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Pepián, Jocón and the Recados

Specialised

⚠ THE RECADO IS THE TECHNIQUE AND IT IS PRE-COLUMBIAN IN ITS METHOD. Seeds, chiles, tomato, tomatillo and spices are DRY-TOASTED on the comal, then ground — on the piedra de moler or now in a blender — and used to thicken a broth. No flour, no dairy: the thickening is seed and maize. PEPIÁN — the darkest and most ceremonious, with toasted PEPITORIA (hulled pumpkin seed) and sesame, guaque, pasa and cobanero chiles, tomato, tomatillo, cinnamon and often a little toasted tortilla, over chicken, beef or pork with güisquil, potato and ayote. ⚠ PEPIÁN IS NAMED AS ONE OF GUATEMALA’S EMBLEMATIC DISHES IN THE NATIONAL INTANGIBLE-HERITAGE DECLARATION, alongside kaq’ik, jocón and the Christmas tamal, and no single household version is canonical. JOCÓN — green, from tomatillo, green chile, cilantro and green onion, thickened with pepitoria and tortilla, over chicken, and strongly associated with Huehuetenango and the western highlands. Plus SUBANIK, steamed in leaf; HILACHAS; REVOLCADO; and the red recados.

Atlas — where and when

Where in the world

Communities and languages

  • Maya community documented

Languages: Spanish, K'iche', Q'eqchi'

What is recorded

  • The recado is a sauce thickened by dry-toasting seeds, chiles and spices on the comal and grinding them, using neither wheat flour nor dairy. Pepián uses pepitoria and sesame with guaque, pasa and cobanero chiles; jocón is green from tomatillo, green chile and cilantro and is associated with Huehuetenango and the western highlands. Pepián, kaq’ik, jocón and the Christmas tamal are named together in the Guatemalan national intangible cultural heritage declaration. No single household version of pepián is recorded as canonical. documented

Related foodways

This foodway relates to

  • part of Guatemalan Dishes and Regions documented

    Pepián, jocón and the red recados: dry-toasted seed and chile ground to thicken a broth, with no flour and no dairy.

  • related to Mexican Cuisine possible

    ⚠ Mexican moles and Guatemalan recados share the toasted-seed-and-chile technique across a shared Mesoamerican substrate. Similarity is not descent, and no direction is asserted.

Recipes

No recipes are filed under this cuisine yet.