Book of Days Tales

Today is the anniversary of the accession (686 CE) of Yuknoom Yich’aak K’ahk’ or Yuknoom Ixquiac (“Jaguar Paw Smoke”); born on October 6, 649 CE, as the Mayan king of the Kaan kingdom, which had its capital at Calakmul during the Classic Period of Mesoamerican chronology. This king acceded in his thirty-sixth year, but there are indications that he effectively governed the kingdom for a substantial period before this on behalf of the previous king, Yuknoom the Great. The latter, who may have been Yuknoom Yich’aak K’ahk’s father, lived well into his eighties and may have been incapacitated in his later years.

The inscription of Stela 9, from 662 CE in Calakmul, goes into great detail about the birth of Yuknoom Yich’aak K’ahk’ and accords him a full royal title. Thus, military victories in the following years, as well as assertions of the Kaan dynasty’s hegemony, might tentatively be ascribed to Yich’aak K’ahk’. These include military triumphs over rival kingdom Tikal in 677 and (quite probably) 679; supervision of the accessions of kings of Moral and Cancuen in 662 and 677 respectively; the dispatching of Lady Six Sky from Dos Pilas to re-seed the dynasty of Naranjo in 682, and a lieutenant’s action expressive of Kaan overlordship at Piedras Negras in 685.

The Mayans are believed to be the first people to have discovered and cultivated the cacao plant for food. The cocoa beans were ground up mixed with chili peppers, cornmeal and honey to create a drink called xocolatl. Only the rich and noble could drink this. They also used cacao beans as ceremonial sacrifices to their gods.

Tripe was not eaten by the Maya until Europeans introduced cows and sheep, but it is now extremely popular. Mondongo en Kabik, a red mondongo (tripe soup), is the most common in Yucatan. This version is adapted from Diana Kennedy’s marvelous compendium Mexican Regional Cooking  The main herbal ingredient in this soup is epazote which can be hard to come by. It is very common in Mexican cooking, where it is a typical flavoring for beans (supposedly because it reduces flatulence!). It can sometimes also be found under the names goosefoot, Jerusalem oak, lamb’s quarters, Mexican tea, wormseed, or stinkweed.

Mondongo en Kabik

Ingredients

1lb parboiled toalla or honeycomb tripe
2 cups sour orange juice (either fresh or bottled naranja agria)
1 calf’s foot or cowheel (or 1lb beef marrow bones)
6 unpeeled cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon fresh oregano
2 tablespoons cooking oil
½ lb plum tomatoes peeled and diced
1 small onion chopped coarsely
½ green pepper chopped coarsely
1 handful of fresh epazote leaves (or 1 tablespoon dried)
3 hot green chiles
1 teaspoon ground annatto

garnishes

lime slices
finely chopped scallion
chopped Mexican oregano
chopped chives
finely chopped onion

 Instructions

Cut the tripe into 1″ squares and place them in an earthenware bowl. Pour the sour orange juice over the tripe and let it marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

(Next day) Place a heavy (ungreased) iron skillet on high heat until it is hot and ready to smoke. Place the unpeeled garlic cloves in the skillet and agitate them gently until they are nicely charred on all sides. Remove the garlic and repeat the process for the oregano (being careful not to blacken it too much). Finally, do the same for the hot green chiles and set them aside. This toasting process is absolutely essential to get the authentic “burnt” flavor in the broth.

Put the calf’s foot (or marrow bones) in a heavy saucepan with 6 cups of water (or beef stock if you prefer a more heavily flavored soup). Add the toasted garlic and oregano. Bring to a boil and gently simmer covered for one hour. At the end of the hour add the tripe and the sour orange juice marinade. Bring the pot back to the boil and simmer for another hour or until the tripe is tender. Because of the marinade the cooking time is difficult to calculate. In theory the acid marinade is supposed to tenderize the tripe; but I find that it actually takes longer to cook it to the al dente stage than without it. Once the tripe is tender to your taste, cool the pot and refrigerate overnight.

(Next day) A great deal of fat from the tripe and calf’s foot will have congealed and hardened on the surface of the broth. Skim all the fat off and then return the pot to a gentle simmer. Remove the calf’s foot when it is warmed through. Take out and discard the bones, and roughly chop the meat, fat and skin. (If you are using marrow bones, extract the marrow and chop it, and discard the bones). Remove the tripe from the broth and keep it warm along with the chopped meat from the calf’s foot.

Chop the toasted green chiles. Heat the cooking oil on high heat in a heavy skillet. Add the onion, green pepper, and green chiles. Cook until the onions start to take on a little color. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for a few minutes longer. Add the annatto and two or three tablespoons of the broth from the tripe. Stir until everything is well mixed and heated through. Add this mixture to the tripe broth, and then return the broth to a simmer.

Traditionally the broth is served in bowls to each diner, with a plate of tripe and calf’s foot as an accessory. Large bowls of the garnishes are set on the table to be added to the broth as people please. Big hunks of crusty bread are a common accompaniment as are flour tortillas.   You may also simplify things by serving the meat and broth together as a big hearty soup (again, to be garnished as one pleases).

Serves 6 as a first course or 4 as a main course.