NARRATOR: Major funding for "Dook Chase: A Chef's Journey" was provided by the Melvin S. Cohen Foundation Incorporated.

Additional support by Zatarain's, bringing the flavors of New Orleans home for over 125 years.

Zatarain's, born and raised in New Orleans.

From the spice of jambalaya to the flavors of a classic crab boil, it's a taste of New Orleans made at home.

And by Camellia Beans, rooted in New Orleans since 1923.

A family business with a devotion to beans spanning four generations.

Camellia Beans, a taste of home.

DOOK: This time on "A Chef's Journey," we're at Acamaya in New Orleans' Bywater neighborhood to sample contemporary Mexican cuisine from a classically trained chef.

Raised in Mexico City, Chef Ana Castro has redefined local Latin food with creative dishes that feature the bounty of the Gulf.

So let's head inside to meet Chef Ana and her sister, Lydia, the proprietors of this coastal seafood restaurant.

♪ (theme music playing) ♪ DOOK: We are here in Acamaya with Chef Ana Castro.

ANA: How are you?

DOOK: Thank you so much for having me.

ANA: It's so good to see you.

DOOK: And, and I know I'm in for a good treat.

Tell me what we're getting started with.

ANA: Today we're going to make a tuna tostada, but we make ours like really, really special, and I'm going to tell you why.

First off, we're going to start with a tostada.

So see how it's a little pink?

DOOK: Mm-hmm.

ANA: It's from the central valleys of Mexico.

So, so beautiful.

Over here, we have a charred avocado puree.

So yes, it is like, like oxidized color, but it is because the avocados are grilled, as well as grilled garlic, grilled serranos, and it's all in a paste.

So you're kind of going to do an even layer, like that.

Over here, gulf tuna, just like yellowfin, nice and lean.

Portion it and we pound it out so you can eat it in one bite.

We got a little bit of lime juice, and we're just going to brush it on the fish.

And then what is really, really cool, so furikake, Japanese ingredient, you know like seed mix and whatever, but we make ours with nori, sesame seeds, and a peanut called a Japanese peanut.

They were invented by a Japanese immigrant in Mexico in like the 1900s, and they're almost like tempura.

Nothing fancy.

DOOK: I love how you just simply threw in "nothing fancy" when this dish just... ANA: Nothing fancy.

DOOK: ...speaks to all fancy.

But I love what you got going on there.

ANA: But it is the South, we got to have peanuts.

DOOK: That's right.

ANA: And then from here, we just tilt it down so it's not that much.

Some flake salt, and some of this little shio koji, just for a little bit of extra kick on that salinity.

And then that's our tostada.

DOOK: You learned a lot growing up in Mexico City from your grandmother, right?

ANA: I did, yeah.

I had the absolute distinct pleasure of being raised by my grandma.

Just growing up around the kitchen, like always, you know, as kids, you always had to have like a job.

But mine, I think I always wanted to be in the kitchen.

It was unconscious, but I think I did spend a fair amount of my career rejecting, like, my heritage.

I worked in French restaurants, American contemporary restaurants, Italian restaurants, Nordic restaurants, so all over.

And it really wasn't until I started cooking Mexican food that I think I truly started to organically be able to create, and with confidence.

It was like a coming back home moment for me.

And the funniest thing is that I've never worked at a Mexican restaurant before, so you don't have no blueprint for what one should look like, feel like... DOOK: Right.

ANA: ...sound like.

We're expressing our own Mexicanity.

So we're going to do our local ceviche.

Ah, the fish is always rotating.

Today we're going to have cured snapper.

We cure it in salt and lemon zest.

A little bit of lime juice in here, and we... (makes sound) ...with our little bit of our tamari rhubarb that we made earlier this year.

We just toss that in there, and it goes into the ring mold.

So you're going to have to press it in, just so it keeps its shape when you take the ring mold off, and you're going to see why it's important that it keeps its round shape.

So now we're ready.

We're going to take the ring mold off.

Over here we have avocado puree.

It's just avocados, lime juice, and salt.

We're going to do one, two, three, four, five dots of avocado puree.

And then one of my favorite things to eat in the South, and I look forward to this season so, so much, muscadine grapes.

Here we have them.

So we're just going to start going like a shingle around the edges.

Obviously, you take the seeds off.

Here we go.

DOOK: How beautiful those look, Chef.

ANA: Thank you.

It kind of like mimics like fish scales.

DOOK: Mm-hmm.

ANA: You know the repetitive pattern of a scale, like that's why I like this dish.

So you follow like a circle right there.

Boom.

A little bit of flake salt.

And then we made a leche de tigre almost.

It's a very Peruvian technique.

Um, it's made with like trim from the fish itself, and that's what thickens it, as well as lime juice and other chilis.

We use chiltepin.

It's a tiny little, very fruity, very acid chili.

And hibiscus, roselle hibiscus, local, local roselle hibiscus.

So that just goes on the plate.

So this is our ceviche.

It's so beautiful, so delicious.

My sister will be here joining us any moment, so we can try some of this food.

This is my little sister, Lydia Castro.

My business partner, my best friend.

DOOK: You came to New Orleans first, right?

LYDIA: I did, I have now been here for 12 years.

Ana was in New York, and she was cooking.

I had just graduated college.

I went for, like, business administration, um, you know, majors.

And then I was working in corporate America.

ANA: Yeah, you were like, "Just come down here and like just like check it out.

Like maybe like take a break, like plan your next move."

And I came down, and I never left.

LYDIA: I quit my corporate job.

I started working in restaurants wherever she was working.

ANA: You worked like kind of like every position of the restaurant until you became director of operations.

LYDIA: Yeah.

ANA: We had the choice to continue down the path that I was going, and she would support me either way, or we had the opportunity to take a risk and like just be like, "Just let's just do it."

The restaurant opened July 4th of last year, so it's a child, this restaurant, truly.

LYDIA: The baby.

ANA: It's a baby that doesn't let you sleep.

It's a baby that like... LYDIA: That doesn't let you rest... ANA: ...that doesn't let you rest, but you know what?

We've loved every second of it.

DOOK: What I love most, not only this business, but just working with family.

That energy that y'all feed off of each other.

ANA: Oooooh!

You know it.

DOOK: Yeah.

I love it.

ANA: It has its challenges, of course, you know, because the intrapersonal relationship starts like converging with like professional relationships, but there's also something that you cannot get with anyone else, and I know you know this.

It's like, who else can you trust more than you can trust your family, like your sister?

DOOK: Chef in the back kitchen, you in the front of the house.

BOTH: Yeah.

DOOK: We always going to butt heads.

ANA: We're always going to butt heads, yeah.

DOOK: You know.

ANA: A little bit every now and then.

LYDIA: But we go to therapy.

ANA: Business therapy.

DOOK: Well, my therapy today is these beautiful dishes, looks like.

ANA: Okay.

DOOK: Tell me which one we're going with first.

ANA: Let's go for this one.

Lydia, you can cut the tuna tostada.

DOOK: Ah.

ANA: So you go the center out, and then you have the ceviche liquid, so you go like that.

Beware, I have an extremely acid palate.

DOOK: Oh, my goodness.

ANA: Thank you.

DOOK: That is well-balanced and full of flavor.

ANA: Thank you.

DOOK: I love that.

ANA: And then the tostada, the tuna tostada we made earlier.

So good.

DOOK: I get everything.

I love the toast, I love that avocado, that little char that's coming through... ANA: Mm-hmm.

DOOK: ...those seeds.

ANA: So we were talking about New Orleans, right?

How much we love it.

And like Mexicans, like we're obsessed with it, right?

Like even growing up, me and Lydia in Mexico City with our parents, New Orleans was talked about like by my grandparents like this like magical, mythical land, you know?

LYDIA: The culture, the food, like the community.

DOOK: I certainly appreciate how you take the New Orleans pantry, the local seafood pantry, the local produce pantry, and really share your culture.

You certainly have inspired me to get back in the kitchen and try to create some dishes.

Well, before I get back in the kitchen, I have to taste this one last time.

