[Speaking Spanish] Pati: It's a story that's played out since the dawning of time-- parents wanting what's best for a child but the child following his dreams.
[Speaking Spanish] Chef Elio Xicum went against his father's wishes of taking over the family guayabera shop and is creating extraordinary dishes as a top chef in the vibrant city of Valladolid.
[Speaking Spanish] Pati, voice-over: He's still making guayaberas but doing it with food.
Mmm!
Mmm!
Pati, voice-over: And as a mom of 3 boys, my wish is for them to wear their guayaberas and cook with me.
You guys look so handsome.
We're making some fiery tequila and lime skirt steak tacos.
Sami: Watch out!
Pati: Then I'll whip up a sweet lime and chile de arbol guacamole...
Very spicy.
Pati, voice-over: and a creamy and cheesy potato galette.
Pati: Oh.
Now we're getting all cheesy.
Mmm!
[Birds chirping] [Child shouts] [Speaks Spanish] Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
Super sweet.
-[Woman speaks Spanish] -Yeah.
[Pati speaks Spanish] So breathtaking.
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Pati: There are those who appreciate nice clothes.
Then there are those who build monuments to their clothes.
The town of Tekit in the heart of the state of Yucatn is the latter.
Known as the Capital of the Guayabera, the tiny town of Tekit is a wonderland for guayabera lovers.
Home to more than 200 workshops that manufacture these traditional shirts.
[Speaking Spanish] Today, I'm here to learn the history of the guayabera, meet some of these skilled tailors, and find my style.
[Speaking Spanish] Pati, voice-over: There are different theories, but many believe the guayabera was born by Cuban fieldworkers in the late 19th century, who needed comfortable, practical clothes for the hot, humid climate.
The name is said to come from the guava fruit that workers would keep in the pockets of their shirts.
[Speaking Spanish] Pati: Uh-huh.
Pati, voice-over: Now they're a symbol of Latin American culture, worn as a fashion statement to everything from formal events to casual outings.
[Speaking Spanish] Ah.
It says, "To create, you have to be conscious "of the traditions, "but in order to maintain the traditions, you have to continue creating."
That's so beautiful because I think it applies to everything, not only guayaberas but also cooking.
Pati, voice-over: Time to continue on the guayabera hunt, but where's everyone?
Pati: This is siesta time because it's so hot.
[Speaking Spanish] So Antonio is making his own brand.
[Speaking Spanish] Pati: Getting a little hungry, and I'm smelling corn tortillas.
Let's see if we can grab a snacky snack.
You guys, this is amazing!
Michelle is making fresh masa.
Pati, voice-over: These fresh tortillas use nixtamalized corn from the region.
[Speaking Spanish] Oh, my God!
That is amazing!
[Speaking Spanish] You know what this is called?
A freshly made tortilla with a little salt is called a taquito de nada, a nothing taco.
It's one of the best tacos.
[Speaking Spanish] In Mexico, we always have a taco de nada.
There are so many ways to make your tacos, and most of the tacos that I love have a guacamole, so we're gonna make some skirt steak tacos.
I'm gonna make a guacamole to go with it, so I'm gonna start with a chile de arbol.
These chiles de arbol that I have here are from the Yucatn.
They have a darker color, they're a little spicier.
These are chiles de arbol that I got here in the U.S.
They're also great, and these thick ones I got from Jalisco.
They're smoky and amazing, too.
I guess I'm gonna go with the ones from the Yucatn, and I'm gonna toast them in the comal, which I already preheated.
It's at medium heat.
So you want to toast them, and you can toast them to the extreme, but you don't want to burn them.
OK.
So here we go.
I can smell the smoke.
Ahem.
[Coughs] It's good if it should make you cough a little.
I'm gonna chop the chiles just a little.
They get jumpy.
When they're dry, they're jumpy, and when you toast them, they're even jumpier.
One generous teaspoon of salt, and then I'm gonna add the juice of a lima, or sweet lime.
In the U.S., goes by sweet lime, which confuses a lot of people because they think that it is just a lime that is sweet and that has matured or changed color, but it's not.
It's a different ingredient.
And then I'm just gonna mash away.
This is such a delicious sound.
[Crunch] And then most important thing of your guacamole is to have ripe avocados because they're the most buttery and delicious.
I'm using a spoon so that I can get all of the meat and get really close to the skin.
