自分も大好きなFish Tacos、こんな記事を読む。メキシコ人にとってFish Tacosは格別な思い入れがあるらしく、それを語る時は遠い目になるらしい。
The Softness, the Crunch, the Nostalgia of the Fish Taco - The New York Times
Some people get a faraway look in their eyes when they talk about fish tacos.
In conversation with these people, all you have to do is call up a memory of the fish tacos that come from the Pacific Coast of Mexico ― especially from Baja California, the rugged peninsula that juts southward into the sea like the spoke of a tuning fork ― and it can send them into mists of nostalgic delirium.
で、読み進めるとこんな記述が、
Spoonfuls of tomato salsa? Probably a bad call.
“I’ll tell you why: tomato has so much moisture that it weighs down the batter,” said the New York-bred chef and Food Network star Aarón Sánchez. “The only thing moist should really be the crema. I’m a big fan of the slaw. I think it gives it texture and crunch. But I can do without avocado. I think that’s a California thing. I mean, everybody wants to put avocado on everything in that state.”
キャベツが必須なのは知ってたけれど、トマトサルサを入れるのはよくないという意見。トマトの水分が魚の衣をもっさりとしたものにしてしまうから。アボカドは入れても入れなくてもいいけれど、メキシコでなくカリフォルニアの発想らしい。ということで以前作ったフィッシュタコスは邪道の極みだったのかもｗ。
さらに、フィッシュタコスの起源について、
Obsession and storytelling are cousins, so it’s probably no surprise that a few gastronomes with a fish-taco fix, including Mr. Ampudia, are drawn to a fascinating theory about the genesis of the dish. Their notion is that Japanese fishermen started working in and around Baja California before World War II and introduced the locals to tempura (which Japan had, centuries earlier, most likely picked up from visitors from Portugal). Tempura found its way into tortillas.
中には起源が日本の天ぷらだ、という人もいるほど。「本能的にそう思う」と言ってるけれど、まあこれは多分違うだろう。次の段落で直ぐ否定されてるし。その人によれば、前書いた"Tacos al pastor"とレバノン移民の関係についての方が説明がつきやすいとのこと。
いや、フィッシュタコス、奥が深いなぁ。
