You can pretty much fill the tamales with anything you want really. I used kimchi and a bit of cheese. Sounds odd, but they were fuckin fantastic in my opinion. Omit cheese to make the filling vegan. Because I can't get corn husks here, I used coffee filters. Apparently you can use that or soaked parchment paper, thanks be to the internets. I also don't have a proper tamale steamer, so I improvised. When it comes to the amount of corn flour, I tried my best to guess, but it might not be exact. Basically, you want the masa(dough) to be smooth enough to spread, but not too creamy. You also don't want it too hard, because then you'll have thick tough balls of cooked dough for tamales. It should be close to the consistency of a batch of mashed potatoes before adding milk and butter to make them creamy, that's the closest thing I can think it looks/feels like. Touch your food, with clean hands of course. I eyeball almost all of my cooking, so I'm just making the disclaimer if you used the amounts I have here and they didn't come out to your liking. Always try again, I've learned through many mistakes over and over, it's okay.
A final note on corn flour. If you can, actively seek out non-GMO corn flour. I won't go into details too much, but basically, what they have done to corn in the modern age is absolute shit. I'll let you do the research and make your own decisions. I ordered my corn flour online, and was able to find non-GMO from www.fbcusa.com which is a handy site if you live in Japan, try iherb.com if living in the U.S. Let's get to tamales:
Utensils needed:
One big ass pot
A vegetable steamer
A wire whisk (not that plastic shit)
Large mixing bowl
CLEAN small towel or large rag
Coffee filters, or parchment paper that has been soaked in water. I used these coffee filters:
Makes about 10 to 12 very small (about finger length) tamales depending on how big your coffee filters are
Ingredients:
Vegetable shortening, 120g tube
Corn flour, about 1 cup I think
Baking powder, about 1/2 teaspoon
Salt, a few pinches
Any spices you'd like or dried herbs, like pepper, oregano, cilantro, etc. A small pinch of each
Warm to hot water, about 1/2 cup
Filling for tamales. I used kimchi and cheese. About half a cups worth. Raisins and nuts or fruit like pineapple if making sweet tamales.
Make sure you have all the right utensils for making the tamales before starting your mixing.
First, use a sharp knife to literally cut open the tube of shortening, because who the hell puts shortening in a tube (oh Japan...)? Squeeze all the shortening out into the large mixing bowl. Now the labor part.
Using the wire whisk, mix the shortening to make it fluffy. Pretend you are lifting an egg white. It's the same motion, but since the shortening is very thick, it requires a ton more muscle and work. Once the shortening is fluffy and smooth, basically when you're out of breath and your arm hurts, it is ready. Remember to take breathing breaks in between. This fluffiness takes me anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes, and it's not really a step that can be skipped, sorry.
In another medium bowl, add the corn flour, the baking powder, the salt, and any spices. If you are making sweet tamales, add a bit of sugar and instead of oregano and cilantro etc, use cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, etc. Mix well with a fork to incorporate everything.
Add about half of the corn flour mixture and a few tablespoons of the hot water into the bowl with the fluffed shortening. Use a medium spoon to mix the dough, folding everything together. Once mixed well, add more corn flour and hot water, and mix again. Do this until the masa (dough) is mixed well, and the texture is sort of similar to a less creamy version of mashed potatoes. You may have to use your hands, that's okay.
**Feel free to do some internet research on the "right" consistency of tamal masa. You will be overwhelmed with what everyone thinks is "right," but it also depends a whole lot on your corn flour and personal preference, so experiment. P.S. fuck GMO cornflour! If you're in the U.S., that's pretty much all you'll find in the stores. Very sad teary reality. You might be able to find non-GMO corn flour in health food stores and such, that's your best bet. If not, online. Try other varieties of non-GMO cornflour too. Corn in nature has such rich diversity and colors/flavors, but unfortunately that is being destroyed at an alarming rate. Okay, back to the recipe.
Prepare the pot and vegetable steamer. Add about 2 to 4 cups of water to the pot. There should be enough water to cover the bottom of the pot so all the water doesn't evaporate during steaming, but not enough water to boil up onto the vegetable steamer (which would wet the tamales, a no no). Turn the heat on to medium and cover the pot
You're ready to spread. Cut the coffee filter if needed as such:
Place about 2 tablespoons of the masa into the center using a medium spoon. Spread the masa evenly out from the center. Add about a teaspoon and a half of the filling to the middle. Press both sides of the coffee filter so the masa touches and wraps up the filling. You can use your fingers to help make sure the filling is sealed into the masa well, like you would a dumpling. Wrap the coffee filter around the tamal to seal it in well and place on the vegetable steamer in the pot.
These are the finished product wrapped in the coffee filter, but basically, you want to wrap the tamales as such:
Continue to place wrapped uncooked tamales on the steamer in the big pot until you run out of masa. Place them evenly around the steamer to make sure the steam will get to all of them evenly.
Place a clean towel or rag over the tamales as such, making sure it doesn't touch the sides of the pan:
**If you are lucky enough to have a very deep pot, you can make more tamales. Basically, stack a layer of tamales on top of the rag/towel, place another towel/rag on top of that layer and keep stacking. Make sure you cover the last layer with a rag/towel though. If making more, obviously, double or triple etc. the ingredients used.
Once the water comes to a boil you have 2 options: Option 1) You can leave it on medium heat. This will cook the tamales within about 40 minutes or so, but you run the risk of the tamales coming out drier because it is harder to control the heat.
Option 2) lower the heat to medium low, it'll take the tamales about 1 and a half hours to cook, but they are more likely to come out moist (not wet) and smoother. Cover the pot for both options.
The tamales are ready when they are cooked through. When you press on it, it should no longer be mushy and spring back. Yet, they should not be hard like a dense cake or bread either, that means they are overdone. You may have to make a few batches to learn how to know when tamales are ready. I wish I could put into words the smell of a tamal that is ready, but that's just something you'll have to figure out.
Notes: Don't be scared of making tamales. They can be a very fun, albeit labor-intensive, process. Getting friends and family involved is also awesome. Plus, if you are able to make these in Japan, you can wow the hell out of your coworkers/everyone, it's not everyday someone makes a traditional Mexican food like tamales in Japan (if ever). Also, mistakes happen. I've made many many batches throughout the years, and have finally learned what it is I like and how to make tamales I can call my own. You learn by fucking up, but it's worth it. Finally, try all sorts of fillings. Chile and cheese, mole, beans, fruits, endless possibilities. Happy cooking!
