Saturday, June 9, 2012

Picadillo Tacos : IHCC

What's for lunch? A delicious Mexican Picadillo Tacos. The theme at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC) this week is "Wrap It Up" where we are currently cooking from the selected chef, Rick Bayless's recipes. I missed on last week's theme which is "Turn On The Grills", I bought some corns to grill, and the corns ended up being steamed instead, as I was really busy the last week and did not have time to grill the corns, in fact did not do any cooking at all. So I was really looking forward to this week's theme, even thought of making my own tortillas, but in the end, I ended up buying ready-made tortillas instead! One of these days, I am gonna try making my own tortillas!


Getting Mexican ingredients is really a challenge for me. The stores in the area where I'm staying do not have any Mexican sauces like the one above. I got this bottle of La Costena brand Homestyle Mexican Salsa from the special store which carries imported food, mainly catering to the expatriates living in Kuala Lumpur.  I actually bought this a few weeks ago, knowing that I'll be using this sooner or later. Most of the things there are quite expensive, since most of them are all imported. This bottle of sauce is however reasonably priced. I cannot find any of Frontera products (by chef Rick Bayless) over here, well, there are one or two more places that I have yet to check, keeping my fingers crossed!


I made this for lunch, and it was delicious. A simple filling of minced pork, salsa, onions, olives and raisins. I did plan on making some tortillas that afternoon. At the last minute, I realized that I did not thaw the vegetable shortening beforehand, for one of Rick Bayless's Tortilla recipe that I wanted to try, and my kids are getting hungry, me included! So as soon as I've cooked the filling, I went out to get some tortillas from the supermarket nearby! There are a few flavours to choose from, I bought the garlic tortillas.


To warm the tortillas for easy wrapping, simply place the pieces of tortilla on a microwavable plate, with a piece of lightly damp kitchen towel separating each piece,  microwave on high for 20 seconds. You will get nice soft warm tortillas.



This is delicious, even though it is a little bit spicy for my son, he managed to eat two of these with a glass of iced water!  The filling is really delicious, spicy from the salsa, a little saltiness from the olives and bits of sweetness from the raisins. I wrapped the filling up with some fresh green lettuce lining the tortillas. Definitely worth making again!

To see all the delicious wraps, hop over to IHCC



Rick Bayless @IHCC button rounded


I'm sharing this with :

Picadillo Tacos
(source from : Frontera, Rick Bayless)
Serves 4 to 6 as a taco filling
1 pound ground beef or turkey (I use ground pork)
1 small white onion, diced
1 jar (16 ounces) Frontera Chunky Tomato Salsa (mild) (I use La Costena Homestyle Mexican Salsa, Medium)
1/2 cup sliced green olives (I use stuffed olives with pimento)
1/2 cup raisins
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp ketchup
8 to 12 warm tortillas
chopped cilantro

  1. Cook beef or turkey and onion in a large skillet until browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in salsa, olives, raisins, sugar and ketchup. Cook until thickened, about 10 minutes. Season with salt.
  2. Serve in warm tortillas sprinkled with chopped cilantro.



27 comments:

  1. My boys would love these! In fact my oldest does some version of a taco every week...loves them :)
    Hope you have a lovely weekend!

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  2. Me encanta su versión de los tacos lucen deliciosos,abrazos hugs,hugs.

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  3. I love tacos~ I never for once make my own taco. Yours looks gorgeous and perhaps I should try it out too :)

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  4. yum! i love a good taco! yours looks delicious! thanks for sharing!

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  5. Just delicious!! Looks and sounds great!!!

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  6. Lovely wraps Joyce! Looks so yummy!

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  7. U all good lor get to east tacos..I oso didn't get to taste :(...next time you want any mexican product let me know. Most likely can find in Mercato supermarket in pahvillion.

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  8. Yummy, your picadillo filling looks really tasty!

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  9. Makes me hungry,super tempting and irresistible..

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  10. What a great recipe! so delicious - these are bookmarked!
    Mary x

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  11. you know i love wraps..are you making these for me too? haha! i would love having this for my breakfast now!! seeing your bottle of salsa, it reminds me of the 'old de paso' ready mix sauce that i bought a month back..also thinking to use that in my wraps..totally forgotten about that!

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  12. I've really been wanting to try my hand at picadillo. I'm curious about the addition of the raisins with the meat. Your tacos look terrific. So glad you got to play along with us this week!

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  13. what a delicious looking wrap! i have never made this kind of wrap before. maybe one day boleh try eh!

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  14. This looks delicious Joy! I love the addition of the raisins and green olives. I keep saying I'm going to make my own flour tortillas, but so far I haven't gotten around to it. One of these days....

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  15. Ack! That's horrible news that you don't have easy access to Mexican food. Although, at least that makes it feel that much more special when you do get to have it. These tacos look fantastic!

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  16. Those are making me hungry! I've never thought to add raisins for sweetness in Mexican foods, but it sounds good. :)

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  17. They look delicious! I haven't found any Frontera products here in Canada yet either, but I am definitely keeping an eye out!

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  18. Delicious! I love picadillo and it looks wonderful all wrapped up. Great pick!
    ;-)

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  19. I love Mexican food... what a tempting looking dish...

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  20. Yum yum Tacos, Joyce! In Sydney, we can buy ready-to-make tacos which include corn tacos+taco sauce. All we have to do is to buy meat & any vegetables that go with it! Haven't made it for a while!

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  21. These really sound delicious. It is also a great idea to wrap the filling with a taco rather than making pastry to encase it. I'll have to try this. Have a wonderful day. Blessings...Mary

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  22. That taco looks delicious!!

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  23. Wow. Your tacos seriously look awesome. Great photos!

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  24. You remind me that I don't make tacos enough. Thanks for linking this up on Recipe Box.

    I have to look for Mexican spices and sauces, also. One of our stores has a big section from other countries although I still can't find what I want, more times than not. I will give it a look.

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  25. Love the Picadillo Tacos! And if you're looking for more "Mexican classics with a twist" recipes check out blogger/recipe contest we're doing with BH&G - http://bit.ly/MissionEnterToWin
    There's a Hawaiian Fish Tacos recipe we think you'll love, and lots more.
    Have a great day!

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