How I went from Jamaica to Mexico, but ended up in LA.

I know, I know, I did Jerk Chicken last week. But It was soooo good, I had to revisit it again, but this time with a twist.

Being born and raised in So Cal, I always took our Mexican Food scene for granted. Growing up, as I did, in the San Gabriel Valley, one could argue, that our food was amongst the best in the LA Basin. It wasn't until I traveled out of state, and even out of the country that I came to realize how amazing our food really is. Now, I've had delicious street tacos in Tijuana, amazing lobster in Puerto Nuevo, and Ensenada fish tacos, forget about it. During a recent visit to Valle De Guadalupe, Mexico's wine growing region, I came across some Nuevo Latino Cuisine that was absolutely mind-blowing. But for straight up, consistent, street tacos, there is nothing like So Cal (I would even argue that LA beats San Diego, but that's a story for another time).

My cooking style is heavily influenced by seasonal ingredients, local availability, as well as the myriad of food cultures that I am exposed to living in this great metropolis. I once had a conversation with Doug E. Fresh about the best Jamaican food in Los Angeles after a producer mentioned that I dabbled a bit.

Roy Choi combined Korean food, with Taco Trucks, and created the Kogi empire which helped kick-start, the gourmet food truck scene. Los Angeles, since the early days of Wolfgang Puck, is in my mind the epicenter of fusion cuisine. So I thought it fitting that I combine a couple of my favorite foods for tonights meal.

I started my chicken the same way as the last time, by marinating the chicken in my spice mix, lemon juice, and some Jamaican seasoning salt. Having planned on making this meal last night, I started early evening, yesterday. Upon realizing that I was not going to be able to complete it, I simply cooked the chicken under the broiler, and let it rest in the fridge.

For the beans, I sautéed garlic, green onions, and red and green jalapenos to which I added black beans, salt and pepper and let it simmer.

The cilantro lime rice was equally simple. Lime zest, the juice of two limes, and cilantro, was added to rice, kosher salt, and coconut oil.

The salsa took a little bit of doing, I cut some farmer's market tomatoes (they looked like Early Girls, and were wonderfully plump), onion, cilantro, mango, one habenero chile, and some lime juice. I let that sit for a while, so the flavors could marry, then on to the tacos.

As the meat was already cooked, the tacos were pretty straight forward. Reheating the chopped meat, along with some fresh onion, cilantro, and Boston Bay style Jerk Sauce. Then added the heated mixture to two warmed corn tortillas per taco (store bought, as I didn't have the energy to make them myself), that were standing by.

To finish the meal, and bring it full circle,  I fried  ripe plantains in coconut oil; to both give a break from the spices, and serve as a vitamin rich treat. Everything was laid out on paper plates, well, because they were street tacos.

Jerk Chicken Street Tacos with Mango Habenero Salsa, with Spicy Black Beans, Cilantro Lime Rice, and Fried Plantains. Completed at 3:35 (Got a late start)

the Midnight Chef