1st post. 1st churro.

There are doughnuts in America, beignets in France and New Orleans, youtiao in China and sata andagi in Japan. But Spain and Mexico has the churro.  I guess fried dough is a globally embraced cuisine.


Disneyland.  That was my very first churro that I can remember.  It wasn't the best, but as a child, it was heaven.  The sugar and cinnamon was something I didn't get to eat often.


Fast forward 20 years later.


My first experience with a real churro was in Madrid, Spain.  A small café tucked away off the main street. Name of the café has slipped my mind. Blaming the birthdays.


In Spain, churros are not your typical $1 fried sugar coated dough from Taco Bell.  It is served with hot chocolate.  The chocolate is thick, obviously hot and not American chocolate sweet.  Simple and delicious.  America is on a constant mission to SUPERSIZE anything and everything, but the Spanish churros are smaller and more like fingerfood. Dip the churro in the chocolate and enjoy!


I was exploring a local Chinese market with my mother the other day and stumbled upon a box.  A yellow golden box with a free pastry bag- tip included.  What could be better?  My mother and I heard angels. Churros out of a box like pancakes made by Tres Estrellas.  You can't find that my Safeway.  It was just weird since we made this discovery at a Chinese market and not a Mexican market.  I guess this is one of the perks of living in America. It is a constant cultural adventure.  Although the 100 Yen Shop in Japan occasionally carries Crystal Hot Sauce. A miraculous find I must say. 

English.

Español.

Given that it is a "Product of Mexico"- English and Spanish directions are a given, especially in California. I'm not kitchen challenged. Yes, there are somethings that I cannot make but for those who are, I think they would have turned this simple box into a fried disaster and a potential fire hazard.  The Spanish directions call for "Hierva aproximadamente 1 taza de agua" and "1 1/2 taza de harina" which from my five years of high school and college Spanish, is to boil 1 cup of water and 1 and 1/2 cups of flour (but not together).  Flip the box to the English side and it will instruct you to boil 1 cup of water and pour the water into the churro mix.  How much churro mix? I don't know. It's Lost in Translation. Plus, step 5 is to "Fry fte Churros until brown" - spelling error.  Got to love those spelling errors, typos, however you may decide to categorize them, it is an epic fail nonetheless.  The English side of the box says you get a "FREE PASTY Bag"- hooray. I love pasty bags. Not sure what it is, but anything that comes out of a box-food related, I'm sure you can't go wrong.  Just like those Cracker Jack boxes.

The PASTY Bag

We fried. We dipped. We ate.

This is a simple and whoever is unfortunate to mess this up. I wish the best for those who depend on their cooking. But as the common saying, "Practice makes perfect."  Don't fry the churros till they are brown; Aim for golden.  That way it has that slight crunch yet, doughy on the inside.  The chocolate is optional.  My mother and I opted for more a smooth and silky chocolate, as opposed to a thick and creamy chocolate. 

I like my chocolate smooth.

In the end this box churro gets my Tres Estrellas for convenience, taste and price.  Less than $2 a box.  Sure beats pancakes on a Sunday morning.