A Little Cinco de Mayo Controversy and Steak Tacos Recipe

Once upon the 70s when I was growing up, Cinco de Mayo was something we celebrated at school and no one got their chonies in a bunch declaring that it isn’t a “real” Mexican holiday, not even the real Mexicans who were living on this side of the border. OMAIGA, when did I start sounding like an old curmudgeon?

Since my mother was born and raised in Mexico, I always knew that Cinco de Mayo is NOT Mexican Independence Day and that it is more of a regional celebration than a national one. Cinco de Mayo commemorates “El Día De La Batalla de Puebla” when the underdog Mexican army beat the French forces on—yup, you guessed it—May 5th of 1862.

Nowadays, people get pissed because companies appropriate the holiday for profit without seeming to know or care much about the history behind the day and frat boys use the celebration as an excuse to get super drunk while wearing sombreros and ponchos.

I understand why people get upset about it, but for me it’s still a “real” holiday—I mean it’s not made up, La Batalla de Puebla did happen— and a chance to teach my kids (and anyone else who isn’t getting their Cinco de Drinko on) a tiny bit about Mexican history so they don’t think the holiday is really about sombreros, ponchos and drunk frat boys.

ALSO READ: The Crazy Truth About Cinco de Mayo

So in honor of Cinco de Mayo or El Día De La Batalla de Puebla I’ve got a classic steak taco recipe to share with you. Also, I’m pretty sure no one is going to take offense if you serve them steak tacos on any day!

Classic Steak Tacos

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. Knorr® Beef flavor Bouillon
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 lbs. flank steak
• 8 corn tortillas
• 1 white onion, chopped
• 4 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• Lime wedges

Directions:

1. Combine Knorr® Beef flavor Bouillon, olive oil and black pepper in small bowl. Coat steak with Bouillon mixture and grill until desired doneness, about 8 minutes.
2. Slice steak and serve in tortillas with chopped onion, cilantro and lime wedges.

 

Do you celebrate Cinco de Mayo or do you just like to eat tacos any day of the week?

Steak tacos recipe and image courtesy of ViveMejor.com