Got My Mojo Glaze Working
The definition for “mojo” is a magic charm, talisman, or spell. Over the years, mojo has been used in song titles and lyrics including “Got My Mojo Working, a blues song written by Preston “Red” Foster and made popular by Muddy Waters in 1957.
Jim Morrison of the Doors used the phrase “Mr Mojo Risin” in his classic song LA Woman and it is actually an anagram of his name. OK, now I’m really getting off track.
The mojo I’m referring to here is a mojo glaze or sauce that I found in one of my cooking magazines for crusted pork nuggets but I can’t wait to try this glaze on chicken, fish or even some vegetable dishes. I can also see myself using it to add some “mojo” to some steamed asparagus or carrots.
When I did a search for mojo glaze, I found the recipes changed some based on what part of the world the recipe comes from. According to Wikipedia, the word “mojo” comes from “Portuguese molho, meaning “sauce” and is the name, or abbreviated name, of several types of sauces.”
They say the sauce originated in the Canary Islands where you’ll find both red mojo and green mojo in a variety of spiciness depending on what peppers are used. The basic ingredients will also typically include olive oil, garlic, paprika and cumin.
If you were in the Dominican Republic, you would call this sauce wasakaka and serve it with roasted chicken.
The version I tried has a more Cuban background and would normally use the juice from a bitter orange like a Seville orange but since they are not always easy to find, we tried finding Seville orange marmalade as the recipe suggested. Not to be found so we went with regular orange marmalade combined with a little lime juice to get the flavors we wanted and it worked perfectly. Can you imagine if we found Seville orange marmalade?
Mojo Glaze Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons red onion minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup orange marmalade Seville if you can find it
- 2 - 4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 teaspoons fresh chives minced
Instructions
- Heat a saute pan over medium heat until hot, add oil and when hot, add the onions. Cook for 1 minute and then add the garlic and cook for an additional minute or two.
- Be sure to keep stirring with a wooden spoon so the garlic doesn't burn. If you burn the garlic, toss and start over again. Burnt garlic does not do anything for this sauce.
- Add the marmalade and lime juice, stir and bring to a simmer. Let this cook down until the glaze begins to thicken and can coat the back of a metal spoon.
- As soon as the glaze reaches the desired consistency, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the minced chives.
- The glaze is ready to serve over pork, chicken, beef or vegetables.
- This is a good one and it's quick and easy to make at home.
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