Melissa serves herself and joins them at the table.

Felipe and Victoria have usual spots on the round table. There is no clearly defined “head of the table” spot. Victoria sits in the spot closest to the kitchen, allowing easier access in case anything else is needed. We eat and talk, initially recounting the day’s activities and plans for the next day. We instinctively start with the sorullitos de maiz. Felipe’s recipe always results in a delectable treat, with the melted cheese pulling out of the dough with the very first bite. Next the main dish: the fried steak, rice, and beans joined together in a single mouthful. The crunchiness of the steak complements the soft texture of the rice and beans, bringing comfort and happiness to Melissa’s stomach. The salad is placed on the side, enjoyed alongside the other dishes until the bowl is empty.

The food at the table inspires most of the dinner conversation. Felipe and Victoria recount stories about the recipes, the original cooks (their mothers), and their own upbringing. They both share memories of different dinner experiences growing up in Puerto Rico. He was raised having family dinners at the table at preset times and carries that tradition with him to this day. He eats meals and snacks at roughly the same time each day: breakfast at around 8:00 a.m., lunch at noon, dinner at 6:00 p.m., and a small snack right before bed. While this reflects his upbringing, he also cites his diabetes as a major motivation for his disciplined eating pattern. This contrasts with Victoria’s upbringing, as she was raised in a home with divorced parents not really carrying the tradition of sitting down at the table for dinner. Her mother, much like herself, worked outside the home taking care of her own business, leaving little time for cooking. In her own life, Victoria has learned to maneuver her day to always have dinner ready on time, often achieved by preparing as much as possible beforehand, usually early in the morning.

Victoria’s daily eating routine does not follow a scheduled pattern as that of Felipe. As her business depends on her client’s schedules, she seldom eats breakfast or lunch at set times. Dinner, however, is another story. Felipe’s 6:00 p.m. dinnertime is observed, as this is the only meal they routinely eat together on a daily basis. In this household, each meal has its own nuances. Felipe usually takes care of breakfast, and lunch is often eaten separately during the week as each of them engage in different daily errands. Food procurement is also a shared task, as they often visit the wholesale market together, but they also take turns making smaller trips to the nearest supermarket. It is only at dinnertime when more traditional gender roles are observed, as the wife is in charge of all or most of the cooking as well as serving and cleaning up afterward.

The sharing of traditional roles may be a sign of the changing gender roles in Puerto Rican society. At the same time, this is not a traditional couple. They have been married for about five years—the second marriage for both of them. They each had previous long-term marriages, both resulting in adult daughters. While not traditional, this couple’s situation is common in today’s Puerto Rican society. They share the experience of divorce and of having their grown children living abroad in the United States. This reality is shared by many Puerto Ricans, given the recent and increasing trends of out-migration from the island, a situation also discussed as part of our dinner conversation.

Our time eating and talking extends to almost an hour. The family finishes the salad and the sorullitos, not getting seconds of the main dish. Conversation lingers as Victoria takes the empty dishes and used silverware back to the kitchen, leaving them in the kitchen sink. Everyone leaves their plates clean, accounting for how good the meal was. Still, there is room for dessert. And tonight, as usual, there are different offerings, ranging from fruits (mostly oranges and apples) to a few sweet snacks. While Victoria is still in the kitchen, Felipe asks her to bring him the lemon crackers his daughter sent him via mail a few days ago. Like Melissa, she also lives afuera. Mirroring Felipe’s preference for a daughter’s gift, Victoria decides to have a piece of the brazo gitano that Melissa brought home from a trip to a western town in the island the day before. The brazo gitano (gypsy’s arm), is a sponge cake, filled in this case with guava paste and cheese, rolled, and then topped with powdered sugar. Outside of Puerto Rico, this dessert is also known as Swiss roll, among other names. The family eats their desserts with water, while the conversation turns to the daughters who gifted these treats to them and their lives in the United States.

The cleanup after the meal is quick and easy. The table setting is practical, with the fabric place mats protecting the glass round table from scratches and other damage. The paper napkins are favored over cloth to avoid the necessity of washing them afterward. This table arrangement is not uncommon in this household, demonstrating perhaps a preference for a quick and convenient table setting for this daily meal. Right after the meal finishes, the table is cleaned, and the decorative table runner and ceramic vase are quickly restored to the center of the table.

It’s almost 8:00 by the time the meal ends. Melissa returns to her spot at the kitchen counter, accompanying Victoria as she finishes washing the dishes and storing the leftover food (tomorrow’s lunch or dinner) in the refrigerator. Despite having a dishwasher, they seldom use it, as it is mostly just the two of them at the dinner table every night. On occasion, dinner is followed by a movie at the nearby theater or sitting down on the couch to watch the evening news. Tonight Melissa joins them on the couch, completely satiated and happy while continuing to digest the splendid evening meal and sharing a few more moments after this family gathering.

Empanadas de Bistec (Breaded Steak) for Two

2 cubed steaks

1 garlic clove, minced

Adobo Goya (preferably with pepper)

½ package (about two) Export soda crackers (no salt added)

1 egg

Canola oil

1.Season the steaks with the minced garlic and adobo and set aside.

2.Crush the crackers until you have mostly powder and small pieces.

3.Add the crackers to a shallow plate and set aside.

4.In a second container, beat the egg and set aside.

5.Add enough canola oil to a frying pan to create a shallow pool (about ½ inch). Turn the heat on medium.

6.While the oil heats enough for frying, bread the steaks, one at a time. First, dip in the egg, enough to cover. Take the egged steak and cover with the crushed crackers. Ideally, the oil will be hot enough by now (you can test by adding a tiny drop of water). Add the steak to the pan. Quickly bread the second steak and add to the pan. Fry until crackers are browned and crunchy on each side.

7.Place the cooked steak on a plate with paper towels to drain the excess oil. Serve and enjoy! Buen provecho.

FURTHER READING

Díaz de Villegas, J. L. Puerto Rico: Grand Cuisine of the Caribbean. San Juan: University of Puerto Rico Press, 2004.

Ortiz Cuadra, C. M. Eating Puerto Rico: A History of Food, Culture and Identity. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2013.