Long Beach offers many delicious cuisines that won’t keep your holiday bellies full, including lip-smacking smoked mutable and Ammatoli’s iconic Nuduja Pizza – guaranteed mouthfuls! No matter when it is eaten! There’s never any shortage of delectable bites!
While children typically anticipate receiving gifts from Santa on Christmas Eve, those from Latino homes tend to receive them on January 6 – known as Dia de los Reyes Magos or Three Kings Day.
Dia de los Reyes
January 6th is known in Mexico and Latin America as Dia de Los Reyes (Three Kings Day), or Epiphany Feast Day, to mark the arrival of Three Wise Men bearing gifts for baby Jesus. The holiday marks their visit by giving children gifts rather than receiving them from Santa Claus himself on Christmas morning.
As is customary on Christmas, Dia de los Reyes is celebrated with a large meal, extended family gatherings, and gift-giving. One of the traditional treats on this holiday is Rosca de Reyes: a cake featuring sweetened dried fruit decorated with tiny figurines of baby Jesus on top. According to tradition, anyone receiving one slice with such an ornament must host another celebration on February 2 (Dia de Candelaria).
On Vispera de Reyes, or Three Kings Day Eve, children leave one shoe outside the front door with grass and water for the camels to drink. When they awaken in the morning they often find a surprise for themselves from Los Reyes Magos- or Los Reyes Magos as they are commonly known- with gifts left behind from him! Some kids even write letters asking Los Reyes Magos directly for items they desire from him!
Flautas
Flautas are deep-fried rolled tortillas filled with either chicken or beef and deep-fried, making for an irresistibly delicious appetizer or main course option. Perfect for sharing among friends, these bite-size treats often accompany other Mexican cuisine like guacamole and salsa or can come topped off with queso fresco (fresh cheese made of whey) as an added treat.
Although taquitos and flautas vary considerably in many ways, one crucial distinction lies with the type of tortilla used to create each dish: Taquitos usually use corn tortillas, while flautas typically call for flour tortillas. Although many may not notice immediately which is which, taste buds know where each of these differences lies!
To create flautas, begin by brushing each tortilla with a light coat of salsa and filling its center with small amounts of meat or cheese. Carefully roll up each tortilla cylinder using toothpicks after filling, and heat oil in a skillet until golden and crisp flautas have been formed before draining on a paper towel-lined plate for cooking flautas before enjoying with additional salsa, guacamole, and sour cream – fork or spoon, are equally enjoyable ways!
Pico de Gallo
Pico de Gallo is a delicious Mexican dish everyone loves, making it simple and fun to prepare, perfect for parties. Not to mention healthy! Made from fresh ingredients, Pico de Gallo is the ideal chip-dipping accompaniment, or add it to dishes such as tacos. Generally comprised of diced tomatoes, red or white onion, cilantro, jalapeno peppers, and lime, Pico de Gallo makes an excellent vegetarian-friendly option with no meat present! It is famous throughout Mexico but particularly popular in the Yucatan region; locally, it’s known as salsa Mexicana or salsa bandera due to the colors of tomato, onion, and cilantro, which resemble Mexican flag colors.
The flavor of salsa depends on the variety and quantity of tomatoes used, along with cilantro. Jalapenos can be added or removed as needed for desired heat levels, and lime juice adds fruity notes while keeping it fresher for longer. It is best served slightly chilled but can also be enjoyed at room temperature; tortilla chips are an ideal accompaniment, but other Mexican cuisine or margaritas may also work perfectly.
Churros
Churros are an iconic Mexican dish popularly enjoyed as a sweet dessert or snack. Crafted from dough piped into hot oil and coated in cinnamon sugar, churros can often be found alongside steaming hot chocolate as a delicious treat. Their crispy exterior encases soft, pillowy insides. Sometimes shaped into rings or other designs.
Churros are easy to make, but the temperature of the oil must be just right for optimal results. Too cool of an environment could leave soggy churros behind, while too much heat could burn them and leave their interior raw and underdone. A candy or deep fry thermometer helps monitor this aspect of frying batches of churros.
Before rolling churros in cinnamon sugar, they must be drained on paper towels to reduce clumping. Also, creating the mixture while your churros fry could make coating easier and warm.
To create delicious churros, the following ingredients will be needed:
