Tacos Cubanos

Tacos are not a traditional cuban food, but if you want to add a different flavor to your soft shells here is how you do it.

The key ingredient is mojo criollo, a traditional cuban marinade. The most popular brands are Goya and Badia, but I've found that these brands use MSG to enhance flavor, rather than getting the ingredients right and are a bit too sweet.

The brand that I found that tastes the best is Kirby (not the most authentic name, I know).

The rest of the ingredients you need to gather are:

Soft Taco Shells
Thin cut sirloin steaks
Bush’s Cocina Latina® Frijoles Charros Machacados
Cubanelle Peppers
Culantro Leaves
Sweet Onions
Butter
Coconut Oil
Ripe Plantains (they should be completely yellow, no green)

I don't include exact numbers or measurements in this recipe, because you don't need them.

Cut the sirloins into thin strips (think fajita-sized pieces) and put them in a tupperware or bowl and cover them with mojo.

Cut the culantro leaves into small pieces and mix them in with the steak and mojo.

Let them sit overnight in this marinade.

Take a spoonful of butter the next day, drop it into a pan on medium-heat and dump the bowl into the pan. Cook until the steak is slightly browned.

Slice the peppers into ribbon-like pieces and cook them in the same pan as the steak until they soften.

Heat up the beans on medium heat with a splash of mojo.

While you are doing this, in another pan drop a spoonful of coconut oil and set the heat to medium. Cut the plantains into 1/4" thick pieces and cook in the coconut oil until both sides are light brown. Once they start to turn brown they cook very quickly, so make sure to keep an eye on them.

For each taco, place a spoonful of the beans first, a couple of plantains on top of the beans, two ribbon-cut pieces of pepper, as much steak as it will hold, and on top of that, diced raw onions.

The combination of the sweetness of the plantains, with the fresh flavors of the mojo, peppers and onions work together nicely, and for a Cubano like me, make me think of my mother's home cooking.

Buen Provecho!