I want to start mashing and mixing... and I like my guac a little bit chunky.
A bit of chives, which gives a nice, fresh crunch, scallion-like taste.
This is the sound of guac being devoured.
[Crunch] Mmm!
OK.
So now we're gonna make the tacos to go with the guacamole, and we also have to celebrate that I went to the guayabera town and my boys actually agreed to put on the guayaberas, so... [Speaking Spanish] OK. Let's cook it.
You guys look so handsome.
Alan: I don't think we've matched like this since I was 10 years old.
Pati: Yeah.
I wanted to make this skirt steak with jalapeo and different peppers that I tried in the Yucatn with a special rub.
Pati, voice-over: Add 1/4 teaspoons of oregano, black pepper, ground allspice, cumin, coriander, a pinch of cinnamon, two cloves--stems removed and crushed-- and two teaspoons of salt.
Pati: So this is skirt steak.
Juju: OK.
So you go across the grain.
Pieces like that, OK?
-Like this size?
-Mm-hmm.
Juju's on the meat, so... [Speaking Spanish] Over there?
You cut it in half.
[Indistinct].
We have a jalapeo and banana pepper.
Alan: OK. You want to cut them in half.
[Speaking Spanish] Good job.
[Speaks Spanish] It smells really good.
OK. Do--as como eyeball a tablespoon.
[Speaking Spanish] We don't want to super-brown everything.
We want it to wilt.
[Speaking Spanish] You can do it.
[Speaking Spanish] OK. Now we want the pan to be really hot, OK?
Juju: More oil?
[Speaking Spanish] Yeah.
[Sizzling] OK. All right.
[Speaks Spanish].
We can rinse our hands.
[Speaks Spanish] This is the secret.
One thing I learned from parrilla is, like, don't flip the meat until it sweats.
OK.
So now you're gonna add half of the tequila.
[Speaking Spanish] Juju: Oh, my God.
Sami: Watch out.
Alan: So fun.
Pati: OK. Now limn.
Go.
Lime, lime, lime.
That's it!
[Speaking Spanish] Mmm.
That looks good.
[Speaking Spanish] Most important things about a good taco are?
Tortilla.
You know the tortilla is so good if it starts puffing.
[Speaking Spanish] Juju: Yeah?
[Pati speaking Spanish] Looks so good.
Some onion and some guac.
Pati: Salud.
Juju: Salud.
Sami: Salud.
Alan: Salud.
Pati: Ha!
Pati: Mmm!
Alan: It's good.
Sami: It's great.
Pati: Mmm!
Awesome!
[Pati speaks Spanish] Pati: In Yucatn, guayaberas are more than a fashion statement.
The industry is an economic pillar for many families.
The region was known for growing henequen, a plant similar to agave used for making many things, including ropes and bags, but when that industry collapsed in the early 1900s, many farmers turned to the new guayabera making industry.
[Sewing machine chattering] Eliodoro Xicum and his wife Mari Isabella were at the beginning of that wave of farmers turned guayabera makers.
[Speaking Spanish] Pati, voice-over: Eliodoro has been making guayaberas since he was 18.
He has every style in his shop.
[Speaking Spanish] Pati, voice-over: But learning the craft required going against his father's wishes.
His father wanted him to work the fields, but Eliodoro was worried about making ends meet.
[Speaking Spanish] Ah.
Pati, voice-over: Eliodoro and Mari Isabella now have 9 kids of their own, 8 daughters and 1 son, 1 rebellious son.
I guess the guava fruit doesn't fall far from the tree.
[Speaking Spanish] Pati, voice-over: Before I cook with their son, I want you to cook with me.
So I'm gonna start an Edam cheese and potato galette, and the first thing I'm gonna do is the filling of that potato galette.
I have my skillet at medium heat, and I'm going to add a couple of tablespoons of unsalted butter.
I'm gonna add a cup of white onion that I already chopped... [Sizzling] and then I'm gonna add a banana chile or guero chile, blond chile.
It's kind of spicy with a little bit of a bitter taste that lingers.
I like to remove the seeds for this one.
So here goes, and then I'm adding a couple of garlic cloves that I already chopped.
So now that we made it to this point, I am gonna add Swiss chard, but I am adding it because it's very hard to find chaya, so if you can't find chaya, you can use Swiss chard, or you can use a combination of Swiss chard, spinach, watercress, or either of them, and to use Swiss chard, remember to remove the leaf from the stem.
