Mexican · Authentic-ish Mexican
Pozole Rojo
390 kcal a serving, against 669 for the traditional version. That is 279 kcal off, or 42%, with 40.9g of protein. Serves 8. 3 hours.
What the traditional version is
Huge hunks of fatty pork shoulder and trotters simmered for hours until falling apart. The broth is stained deep red with a blended paste of dried anchos and oregano. That's what gives it the famous colour. Big chewy kernels of hominy corn sit at the bottom. It's served with mountains of shredded cabbage, white onion and fresh lime.
What changed, and what each change costs
1500g of fatty pork shoulder swapped for 1500g of lean pork shoulder
Using a lean cut completely strips the liquid fat out of the soup. You get all the savoury pork flavour and the shredded texture, but you don't drink a cup of melted lard with every bowl.
What it costs you. The broth is noticeably thinner. You lose the heavy, gelatinous mouthfeel that makes traditional pozole such a legendary hangover cure. The soup feels sharper and less comforting as a result.
400g of hominy swapped for 600g of sweetcorn, and 200g of cabbage increased to 300g
Hominy is fantastic, but it is hard to find in a normal supermarket. Sweetcorn gives you the sweetness and volume you need without a specialist order. Because the broth lacks fat, you need more physical volume in the bowl to fill you up.
What it costs you. It shifts the balance of the dish. Sweetcorn lacks the dense, starchy chew of real hominy. It feels more like a light vegetable soup with pork, rather than a dense meat feast. It's the first compromise you'll notice when you pick up your spoon.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 669 | 390 |
| Protein | 38g | 40.9g |
| Fat | 36.4g | 15.2g |
| Saturated fat | 12g | 4.9g |
| Carbohydrate | 48g | 24.4g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 5.7g | 10.5g |
Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Mexican prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked.
The method is in the book
This is a huge, highly flavoured bowl of food. Call it a bright, acidic stew that relies on spice and crunch rather than a rich, fatty street stall classic and you'll be about right. The loss is the sticky decadence of slow-cooked pork fat. You get a lighter, sharper broth. The sweetcorn gives you a quick burst of sweetness, and the raw cabbage cuts right through the earthy chilli paste. It takes a bit of time to simmer, but it delivers an incredibly satisfying dinner.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Mexican, along with 56 more. Buy the paperback