(laughing).

DOOK: Welcome to my kitchen, where inspiration and creation come together in a celebration of culture.

Today, we're talking Latin cuisine, bold flavors, so let's get started.

We're going to do a chicken tortilla soup.

We're going to start to season this guy up with a little salt, a little pepper, and what we're using here is boneless chicken breast, right?

Because we're going to pull it.

I have a little chili powder, a little cumin, and a little paprika here.

So we're not looking to cook this chicken all the way as we go and sear it, right?

We just want to get a sear, get those seasonings starting to speak to the pan, and we're just looking to get a good sear on it.

What I love about Latin cuisine it's just so many flavors that pop to you, right?

You have to get excited when you see that.

Look at that color we have on this chicken here, and we're just going to flip this over.

And see that brown at the bottom?

That's what I want.

We're going to deglaze just with water.

And you have to cover your chicken.

That's where we want it.

We're going to cook that on medium heat.

The last thing we have to add to our base of this stock is just a tad bit of tomato paste.

It's going to add as a thickening agent.

So this goes for 15 to 20 minutes, and while that's going, we're going to start roasting our vegetables.

So I have some tomatoes.

I want you to see, we cut them in chunks.

We followed that same cut with our onions.

Same process, right?

You don't want these to start to wilt before you get that char, that roast on these onions.

And then we have some garlic cloves here.

We're going to hit that with a little of olive oil, making sure we coat them pretty good.

A little salt.

So we're using red pepper flakes, right?

This is going to wake up that dish.

And we have a little oregano and some thyme.

These are going to go in your oven for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

Now we got our vegetables getting a head start.

The next thing we have to do is toast our corn tortillas.

For the amount of vegetables that we have, we're going to work with four.

These tortillas are actually a soup ingredient.

It's going to be used as the thickening agent for this soup.

So you want them crispy, so when you add it to the blender, it's going to mix up really, really well and create that consistency you're looking for.

So we'll put these in the oven.

And that's going to finish off the last 10 minutes of those vegetables.

They'll all come out at the same time.

I'm smelling my tortillas, so I'll pull those out the oven.

Next, we'll go get our vegetables.

I can smell that roast that's happening here.

Look at that.

This is what you want.

And yep, you want all of that goodness from the bottom here.

You know this soup is going to have that that, roasted vegetable taste.

Now, as you know, in my kitchen, we're not leaving flavor on the plate, so we're going to add a little bit of our hot stock right here, and we're going to deglaze right on top of here.

Swirl that around.

We're going to add a little more chicken stock that we have cooled.

And then don't forget, you worked hard to get this crust.

You hear that?

Just break it up and pop it right on in.

(blender whirring).

So let's go ahead and add this to a pot.

And we're going right in here.

And you see how thick that is?

That's those corn tortillas doing its work.

That's the thickening agent.

We have our chicken out.

We're going to let it rest and cool.

You don't want to fool with it because it'll burn your hands.

But I had some that we'd done earlier, and we allowed this to cool, and I'll show you just what you want to do, right?

If it's easier, you can just break it into pieces.

And we have a bowl here.

And it comes off easy, right?

Allow it to cool.

It's not going to be hard.

Take your time.

So to our soup, we talked about the consistency.

So we're going to take this, and we're going to marry this with our soup, and we're going to get the right consistency that we're looking for.

You don't have to use it all if you don't need to.

What I'm looking for is a little thickness, but still soupy, right?

But see that consistency?

I want it to coat your whole mouth, coat that palate.

This is right where we need it to be.

To this, we're going to add our chicken in.

And that's going to add some flavor to it, so that's why I didn't taste it before I added the chicken, because that chicken has those spices, right?

And we have to dive in and give this a taste.

Oh, man.

This dish.

You talk about those bold flavors, this is one of those.

So now all we have to do is plate this up.

Get our chicken in here.

Look at that consistency.

Man, this is an amazing soup.

So I have a little bit of our sour cream that we're just going to go right on top.

We have a little bit of these cubed avocados.

Finish it off with our fried tortillas, and then certainly just a little cilantro.

