Some like it hot… and then there’s Mexican food! True Mexican cuisine is noted more for its unique way of combining flavors – sweet and hot, chocolate and chiles — than for its fiery appeal.
If you’re lucky enough to be planning a trip to Cancun make sure you sample the best tastes and flavours Mexico has to offer with our round up of the top 10 dishes to try while you’re there.
Mexican food lovers and connoisseurs would frown if I said that huevos motulenos are the Yucatán’s version of the traditional Mexican huevos rancheros. Instead, though they share the same basic principles of assembly, motuleños are in a class of their own.
This layered dish consists of refried beans spread on a plate topped by a pan-fried corn tortilla, topped by a fried egg, followed by a lightly spiced tomato sauce, another fried tortilla, and then more sauce.
The whole creation is finished off with chopped ham, peas, and fried plantain slices.
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Tamales served in the Yucatán area are quite different from the ones typically found in the United States, which tend to be compact and greasy.
Here, these tasty bundles of corn dough are cooked in several different ways, but all of them are wrapped in banana leaves, rather than the corn husks that are used in the central and northern regions of Mexico. They come with a variety of fillings, but usually include pork or chicken.
One popular variety is the Vaporcitos, steamed tamales filled with either chicken or corn in a red sauce made with annatto seed paste, tomatoes, oregano, onions, and
garlic. Other tamales are baked rather than steamed; these types are called chachaquas.
A popular variation is the Tamal Pibipollo, which is a huge chicken-filled tamale wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in an underground pit (pib). These tamales look charred due to their method of cooking, but when you open the leaves (which you don’t eat), you cut into a fluffy, cake-like tamale filled with juicy chicken. The bean-filled version of this pit-baked tamale is called Tamal de Espelóns (espelóns are tiny black beans). Colados are tamales where the dough is cooked by simmering it in chicken broth and then wrapped in banana
leaves and steamed.
This historic dish is one of the most popular varieties of tacos, with origins dating back to the 1920s and 30s and the arrival of Lebanese and Syrian immigrants to Mexico.
To create tacos al pastor (meaning ‘in the style of the shepherd’), thin strips of pork are sliced off a spit, placed on a corn tortilla and served with onions, coriander leaves and pineapple.
Traditionally grilled on a vertical spit, similar to a shwarma or gyro, Tacos Al Pastor is one of Mexico’s most famous – and tastiest – street foods. Although pork is traditional, chicken can also be also used – the key is the secret sauce it’s marinaded in.
Boasting the three colours of the Mexican flag, chiles en nogada is one of Mexico’s most patriotic dishes.
Poblano chillies filled with picadillo (a mixture of chopped meat, fruits and spices) represent the green on the flag, the walnut-based cream sauce is the white and pomegranate seeds the red. Originating from Puebla, history tells that the dish was first served to Don Agustin de Iturbide, liberator and subsequent Emperor of Mexico.
Roasted poblano chilies stuffed with a savory-sweet filling of ground meat, fruit and nuts is a classic Mexican dish for the holidays. It is also a favorite for national independence celebrations because the top is garnished with a white walnut sauce (nogada), red pomegranate seeds and green parsley, the colors of the Mexican flag.
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The Yucatán’s favorite snack, the panucho, is a must to try when you visit these lands. Panuchos are pan-fried corn tortillas, which puff up and are then slit and filled with refried beans and shredded pork or chicken. The tortilla is then topped with lettuce and accompanied by pickled onions.
Some people like to put them in the same category as salbutes, and tostados, but we believe panuchos belong in a glass all on their own. What we love about them is the flexibility of ingredients. The base of a panucho is what defines it; a tortilla stuffed with refried black beans and slightly fried on a hot grilll.
What you put on top of the panucho is up to the cook. It is a great way to get rid of leftovers. If you are a vegetarian, you too can enjoy this great Yucatecan snack. It is this diversity of flavors and culinary freedom that makes exploring panuchos throughout the Yucatan Peninsula an adventure.
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Not quite a meal, yet more than a beverage, licuados are blended drinks of fresh fruit, ice, and either water or milk.
Popular flavors include mango, banana, pineapple, and watermelon. You can also make up your own combination of tropical fruit flavors. They’re delicious, especially in the sultry heat.
Licuados and other fresh fruit juice drinks are ubiquitous throughout Mexico.[3] They are sold by street vendors, and in special licuado shops, restaurants, and fruterias (restaurants specializing in fresh fruit).
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One of the most traditional dishes in Yucatecan cuisine, salbutes are usually served as a snack or appetizer. A Maya version of an enchilada, they’re made from a corn tortilla dipped in a pumpkin seed purée, which is stuffed with hard-boiled eggs, topped with more purée, and served warm with a mild tomato sauce.
There are many variations of the toppings in salbutes, it can be pork (“Cochinita”, or “Castacan”), beef (“salpicón”), chicken, turkey, fish, shrimp, octopus, scrambled egg, or other stews or “guisados” such as relleno negro, picadillo, carne en salsa verde, even scrambled eggs or simply black beans.
And most importantly, Salbutes are always less crispy than Panuchos.
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Ceviche is one of Mexico’s more traditional ways to enjoy fish and seafood.
Ceviche is usually made of fish, but it may also be made from other seafood, including shrimp, octopus, crab, and even conch (the last is a Cancún specialty).
The fresh fish — or seafood — is marinated in lime and vinegar and mixed with chopped tomatoes, onions, and — depending on the region — cucumbers and carrots. Note that the lime
and vinegar effectively “cook” the fish or seafood.
This popular traditional breakfast dish features lightly fried corn tortillas cut into quarters and topped with green or red salsa (the red is slightly spicier). Scrambled or fried eggs and pulled chicken are usually added on top, as well as cheese and cream. Chilaquiles are often served with a healthy dose of frijoles (refried beans).
Usually, chilaquiles are eaten at breakfast or brunch. This makes them a popular recipe to use leftover tortillas and salsas.
Moreover, chilaquiles are often lauded as a cure for the common hangover; this is because in Mexico it is believed that spicy foods help in the recovery process from a hangover.
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Guacamole is undoubtedly one of Mexico’s most popular dishes but few know that this traditional sauce dates back to the time of the Aztecs.
Made from mashed up avocadoes, onions, tomatoes, lemon juice and chilli peppers (and sometimes a clove or two of garlic), guacamole is often eaten with tortilla chips or used as a side dish.
National Guacamole Day is celebrated on Mexican Independence Day, September 16.