Then you just chop it.
And I have 4 cups that I already sliced.
We're gonna cook this until the Swiss chard wilts and you can see the color changing to a deeper green.
Oh.
It is looking good.
So I'm gonna mix the creamy sauce for the potato galette.
The cream sauce takes two cups of milk, two cups of cream, 1 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper.
So I have my cast-iron pan, and I'm gonna add some butter to it.
OK. And then what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna add some of the cream that I mixed to the bottom, and then I want to start layering my potatoes, which I already peeled and thinly sliced.
I used 3 pounds of russet potatoes, and I keep them in cold water so they won't brown.
I feel like I'm dealing cards at a casino.
I love blackjack.
OK. Another layer until I can still see the cream milk sauce.
So now I'm gonna add my filling with greens seasoned with this banana pepper.
So yum!
So I'm gonna pour some milk.
OK.
So once you're here, you want to continue until you can see no more milk.
I have my oven at 400 degrees, and I'm gonna bake it for 30 minutes.
So my oven is ready.
About 3 hours away from his father's guayabera workshop in the vibrant city of Valladolid, Chef Elio Xicum is doing his own kind of weaving.
He's weaving stories in the form of food.
As head chef at the restaurant Don Diablo, he takes the rich flavors of the Yucatn and makes dishes that honor his culture in innovative ways.
One dish is actually... a guayabera!
And walking to the restaurant where he works is a delight.
[Speaks Spanish] Valladolid is an exuberant city, buzzing with street vendors and colorful colonial architecture.
The city's main square is home to the stunning San Servacio Cathedral, which dates back to the 16th century, but I digress.
[Elio and Pati speaking Spanish] Pati: Wow!
Pati, voice-over: The guayabera recipe was designed to honor his father and uses ingredients inspired by his family's cooking-- a taquito made with Edam cheese instead of a tortilla, stuffed with chaya, a spinach-like plant native to the Yucatn, set on top of a guayabera stenciled with avocado sauce.
[Elio speaking Spanish] Pati, voice-over: Through cooking, Chef Elio honors his community and Mayan roots, highlighting stories of social injustices that he and his family have experienced or witnessed.
[Sizzling] [Speaking Spanish] [Speaking Mayan] [Speaking Spanish] Pati, voice-over: Through these stories, Chef Elio shares the legacy of his community and his family, and maybe his father can't blame him for him going into cooking.
That's who he learned it from.
[Elio speaking Spanish] [Crunch] Pati, voice-over: Elio's guayabera was designed by his father, a supportive gesture.
However, his parents still have yet to show the ultimate support.
[Speaking Spanish] Pati, voice-over: Whether or not they cook together, Eliodoro Sr. has finally accepted one difficult truth.
[Speaking Spanish] Pati: As my potatoes are cooking, I'm gonna tell you a little bit about the cheese I'm about to grate, which you may have seen of course.
It's Edam cheese, but this cheese got to the Yucatn in the henequen hacienda era.
It is an integral part of Yucatecan cuisine.
I know.
It's wild.
The flavor of Edam cheese is so sharp, so strong, but it also beautifully melts.
Mmm, mmm, mmm!
Looking really good.
You can see the potatoes have been cooking in here, and now just shower it with cheese.
Yum!
Careful because it's still saucy.
Gonna put it back in the oven for another 30 minutes.
[Timer ticking] [Ding] What a beauty.
What a beauty!
I love delicious messes, and this is a delicious mess.
Oh.
Now we're getting all cheesy.
Mmm, mmm, mmm!
It is crazy comforting.
So much sazon, and it's so--the cheese is mixing with the wilted greens, and the potatoes are so soft, and the cheese created a crust.
Mmm.
Yum!
Pati: For recipes and information from this episode and more, visit patijinich.com and connect.
Find me on Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest @PatiJinich.
Announcer: "Pati's Mexican Table" is brought to you by... Announcer: La Costea.
por sabor!
Men: Avocados from Mexico Announcer: Stand together.
Helping every person rise.
More information at standtogether.org.
[Acoustic guitar plays Nationwide jingle] Announcer: Here, the typical arroz con pollo or not.
Unfollow la Receta.
Mahatma Rice.
Announcer: Levenger-- nearly 40 years of craftmanship for readers, writers, thinkers, and doers.
Announcer: Proud to support "Pati's Mexican Table" on public television.
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