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Directions for the Red Chile Sauce

Remove the stems, seeds and veins from the Ancho Chile pods (5-6 pods). Place them in a pan with enough water to cover them. Bring the water and the pods to boiling and then turn down to simmer for 15-20 minutes. Stir occasionally making sure the pods are under the water.
When the pods finish, place them in a blender with garlic (1 Tbs), flour (3 Tbs), Water (3 cups) and salt (1.5 tsp). Blend well and set aside.

Directions for the Pork Filling

Instant Pot:
Turn the instant pot on saute and add oil (1 Tbs). Cut the pork up and season generously with Adobo seasoning and garlic powder. Saute the pork in the instant pot. Add the chicken stock (3 cups) to the instant pot.
Cook on high pressure for 60 minutes and allow the pressure to naturally release. Keep the broth from the instant pot for the masa.

Take the pork out and allow to cool slightly. Shred the pork and remove any fat.

In a large pan, add 6 Tbs of the broth from the instant pot along with 3 Tbs of flour. Whisk the flour into the broth and make a paste. Using a strainer (this removes all of the larger pieces of the chiles), pour about 1 cup of the red chile sauce into the pan and whisk together with the flour and broth paste. The sauce will still be very thick so add some more red chile sauce to start thinning it out but not too much.
Start adding the shredded pork into the sauce and continue to stir and add sauce until you have the consistency that you want for the filling. If in doubt, add a little more sauce for a more juicy filling.

Directions for the Masa

In a pan, start to melt the lard. While the lard is melting add the masa (4 Cups), salt (3 teaspoons), and the baking powder (3 teaspoons) in a mixer or large bowl. Mix these dry ingredients well. Once the lard is melted, add it to the dry ingredients slowly and let it incorporate. Slowly add the broth next. The mixture should start getting the same consistency as peanut butter. As everything is mixing, add the red chili sauce slowly.

Making the tamales

Make sure the corn husks have been soaking for a while to make them pliable.
I Like to get all of the ingredients together (Corn husks, masa, pork mixture and cheese). I also put 2 cups of water in the bottom of the instant pot and place a steaming pan in the instant pot.

Take a corn husk and place a spoonful of masa on the husk and spread it out (I like to use a ziploc bag as a glove to spread the mixture). It’s best to start from the wide side of the husk and spread the masa about a half inch from the top to half way down the husk. Once the mixture is spread out, add some pork down the middle of the masa with some cheese. Now, take one side of the corn husk and fold it over and wrap up the tamale. Once it’s wrapped, take the bottom of the husk and fold it upwards which will hold the tamale together. Some people use some husk in strips to tie it closed. The idea is to keep the tamale closed while it steams.

As you finish wrapping the tamales, place them in the steaming tray. Once the instant pot is full, turn the instant pot on manual, 45 minutes high pressure and close the lid.

Remove the tamales and enjoy.
This recipe makes about 3 dozen tamales.

Below is a recipe for tamale gravy that can be made while the tamales cook.

Tamale Gravy

• 2 Tbs unsalted butter
• 3 Tbs flour
• 2 Cups beef broth
• 1 Tbs Adobo sauce
• 1 tsp taco seasoning
• 3-4 slices of American cheese

Melt the butter (2 Tbs) in a pan and add the flour (3 Tbs). Whisk together to create a thick paste. Slowly add in the beef broth (2 Cups) and whisk to create a sauce. Continue to whisk at low heat (about 5 mninutes) allowing the mixture to thicken. Add the adobo sauce (1 Tbs), taco seasoning (i teaspoon) and the cheese slices. Continue to whick until all the ingredients are mixed and the cheese has melted.
Pour this over your tamales and enjoy.

Directions for the Pancakes

Add 4 Cups of flour to your mixer. Turn on the mixer and slowly add 1 1/2 Cups of boiling water to the flour. Next add 1 Teaspoon of oil to the mixture. Mix until the flour becomes a smooth dough and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Wrap the dough in cling wrap and let rest for at least 30 minutes.

Directions for the Pork

Cut the pork into small thin strips. In a ziploc bag, add the following ingredients, mix well and then add the pork to marinade for at least 30 minutes.

• 4 Tbs of Soy Sauce
• 3 Tbs of Sherry
• 1/4 tsp of Pepper
• 2 Tbs of Cornstarch
• 2 Tbs of Sugar
• 1 tsp of Sesame Oil

Prepping for the Stir Fry

While the dough is resting and the meat is marinading it’s time to get everything else ready. Scramble 2 eggs in 1 tsp of Sesame oil until they just set up (they will finish cooking with the stir fry later). Shred your cabbage, mince 2 tsp of ginger and 4 cloves of garlic and set aside. I like to put all of this in a dish because it will all be added at the same time later. Next cut the bamboo shoots, wood ear mushrooms and scallions into matchstick size pieces. Set these aside with the eggs as they will be added together later.

Prepping and Cooking the Pancakes

Cut the dough into 4 equal sections and then cut each section into 6 equal sections (making 24 sections). Make a ball from each small section and flatten it out with your fingers into a disc. Flour an area and start rolling each disk out into a thin disk (I like them very thin). Make sure you use enough flour so that they don’t stick to the surface. Once you have a couple of pancakes made, heat up a cast iron skillet to medium heat and coat the surface with oil. Carefully place a pancake in the skillet and allow it to start blistering on one side and flip it. You can keep them hot by placing them under a towel while cooking the remaining pancakes.

Cooking the Stir Fry

Once everything is ready, heat your wok and add 1/4 Cup of oil and let it get hot. Add the meat, without the marinade, to the wok and allow to cook almost through. Add the cabbage, ginger and garlic and allow to cook until the cabbage starts to wilt. Add the bamboo shoots, scallions, scrambled eggs and the mushrooms. If you like juicy moo shu add marinade until it’s the consistency that you want.