Get ready to add flavor and color to your taco night with these vibrant and delicious hibiscus flower tacos! So, next time you make agua fresca de jamaica, save the blossoms to make hibiscus flower tacos.
Tacos are a beloved dish worldwide for their versatility and endless flavor possibilities. But have you ever tried hibiscus flower tacos? This delicious and colorful plant-based option is perfect for spicing up their taco game while adding a unique twist to their meals.
In this post, we’ll explore hibiscus’s origins and nutritional benefits and show you how to make mouthwatering hibiscus flower tacos that will impress your taste buds and guests.
Can you eat jamaica flowers?
YES. The beauty of hibiscus is that in addition to making delicious agua fresca, you can also eat the hydrated flower to make tacos, salsas, and salad dressings.
INGREDIENTS TO MAKE JAMAICA FLOWER TACOS
- Oil. Use whatever oil you have at home with a neutral flavor. I like safflower oil or avocado oil.
- Onion you can use red onion, white or yellow onion.
- Jamaica- hibiscus flower, hydrated and chopped. When you make hibiscus flower water, you can store the flower in the refrigerator or freezer in containers or freezer bags.
- Jalapeño or serrano chili. The jalapeño pepper is less spicy than the serrano pepper.
- Salt to taste. I like using kosher salt, but you can use sea or Himalayan salt.
To serve
- Corn tortillas
- Squeeze a lime, lemon, or another citrus.
- Avocados or guacamole
- Salsa verde or creamy jalapeño salsa verde
HOW TO PREPARE JAMAICA flowers TO EAT it?
- Prepare the hibiscus agua fresca as usual. Rinse the flower and drain; pat dry if necessary.
- Add the oil and chopped onion to brown in a separate pan.
- While the onion is browning, chop the Jamaica blossoms or put them in the food processor (affiliate link) (affiliate link) to make them smaller pieces. This step is essential, especially if the flower is whole.
- Add them and a jalapeño or serrano pepper when the onion is golden brown. I put it in large pieces, so I can take it off later if someone doesn’t want it.
- When the flower feels dry, it means that it is done, put a little salt in it, and that’s it.
What are flor de jamaica flowers?
Hibiscus and flor de jamaica are similar; in Spanish, Jamaica is pronounced ha-MY-kuh. Dried jamaica or dried hibiscus flowers infuse the liquid with vivid red color and tarty, cranberry-like, flowery flavor (like red zinger tea) when boiled or soaked for several hours.
Hibiscus is also known as Roselle, and it comes from the Hibiscus sabdariffa plant, originally linked to West Africa.
Now it is trendy worldwide: in Egypt, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Thailand, for example.
What are the benefits of hibiscus?
- Hibiscus has tons of antioxidants and C vitamins, and it tastes great. Isn’t it like a dream come true?
- It helps to protect us against cancer and lower blood pressure and cholesterol; it makes us look beautiful and young. It has so much vitamin C that it helps our body fight a cold and a sore throat. Likewise, it helps with menopause and acne; it is a diuretic and has many more benefits for heart diseases.
- That is why we drink and eat it. You’ll be surprised by how amazing it is.
Other ways to eat hibiscus?
- You can eat it in corn tortilla tacos with sliced avocado, guacamole, and chips.
- You can eat it on top of brown rice, quesadillas, or even hummus
- This is a type of salsa, so over the crispy potato tacos or sopes would be a dream.
• When you put the hibiscus flower on the pan, be careful not to burn yourself. Normally, when you add something wet to a pan with oil, drops of hot oil can fly around. So BE CAREFUL. • To prevent this from happening, you can pat dry hibiscus well with paper towels. You could also put the hibiscus together with the tablespoon of oil, so they heat up together, and you don't burn.
Agua de jamaica, hibiscus flower
We Mexicans are used to drinking hibiscus tea all day long. Agua de jamaica is one of the agua frescas you will find almost everywhere in Mexico. You can make it by Some other popular aguas frescas are: horchata, agua de limón, naranjada and agua de fresa.
Other recipes that you may like:
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Hibiscus tacos
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon neutral tasting oil
- ½ cup chopped white onion
- 2 cups hibiscus flowers after tea or agua fresca has been made with them
- 1 jalapeño or serrano pepper whole or chopped
- sal al gusto
For the tacos
- 12 corn tortillas
- 2 avocados or guacamole
Instructions
- Prepare the hibiscus agua fresca or hibiscus tea as you are used to. Rinse and pat dry the flowers a bit an chop them roughly. In a pan put a tablespoon of neutral tasting oil and the chopped onion to sauté.
- When the onion is starting to brown add the chopped hibiscus flowers and the jalapeño or serrano pepper.
- Leave on the pan until the hibiscus flowers are dry and crunchy on the edges.
- To prepare the tacos add a slice of avocado or a tablespoon of guacamole to a corn tortilla and one or two tablespoons of hibiscus.
Video
Notes
- How to make hibiscus agua fresca.
- The “recipe” calls for finely chopped onion because we want only the flavor and do not want to feel the big pieces in each bite.
Nutrition
information
Nutritional information of this recipe is only an estimate, the accuracy for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
I have a Profesional Certification in vegan cooking; in the world of cooking based on vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes… in clean, organic and vegan food.
My cookbook is called Yo Cocino Latino..
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I never thought I would like Hibiscus tacos. that much. They taste kind of chewy, meaty, spicy. Well, delicious, and the avocado just adds the perfect touch
Thank you.
Can you use fresh flowers off of the bush?
Hi there. You know what? I’m not 100 % sure, but I don’t really think that you can.
So good and beautiful too! I found the flowers to be a great substitute for meat because of their texture. I served them with salsa macha.
Great choice of salsa!!!