Tamales
Coming wrapped in dried corn husks is the flavorful Mexican delicacy, the Tamale. Many find the corn husk an amusingly exotic twist to the way the food is presented, but the husks actually serve a more utilitarian purpose: food storage and portability.
In today’s military, the term MRE is well-known to every soldier, airman, sailor, and marine. It stands for “Meal, Ready to Eat” (or as some of today’s warriors tease it, “Meals Refused by the Enemy”), and it is as it name implies, a full meal, that you can conveniently bring to the battlefield, and eat on the go (because your enemies won’t necessarily afford you the pleasure of enjoying fine dining while fighting).
In the time of the famed Aztec, Maya, and Inca warriors, they did not have MREs, they had with them something just as ingenious: Tamales. Who knows how many battles were won on account of who had a better Tamale to snack on? One thing is for sure, Tamales come with a variety of versions, each tribe having its own tweak on the battlefield delicacy, but all having the same concept. Now, thankfully, you don’t have to be warring with your fellow human beings to enjoy a good Tamale on the Central American plains, you can get good ones in many places in Mexico even in peacetime.
Making Tamales start with preparing the iconic corn husks in which the food is wrapped (in some places, they use banana leaves in place of the corn husks). The corn husks are first soaked in water to make them more pliable than they usually are, and then dried before they are to be used for wrapping the food. The corn husk (or banana leaf) is crafted into a pouch, which is then filled with corn dough made of ground maize. Mixed into the dough, for protein and flavor, are a choice of meats, cheeses, fruits, vegetables, chilies (of course, this is Mexico, remember), and Mole. The filled pouches are then steamed until the corn dough and its ingredients are cooked through. To enjoy this delicacy, all you need to do is peel off the corn husk or banana leaf (no, you’re not expected to eat those, too… it’s not THAT exotic), take a bite off of the Tamale, and all without having to be on the battlefield.