The electric green colour of jocón comes from the combination of tomatillos and lots of fresh green herbs and vegetables. When you blend them together and cook them with the broth, the whole pot turns a gorgeous vivid green. It tastes fresh, herby, and slightly tangy from the tomatillos.
Jocón is usually made with chicken, which cooks slowly in the green sauce until it is tender and has absorbed all the flavours of the herbs and seeds. It is served with white rice and soft corn tortillas, just like pepián. Together, the white rice, green stew, and golden-brown tortillas look striking on the plate.
Tomatillos are a key ingredient - they look like small green tomatoes wrapped in a papery brown husk, and they have a sharper, more citrusy taste than regular red tomatoes. They are used in many traditional Central American dishes and are closely related to the cape gooseberry.
Like pepián, jocón is a dish cooked for celebrations and family gatherings. In some communities it is specifically prepared for weddings and major festivals. Learning to make jocón properly is considered an important skill that grandmothers and mothers pass down to younger generations in Guatemalan families.