{"id":36760,"date":"2023-04-03T00:28:52","date_gmt":"2023-04-03T00:28:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/familiakitchen.com\/?p=36760"},"modified":"2025-12-21T21:01:48","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T21:01:48","slug":"vivis-red-enchilada-sauce-with-3-chiles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/familiakitchen.com\/es\/vivis-red-enchilada-sauce-with-3-chiles\/","title":{"rendered":"Salsa de Enchilada Roja Vivi's con 3 Chiles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This is the red enchilada sauce that Chicago\u2019s Vivi Abeja<\/a>, one of our favorite Mexican cooks, grew up watching her abuelita make for family and church gatherings. Well, actually \u201cit isn\u2019t the exact recipe my grandmother taught me, but it has all the same ingredients,\u201d she says. \u201dI\u2019ve changed my enchilada salsa recipe throughout the years with the amount of chiles I use to my liking. As we all should do with every recipe we come across.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amen. (P.S. That\u2019s pretty much the Familia Kitchen philosophy. Respect, deeply<\/em>, our abuela cooking traditions, but make them your own, whatever that means to you and your family.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like so many of the traditional Mexican recipes she grew up loving, this one brings so many childhood memories for Vivi. \u201cMy favorite time to have this salsa de enchiladas was in the summertime during August Fest in Little Village,\u201d a neighborhood in Chicago with a Mexican heritage, says Vivi. \u201cMy grandmother would sell her enchiladas for the church during that festival, and that was my family\u2019s go-to food stand every year.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vivi is freshly grieving the loss of her abuelita, Elisa Abeja, who died last month at the age of 92. She tells Familia Kitchen stories of the care and pride her grandmother took in making what she called “poor people food,\u201d finding the most delicioso ways to use the least amount of ingredients in the Mexican dishes she made for her eight children and dozens of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Vivi
Vivi Abeja and her much-loved abuelita, Elisa Abeja, que descanse en paz, who taught her how to make this red enchilada sauce and so many more Mexican family-famous recipes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Over time, Vivi memorized her grandmother\u2019s recipes, and soon she was the one in the kitchen. \u201cI made enchiladas for my grandmother and myself when I would take care of her, and they were always a treat for us,\u201d recalls Vivi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Vivi\u2019s favorite type of enchilada to make with this salsa? No surprise: The one from her family\u2019s Mexican home state, Vivi says. \u201cWe make traditional enchiladas Michoacanas <\/a>by filling them with crumbled-up queso fresco and small diced white onion. Those are my favorite. They remind me of my childhood. I also absolutely love switching it up and adding queso chihuahua instead of queso fresco. Or adding shredded chicken for some protein.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inspired by her grandmother\u2019s faith and belief in the power of feeding others, Vivi started making and selling her grandmother\u2019s family recipes on the streets of Little Village during the early days of COVID. Scouted for her talent, Vivi was invited to attend a community-based cooking school<\/a>. She graduated in the first-ever class and is now a young chef in the Chicago restaurant scene. She also hosts a Mexican food cook-along Live series on her Instagram channel Vivis_Table<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All thanks to her abuelita\u2019s cooking, says Vivi. Furthering her grandmother\u2019s mission of \u201cpoor people food\u201d is now her own personal and professional calling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making this enchilada sauce is an act of love and remembrance for Vivi. She will continue cooking it for family gatherings. \u201cI love prepping this salsa because I can use it for many recipes. The same sauce we use for enchiladas is the same sauce we use for pampazos [fried Mexican tortas with sauce-soaked bread], caldos<\/a> and chilaquiles<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vivi might even make this enchilada sauce for the Little Village church festival this summer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more of Vivi\u2019s Mexican family recipes, check out her grandmother\u2019s uchepos<\/a> (fresh-corn tamales); chicken fajitas<\/a>; carne en salsa verde stew<\/a>; and sweet, crispy bu\u00f1uelos<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ready to Make Vivi\u2019s Red Enchilada Sauce?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
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Vivi\u2019s Red Enchilada Sauce with 3 Chiles<\/h2>\n\n
\n \t\t \t\t\tRecipe by Vivi Abeja<\/span>\n \t\t\n
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