it has the largest maya population in mexico, dating back 4,000 years. the ancient maya were pioneering and industrious. they thrived here until the arrival of the spanish conquistadors in the 1500s. the region s turbulent history and unique geography have heavily influenced the cuisine. so today, i am trying cochinita pibil, which is probably the most famous dish from the yucatán. you can t come here without having it. it s known worldwide. hola. - hola. buenos días. - hola. buenos días. - buenos días. [speaking spanish] - [speaking spanish] now, there are variations on the recipe. but cochinita pibil is slow-cooked pork marinated in a tangy spice mix. oh, wow. traditionally served in a taco with pickled red onions. look at that. you know it s good when there s pork fat dripping out.
which is the way we serve it at the ixi im restaurant, so. - ok. this is beautiful! here in his kitchen garden, luis grows his produce the same way as the maya. - now, i m sure the ancient maya would feel at home in luis s garden, but what would they think of his breathtaking dining room? but i m at the heart of the action in the kitchen. - what? yes! - yeah? ok. - yes. don t threaten me with a good time. [laughs] salud. - cheers. - luis is from mexico city, but it s yucatán that s captured his heart. so what was your favorite thing about the cuisine when you moved here? - yes? this dish? - yeah, yeah. - oh, yeah.
to finally eat fish on a beach in the yucatán. do you know what? i m surprised that there isn t more seafood in the yucatán cuisine. - i know. back in the day, people didn t have the ability to refrigerate food at their homes. - mm-hmm. - my grandmother would tell me that when she grew up, people thought that they were gonna get sick of eating fish that was caught, like, in the morning. and with the heat, the food would spoil really fast. - the fish is stuffed with garlic, rosemary, thyme, that yucatán favorite, sour orange, and of course, a healthy dose of salt. when you have ingredients this fresh, simplicity is key. you have specialized in, like, opening up the gastronomy here outside of the traditional yucatán dishes. - i feel that here in yucatán, there are so many great ingredients that i want to just let the ingredients speak for itself. we re gonna put some oil on it to start out. we re gonna prepare the brush. and this brush is gonna be our secret weapon to just layer up
- look at that. - mmm. - right? - thank you for coming in. kanpai. salud. - kanpai. - we re confused now [all speaking at once] gracias. - i love how edo s cuisine captures the spirit here. like so much of the food from mexico city, it takes influences from all over the world, transforming it into something uniquely chilango. i m proud to be part of this great city, but. wow. i don t know if i can ever call myself a chilanga. i think somebody has to anoint me. i think there s a ceremony, and i m crowned chilanga. but i don t think so. not until i speak better spanish will i be able to be a chilanga. [laughs] [gentle music]
what is el recado? i ve never heard that word until i got to the yucatán. - el recado is a colored paste made from a combination of spices. they come in lots of different flavors and are used everywhere here, but you ll struggle to find el recado outside yucatán. - no. no. - no? - just here. - why? that s so weird. - that s weird. [laughter] - because it feels like such a good idea. - yeah. - like, to do a paste on chicken and fish and pork. - yeah. - is this their family recipe? - [speaking spanish] - [speaking spanish] - for generations, don enrique s family have been recado alchemists. - uh-huh.