We recently hit the road to Ricos Tacos in Chippendale to find out why our Oaxaca is so loved by the local Mexican and broader community. The admiration for Oaxaca tends to be its stringy texture and incredible melting quality. Owner & Chef, Toby Wilson, shares with us his recipe for “molotes”, which is a typical Oaxacan street food prepared with freshly made masa. It’s stuffed with stewed black beans and Oaxaca cheese before being fried. Toby serves Molotes with his own fermented salsa roja, but at home you can use your favourite salsa or fermented hot sauce.
First make the fresh masa by combining the masa harina and water in a boil, working with your hands for a few minutes to a smooth dough. Cover and let it rest for 1 hour.
In the meantime, prepare the remaining Molotes ingredients. Open a tin of good quality cooked black beans and set aside in a bowl with a tablespoon. Open the Oaxaca cheese, shredding it by hand into small stringy pieces and set aside on a plate.
Fill your fryer with oil and preheat to 180°C.
Divide the freshly made masa into 4 portions. Prepare one Molote at a time by rolling the masa into a ball then pressing in a tortilla press lined with non-stick paper on each side. If you don’t have a tortilla press at home, you can simply place the ball of masa between two pieces of non-stick paper and press it down on a flat benchtop using a small chopping board or any flat item.
Unwrap the non-stick paper carefully away from the pressed masa and place it in one hand.
Use your free hand to put some Oaxaca cheese down the centre, followed by a spoon of the black beans.
Now carefully fold the two sides of the masa over the filling meeting in the centre, pressing the two edges together to completely seal the filling within. Gentle roll the Molote between your hands, manoeuvring it into its typical torpedo shape (wider in the centre, with two pointy ends).
Place the prepared Molote aside on a plate and prepare the other 3.
Once the oil has been sufficiently preheated, fry the Molotes for approx 3 minutes then drain on absorbent paper briefly.
Plate up the Molote with a sprinkle of sea salt and salsa roja (or hot sauce) on the side,
