A maize husk-encased fusion dish featuring ingredients from the Caribbean, Africa, and Spain. My mother and my grandmother Mima, who spent many hours in the backyard in Cuba crafting these enchanted concoctions, gave me this recipe. Wrapped in a maize husk and slowly cooked in a kettle of simmering water is a savory tamal masa with pork and chorizo stuffing.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 5 mins |
| Additional Time: | 45 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 20 mins |
| Servings: | 16 |
| Yield: | 16 sticks |
Ingredients
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 1 (8 ounce) package shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 (8 ounce) package imitation crabmeat, chopped
- ¼ cup sliced green onions
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 ¾ cups panko bread crumbs
- 2 cups vegetable oil for frying, or as needed
Instructions
- Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper so the paper hangs over the sides of the pan.
- Stir together cream cheese, mozzarella cheese, crabmeat, green onions, powdered sugar, salt, and garlic powder in a bowl until combined. Transfer to the prepared pan, spreading to an even layer. Freeze for 30 minutes.
- Lift cream cheese mixture from the pan using the parchment paper. Cut the frozen block in half, then cut each half crosswise into 8 sticks (you will have sixteen 4×1-inch sticks.)
- Put flour in a shallow dish. Beat eggs and water together in a second shallow dish. Put panko in a third shallow dish.
- Dredge each cream cheese stick in flour; shake off excess. Dip into egg mixture, then lift up so excess egg drips back into the bowl. Press into panko to coat both sides. Place the breaded sticks on a baking sheet and freeze for 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C).
- Add 1 1/2 inches of oil to a medium saucepan. Heat oil to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Fry 3 or 4 sticks at a time until golden brown, about 1 minute. (Keep uncooked sticks in freezer until ready to fry.)
- Drain fried sticks on paper towels, then transfer to a baking sheet and keep warm in the preheated oven. Repeat to fry remaining sticks.
- Use a frying thermometer to monitor temperature to keep it as close to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) as you can.
- We have determined the nutritional value of oil for frying based on a retention value of 10% after cooking. Amount will vary depending on cooking time and temperature, ingredient density, and specific type of oil used.