Rico Huachinango En Aceite

"For a large fish, one and a half bottles of oil. $0.50 of tomatoes (if expensive), $0.25 (if cheap). Onion $0.12 (if expensive), if not expensive $0.06. 1 or 2 cents worth of parsley, and 1 head of garlic. Clean the fish and, after rinsing, fry it with half a bottle of oil in a fish pan; when it is par-cooked, remove it from the oil. In another pan with oil, brown a head of garlic and then grind it with the tomatoes that have previously been boiled in a small pot with very little water, a bit of salt, and a cent’s worth of mixed herbs. The tomatoes should be cut in half before boiling. In the oil where the garlic was browned, fry the sliced onions (not too thin), before they take on color, add the tomatoes, already blended and, if desired, strained, and let it fry well. Add the chopped parsley, salt, and pepper; with this sauce, cover the fish and place it in the oven or over two burners. Garnish with peppers and olives."

The original recipe is written in a conversational, almost shorthand style, with prices given for key ingredients—reflecting household budgeting as much as culinary instruction. Ingredients were listed based on expense and availability rather than precise quantities, which signals that the audience was assumed to be an experienced home cook, capable of interpreting measurements like 'un centavo de perejil.' Spelling was often phonetic, as in 'seboya' for 'cebolla' (onion), and Spanish grammar was relaxed and colloquial, mirroring oral instruction more than formal written language. Directions emphasize the key stages—sancochado (par-cooking), refrying sauces, and layering flavors—rather than time or temperature. This approach fostered creativity and adaptation in the kitchen, integral to the recipe’s enduring appeal.