How to Cook Corn Husk Mexican Food – a Simple Tamale Recipe to Follow

If you are a big fan of Mexican cuisine, you have probably been familiar with a tamale, a popular corn husk Mexican food. Yap! This traditional Mexican dish made of corn-based dough is delicious. Being wrapped with and cooked in corn husk as well as filled with various meats, beans, and cheese, the dish is frequently served on the dining tables of Mexican families. Here is a step-by-step recipe to make the dish.

Ingredients

For the Dough:

• 2 tbs of baking powder
• 1 1/3 cups of lard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups broth (chicken, beef, or vegetable broth)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 4 cups Masa Harena
• 8-ounce package dried corn husk

For the Filling

• Bean and cheese
• Salsa verde chicken
• Red chili pork
• Authentic Mexican rice (optional)

How to Make It

1. Put some hot water in a bowl and use it to soak the corn husk for about 30 minutes.
2. Prepare the fillings.
3. Create a masa dough. You can use an electric mixer to beat the lard for about 2 or 3 minutes and then put it in a large bowl. Add 2 teaspoons of broth until the lard turns soft. Put baking powder, salt, masa flour, and cumin in a separate bowl. Then, stir into the lard until the ingredients mixed well.
4. Create a very soft dough by adding broth little by little. Use the mixer to beat the dough at high speed for several minutes until it is a bit ticky and spreads like creamy peanut butter. Keep the dough from drying out by wrapping it with a damp paper towel.
5. Lay a corn husk with the glossy side up to assemble the tamale. Put ¼ of dough on the top center of the corn husk and cover it with a plastic wrap. Then, make sure to press and spread the masa dough into ¼ inch thick layer. However, keep in mind to leave plenty of room to fold the bottom of the corn husk by spreading the dough along the top half of it.
6. Add your desired filling and line it down to the center of the dough.
7. Take one long side of the corn husk over the filling and then fold it. Fold in the other side of the husk until it overlaps the first one before you fold the bottom of it up.
8. Add 1 cup of water to an instant pot to cook the tamales and position them standing upright with their open end up. Keep the tamales from falling by adding some corn husks on the bottom for an extra layer.
9. Cook the tamales on manual or high pressure for 25 minutes. Then, let the pressure release naturally for another 10 minutes before you allow it to quickly release. The corn husk Mexican food is perfectly cooked if you can pull away from the husks cleanly.