There are a lot of Puerto Rican recipes you will find that call for these two common spice mixes: Sazon and Adobo.
Depending on your geographical location it may or may not be hard for you to find certain ethnic foods in the grocery store. Moving away from the bigger cities made it hard to find a lot of the traditional foods and spices used in cooking traditional Puerto Rican meals, so I learned how to create them myself.
Sazon
Some people consider Sazon to be an equivalent to Seasoning Salt used in North America; the word literally translates to flavor/seasoning. It is good on meat, in stews, in soups, with beans and in many other dishes. I found out the brand I was using contained MSG so I started making my own from scratch, which is awesome because then I can adjust the flavors to my personal taste.
Directions
This recipe makes about 1/3 of a cup.
1 Tablespoon Ground Coriander
1 Tablespoon Ground Cumin
1 Tablespoon Ground Annatto Seed or Paprika
1 Tablespoon Granulated Garlic
1 Tablespoon Sea Salt
2 Teaspoons Dry Oregano
Mix together. Store in a glass jar in a cool dry place for up to 6 months.
For those of you who are familiar with Sazon, you know it is usually used by the packet. When a recipe calls for a “packet” of Sazon you use 1 ½ teaspoons of your homemade Sazon.
Adobo
Adobo is somewhat similar to Sazon, yet it is its own mix. It is also similar to a seasoning salt or spice mix. It is one of the key spice blends used in dishes like Arroz con gandulez (rice and beans), different meats, and stews.
Directions
This recipe will make 1 ¼ – 1 ½ cups of seasoning.
6 Tablespoons Salt
6 Tablespoons Granulated Garlic
4 Tablespoons Oregano
2 Tablespoons Black Pepper
2 Tablespoons Turmeric
2 Tablespoons Onion Powder
Mix together. Store for about 6 months in an airtight container.
