Rajas gorditas comfort at Tacos Chiwas
The Killer Dish: A regular installment in which our dining critic examines an outstanding local dish — its history, who created it, how it’s made and what makes it special.
When it comes to comfort foods, the pinnacle of taqueria technology isn’t the taco.
No slight toward the bedrock of casual Mexican fare turned Tuesday’s signature dish, but there exists a similar concoction with more gut-warming gusto than the noble taco can provide.
The rajas gordita at Tacos Chiwas is the holy matrimony of steam and spice, a pliable pillow of puffed dough with a creamy core of beans, cheese and chiles that warms your fingers, burns your lips and buckles your knees with its disarmingly tender texture.
Small surprise it’s an old family recipe, or at least a riff thereon. Tacos Chiwas, the newfound darling of the Valley’s taqueria scene, is run by Armando Hernandez and Nadia Holguin, originally from the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. Though it would be difficult to distinguish Chiwas from the crowd on looks alone, the difference is in the food, rooted in the couple’s Chihuahuan roots and made with exceptional care. But Among the crispy tripas, pressed-to-order tortillas and smoky barbacoa, Holguin’s rajas
gordita is a soulful standout.
Like so many things, it starts with fireTo the extent any recipe in a country as large as Mexico can be called typical, rajas — literally, “strips” — are typically made with roasted poblano chiles, a large, deep-green breed with a very mild heat. At Tacos Chiwas, however, they prefer their rajas with a little more zip. Behind the restaurant, Hernandez fills a rotating cage with poblanos, jalapeños, fiery serranos for extra kick, plus Hatch chiles when they’re in season or Anaheim chiles when they’re not. The blend is part of what lends Chiwas’ gordita its unique flavor and not insignificant heat.
Hernandez fires up a line of gas burners beneath the cage and chars the peppers while they turn and tumble, releasing an overpowering aroma as the skins blister and blacken. Once jet black and softened by the flame, the chiles are transferred to a deep pan, covered with plastic wrap and left to steam as they cool. It’s a process with both practical and culinary purpose. Roasting deepens and sweetens the flavors of the peppers and turns their crisp meat tender. The charring adds a strong smoky flavor. And once blackened and steamed, the skins easily slip right off.
Once the peppers have cooled, Holguin peels and seeds them, removing some — but not all — of the