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Cooking Tips
Appears in
By Nik Sharma
Published 2023
- Preparing nopalitos: Most of what I’ve learned about nopalitos and Mexican cuisine comes from author and teacher extraordinaire Pati Jinich. Preparing nopalitos isn’t tricky, but it requires a little patience. The cactus paddles need to be picked of their spines and I always think of it as picking out scales or tiny bones from fresh fish. Be careful when handling nopalitos, as those tiny thorns might seem harmless but can easily prick your skin. I usually wear a clean pair of garden gloves to handle them because they’re thicker than regular gloves; if you feel comfortable, you can also handle them with folded kitchen towels or newspaper (that’s how I usually handle cacti that I plant in my garden). Wash the nopalitos under running water to remove dirt. Use a vegetable peeler or a knife to get rid of all the thorns. Rinse the nopalitos again and pat dry with a clean kitchen towel, then trim and discard ½ in [13 mm] from the bottom of the paddle and ¼ in [6 mm] from the sides. Many grocery stores sell nopalitos already cleaned but double-check them carefully like a hawk before you use them.
- Cooking nopalitos: Nopalitos release a viscous liquid during boiling or stewing, just like okra. This thick mucilage is made up of carbohydrates. If you want to get rid of it, a pinch of baking soda added to a pot of boiling salted water will help reduce some of its thickness.
- Like spinach, fresh nopalitos are rich in oxalic acid, and they will etch your teeth. Cooking the pads breaks down the oxalic acid, eliminating this unpleasant sensation.
- Grilling and searing are some other ways to cook nopalitos. Whole nopalitos can be brushed with oil and grilled until they develop nice sear marks and turn tender. Slice and use as needed.