And man, when you're talking festive and bold flavors, this chicken tortilla soup certainly is a celebration.

Our next dish is a shrimp ceviche tostada.

When you're thinking summertime treat, it highlights our Gulf shrimp, but it's going to give you those bold flavors.

So let's get started.

We're going to poach our shrimp.

I have some water on a medium heat, and we're going to add a little salt to that.

And we're just going to lightly poach our shrimp.

This is not going to take long.

This is two minutes.

This is a 21/25 shrimp.

The numbers mean the amount you would get per pound.

The smaller the number, the bigger the shrimp.

But what we're going to do is we're just going to cut these shrimp in half, and then we'll build that ceviche.

So I love to use a bigger shrimp.

You see that coloration happening.

That's when you know they're cooked.

So we're going to actually take these off the heat, and that residual heat is going to finish these shrimp off.

I'll get my ice bath ready for them, and we're going right in.

This is going to stop that cooking process.

Now, what I love about ice baths is it also brings that color back.

So we'll set these to the side and let them cool.

And while those shrimp are cooling, we're going to talk about the tostada, right?

That's our fried corn tortilla.

I have some right here, and you want to go one at a time.

My oil temperature is at 350.

Let it go for one to two minutes.

We're going to flip it.

And you can see that coloration starting to happen as it blossoms.

We're going to give it a flip.

It puffed up, so we come right out of this, drain a little bit of that oil off, and we're going to let that rest.

So we let our shrimp in that ice bath cool.

You just cut that shrimp right in half.

We'll add in our shrimp.

We have some tomatoes.

I like to use Roma tomatoes.

Chopped fine.

We have some red onions.

We have some cucumber.

Some jalapenos.

We seeded the jalapenos.

That's where a majority of that heat comes from.

And some fresh lime juice.

Going to add a little salt, a little pepper, and some cilantro.

And you're just folding that in.

And this is right where we want that to be.

So now the ceviche's done.

We'll let that sit.

We got to talk about the spread that we're going to put on this tostada.

It's going to be a spicy mayonnaise.

So to that, I'm going to add a little salt.

I have some cumin here.

I have some chili powder, and I have some smoked paprika.

And we're going to mix that in.

And look at that color that's happening.

So you know this mayonnaise is going to have that flavor, that boldness, that little bit of heat coming from that chili powder.

Our ceviche is done.

Our spread is done.

So now let's build our tostada.

And we'll start just with the spread.

This is going to balance that heat when we come with the ceviche.

Right there.

And we start to add in, look at these shrimp.

I mean, when you have something as such as just beautiful Gulf shrimp that we have here in New Orleans, why not utilize it?

Let's put this one down here.

We're going to finish that with a little cilantro.

And then we have some beautiful slices of avocado that we'll just put right on the side.

So when you think of a dish that highlights the boldness of the Latin cuisine, but celebrates the bounty of New Orleans with these Gulf shrimp, this shrimp ceviche tostada will always hit the mark.

For our final dish, we're talking pork tamales.

Here in New Orleans, we love all types of tamales.

But how to start, you have to soak your corn husk for 30 minutes in warm water.

We want to rehydrate these peppers.

I have a chili guajillo, a chili arbol.

Really, you just put them in warm water, put them on the stove on the low heat, and you rehydrate them.

This is what you're looking for.

This creates that red sauce, and I'll show you how to do that.

But if we're talking tamales, we're talking masa.

So, to this, I'm going to add a dash of salt.

Right, we're going to start with our dry first.

I have two teaspoons of baking powder, and we're just whisking that in.

This is the corn flour that we'll start to build our tamale with.

So we'll make a little well, and we'll add in just a little bit of our pork stock right on in here.

And we just start working that in, folding it in, mixing it in.

Then now I'll move on to our water.

Folding it in, mixing it in.

This is where we're going to start to fold in our lard, going right on in.

And now we're going to work.

It's like a soft dough.

That's what you're looking for.

And I'll wash my hands, and I'll show you how to make this red sauce.

We have our chilies that we rehydrated.

We're going right into this food processor.

That liquid is very, very hot.

