Mexican food is already known for its deliciousness and uniqueness.
It's no wonder that the North American country's specialties are favored by many people worldwide, such as tacos, fajitas, quesadillas, and others.
Mexican food is easy to find in many major cities around the world. The origin of the cuisine of Central America is the Aztec and Mayan civilizations.
Corn and chili are the mainstays of Mexican cuisine. The arrival of the Spanish also gave color to Mexican food.
This combination makes Mexican food even richer of the many dishes available.
Here's a list of traditional Mexican foods you must try at least once in your lifetime.
Tacos
Tacos are arguably the most traditional Mexican food. Like the culinary ambassador of the country of the sombrero hat, tacos are favored by many people because they are easy to customize with various fillings.
However, authentic tacos in Mexico are made from soft corn tortillas filled with various stews, grilled meats, and seafood. Then, the tacos are garnished with sliced onions, cilantro, lime juice, and chili sauce.
As they are known in the United States, tacos are made from wheat flour rather than corn. In addition, tortillas are baked or dry-fried and then filled with ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes, sour sauce, and hot sauce. This type of taco doesn't exist in Mexico.
Tortas
Tortas is the Mexican version of the sandwich. Each city or region in Mexico has different types of tortas with unique flavors. There are Tortas Ahogadas in Guadalajara, which means drowned sandwiches.
The meat-filled sandwich is served in a spicy tomato or chili sauce. The bread soaks up the sauce, so you have to eat it with a spoon.
Then, there's Cemita from Puebla. This sesame seed-studded bread can contain chicken or pork, Quesillo (Oaxaca cheese), Papalo, onions, avocado, and chili. This variety of elements makes for a lively texture in one bite.
Pozole
Pozole is a soup or stew that uses hominy corn with pork or chicken and other ingredients such as shredded cabbage or lettuce, radish, chili, onion, avocado, garlic, and lime.
Pozole is classified as a main dish and has three variations: Verde (green), Rojo (red) and Blanco (white). The difference depends on whether red or green sauce is added.
Pozole Blanco does not have any additional seasoning. Pozole rojo and verde are topped with red chili, epazote, tomatillo, and coriander.
Pozole is a soup or stew that uses hominy corn with a mixture of pork or chicken and other ingredients such as shredded cabbage or lettuce, radish, chili, onion, avocado, garlic, and lime. Pozole is classified as a main dish and has three variations: Verde (green), Rojo (red), and Blanco (white). The difference depends on whether red or green sauce is added.
Pozole Blanco does not have any additional sauce. Pozole rojo and verde are topped with red chili, epazote, tomatillo, and coriander.
Memelas
There is a dish called memes which, at first glance, resembles a common taco. Although both are made from cornmeal, the dough tends to be thicker and more oval-shaped than the rounded tacos.
This dish also often uses blue corn, making the dough's color blue-black. Another unique feature of memes is the topping, which is made of mole sauce made from crushed dried chilies and Oaxaca cheese.
Empanadas de amarillo
Empanadas de Amarillo is a traditional Mexican food from Mexico that can be found on the street. Just like Mexican food in general, this dish also uses tortillas of a larger size than the usual tacos.
The uniqueness of empanadas de Amarillo lies in its topping of yellow sauce made from chili and corn. Remember, the addition of shredded chicken certainly adds to the deliciousness of this one dish.
Tlayudas
Tlayudas is arguably one of the most unique traditional dishes in Mexico.
Although both use tortillas as the main ingredient, the tortillas used in making Tlayudas are not baked but burned and generally have a large size.
Because they are grilled, Tlayudas are known for their crispy texture. The toppings also complement its deliciousness, which consists of mole sauce, cheese, lard, red beans, cabbage, and avocado.
Pan de Yema
There is Pan de Yema which means egg yolk bread. This bread is shaped with a texture similar to brioche from France.
In addition, this bread also has a blend of savory and sweet flavors that are appetizing.
The uniqueness of Pan de Yema is how it is eaten and served.
This bread is generally served with warm chocolate, typical of the traditional recipes of the indigenous people of Mexico.
Piedrazos
Lastly, there are Piedrazos, a dish that uses bread as the base. It's bread dipped in a pineapple vinegar sauce and filled with potatoes, carrots, and onions.
It can be topped with cheese, sauce, or chili powder.
Per the Netflix series Street Food: Latin America (2019), Piedrazos are commonly accompanied by the signature drink aguas fresca, made from various fruits.
So, combining the deliciousness of Piedrazos and the freshness of aguas fresca is certainly a delight.
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