The Highs and Lows of Enchilada Night
“Don’t be too precious about writing.” So sayeth my friend and fellow writer Mattie Jo, which is how my very first post winds up being about enchilada night.
Low: I bought shredded mozzarella instead of Monterey Jack. MOZZARELLA. Is there a greater sin to commit as a Texan than subpar enchilada cheese?
I can’t help it that all off-white cheeses look alike. (#allcheesematters) Kind of like the billions of Asian people out there. Anyone with taste buds will tell you there’s a huge difference between Monterey Jack and mozzarella. Anyone with knowledge of Asia will tell you there’s a huge difference between Korea and Japan.
Briefly: Japan is a colonizer who wrecked my home country, and we carry a grudge so deep that we still don’t buy Japanese cars. China is the home of Confucius, and we adapted a lot of their language and symbols. Only one country can claim kimchi though, and that’s Korea. There. Now you realize why “Are you Japanese?” is a huge insult. Maybe worse than subpar enchiladas.
High: My 5yo child assembled all the enchiladas (with sharp cheddar) and volunteered to vacuum the kitchen too. Yes, please! She even got under the nonslip mat. This is why we had children, right?
Before you think I’m here to give myself Mother of the Year awards, please know that while those enchiladas baked, there was a sibling “hit in the face” incident. Moms everywhere know that pre-dinner is the worst 30 minutes of the day.
But we made it, sharp cheddar and all. The enchiladas were delicious. Is there really a bad combination of shredded meat, cheese, and salsa on tortillas? If there is, it probably involves Japanese mozzarella.
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Beautiful how you tied in the TX sin of confusing white cheeses with that of confusing Asians from different countries. Of course, to too many southerners (as you too we’ll know), the cheese mixup is the more egregious. Awesome writing and thanks for bravely sharing-keep it up, Em!
Learning a culture, whether it is Texas or Korea, takes some effort. Definitely worth the effort. Mozzarella enchiladas sound pretty good. With kimchi fries.