Momo Smash Tacos with Achar Mayo
Timur-and-coriander momo filling pressed thin onto tortillas and seared crisp, smash-taco style, then drizzled with nutty, spicy achar mayo.
Method
Achar mayo: stir together the mayonnaise, tomato paste, tahini, chilli flakes, a squeeze of lime, a little very finely grated garlic and a pinch of timur until smooth. It's a 5-minute shortcut to the roasted tomato-sesame flavour of momo achar.
Add in this stepMayonnaise 3 tbspTomato paste 2 tspTahini 2 tspChilli flakes ½ tspLime ¼Garlic cloves 0.6Ground timur or Sichuan pepper ⅛ tsp
Momo filling: very finely chop the onion, spring onions, half the coriander, the rest of the garlic and the ginger. In a bowl, combine with the pork, timur, cumin and salt and mix in one direction for 1 minute until sticky. Wash your hands and tools after handling raw meat.
Add in this stepMinced pork 200 gRed onion, very finely chopped 40 gSpring onions 20 gFresh coriander 6 gGarlic cloves 1.4Fresh ginger 10 gGround timur or Sichuan pepper 0.4 tspGround cumin ½ tspSalt ½ tsp
Divide the meat into 4 portions and spread each over one side of a tortilla in a thin 3 mm layer, right to the edges. Thin means it cooks quickly and evenly all the way through.
Add in this stepSmall flour tortillas (15 cm) 4
Heat the oil in a wide pan (26–28 cm) over medium-high heat, lay the tortillas in meat side down and press hard with a spatula, cooking in 2 batch(es). Sear the meat side for , until deep brown and crisp with no pink left even at the edges, then flip and toast the tortilla side for until golden. If the centre of the meat still looks pink when you nick it, give it 30 seconds more.
Add in this stepVegetable oil 2 tsp
medium-high heatPlace meat side up, add cucumber matchsticks and the rest of the coriander and zigzag over the achar mayo. Fold in half, squeeze over a lime wedge and eat straight away.
Add in this stepCucumber 60 gFresh coriander 6 gLime ¾
Cook's tip
Minced chicken thigh works well instead of pork. Spread the meat thin: a thick layer burns outside before the middle is cooked. If your tortillas are large, spread the meat, fold into a half-moon and toast both sides.
Cooking it at camp
Make the filling and achar mayo at home and pack them in sealed boxes in a cooler below 5 °C. At camp, just press and sear in a pan on the burner or on a griddle over embers; a big griddle cooks several at once. The edges of a griddle over coals run cooler, so move the tacos around to cook them evenly.