We're just looking to get the peppers.

And I mean spicy hot.

We're going to add some onions.

We're going to add a little bit of garlic.

And we're going to add some black peppercorns.

Not too much.

We have our pork stock.

And that's going to be the foundation for our sauce.

(food processor whirring).

And from those chilies, you can see the richness of that color that's coming from here, that redness, and I want you to see it.

Look at that.

You can smell that chili that's coming through.

A little bit of that garlic, that onion.

This is beautiful.

And that's the red that you see in those tamales, that color that you always get, whether it's pork, whether it's chicken, whether it's beef.

That's all together.

We'll turn this off the heat.

We have everything complete now; we just have to build our tamale.

There's two ends to your corn husk.

There's the wider end and the skinny end.

You want to work on the wide side.

So we go right in here, get our spread of our masa, and just come right on in.

Now, what you need to do is make sure you get it all the way down to this bottom, right?

You're not covering the whole tamale with the masa, right?

It's just that bottom half, but you make sure it's spread all the way through.

We'll add a little bit of our pulled pork right in the center.

Then you take each corner, and what I like to do is bring them together, fold one here, bring this to here, and then I just do a quick seal to make sure that turned over.

And then I can fold, flip.

And for those who, myself, like that masa, we just seal it right on in.

And go on right in here.

We're going to steam those for 45 minutes to an hour.

But if you don't have a steamer, I've seen where people have put foil at the bottom with a little water, and you cover it with a damp cloth on top, and then you cover that.

That damp cloth is going to catch that humidity, and it's going to work the same way.

All right, we're finished.

That's an hour in steaming.

And they certainly smell good.

Let's plate these up.

Get a little bit of that red sauce, and I'll put it right in the middle so you can dip as you choose.

Let's plate these guys up.

Put one right here.

They're going to be a little warm coming out the steamer.

And before I top this one, I want to open this one and just let you see.

I'll fold that the opposite way as we would do the tamale.

Look at that.

When we're talking Latin cuisine, it's a lot of fun, a lot of bold flavors.

So you can bring the family to your kitchen and have fun building those tamales.

So thanks for joining me as we explore the food traditions of New Orleans and the reason why we cook what we cook.

I'll see you next time in the next chapter of "A Chef's Journey."

NARRATOR: In his new cookbook, Chef Dook Chase explores the legendary dishes and unique food traditions of New Orleans.

This companion to "A Chef's Journey," with all the recipes from the series and more than 125 color photos, is available for $32.99 plus shipping.

To order, call 1-800-815-3153 or purchase online at wyes.org.

DOOK: Don't watch it.

Watch pot never boil.

We're coming in.

And now we'll start to add the gagooza, or the cacouza, you choose.

This is my Christmas in July, I tell you what.

Look, I'm working your whole farm.

Before you know it, I'm going to be a farmer.

VINCE: I'm going to hire you.

DOOK: That's good.

I want to get to work.

They look beautiful.

We'll start to turn these over.

CLEO: Ask questions later.

Never ask them while you were there.

And that was always my thing.

I'm like, "Why, why do we have to do this, Aunt Cleo?"

She said, "Don't ask questions, little girl.

Just do what I'm telling you.

Just do it."

And it was always a great thing to see her energy, to feel her spirit, to feel her come alive when she did these dishes.

DOOK: The goal was whoever eats last eats the little bit.

So, you got to beat your brothers to every plate of it.

Cheers, Mom.

Oh, awesome.

NARRATOR: For more information about "Dook Chase: A Chef's Journey," visit wyes.org.

Major funding for "Dook Chase: A Chef's Journey" was provided by the Melvin S. Cohen Foundation Incorporated.

Additional support by Zatarain's.

Bringing the flavors of New Orleans home.

Rooted in the city's rich culinary traditions, Zatarain's is born and raised in New Orleans.

From rice mixes to frozen meals, it's an authentic taste of New Orleans.

And by Camellia Beans.

You shouldn't rush a red bean.

Let it cook, then you can gather around with family and share in its distinct culture.

Camellia Beans, a taste of home.

♪ ♪