Foods You Have to Try in Mexico

Filed in archive Latin Food on March 8, 2008

I was answering an email to a girlfriend who is going to Mexico in the next couple of months. Half the email was "you've got to try this" and "you've got to try that." I swear, it read like a culinary love letter: ode to my favorite cravings.

It's completely impossible for me to talk about a place and not wax rapsodic about the food. Food is so much a part of where I am-the taste, the smells, the colorful arrangements. And no where is a dish better than in its country of birth.

High cuisine is wonderful and can make for an enchanting experience, but I have a special weakness for the daily foods that scream of home. For me in Mexico that means cochinita pibil, pozole rojo, tortas ahogadas, agua de horchata, esquites, molletes, tortitas de coliflor, pescado tikin xic, gelatina de leche-I could go on like this forever. So I'll tell you about just a few of them.

Tortas ahogadas are originally from Guadalajara, Jalisco. Fortunately, they've spread all over the country, so it no longer takes a commando mission to find these amazing sandwiches (yes, that's the picture for this post). They're made of roasted pork with onions on a crunchy roll, drowned in a tangy non-spicy tomato sauce. Add a bit of hot salsa (usually red) and dig in. Man I love these things!

Tortitas de coliflor are cauliflower patties. They're coated in egg whites and flour, fried lightly, and served with in a garlicky tomato sauce spooned on top. They remind me of my grandmother's kitchen.

Pozole is also great. Pozole is a hearty pork and hominy stew found in different styles all over the country. You get to sort of put it together at the table. They serve you the stew and bring you a bunch of little dishes with things to add to your bowl: onions, oregano, cabbage (or sometimes lettuce), radish, and lemon. Its usually red or white. I prefer the red, almost brown version.

Pescado tikin xic is nice and simple, but very tasty. Its a grouper (mero) fillet marinated in sour orange and achiote, a mild red spice. It's either grilled and then served on a banana leaf or baked inside a banana leaf; and then it's served with pickled red onions on top.

Esquites are my favorite "junk food". I put it in quotes because there's nothing unhealthy about it, but as a kid I was fussed at for ruining my dinner with hit. It's basically a cup of corn. More specifically, its white maize cooked with epazote, an very flavorful herb. The corn stand worker squeezes key lime juice on it and adds red chili powder. (Some people prefer mayonnaise, white creamy crumbly cheese and chili powder instead of the lime and chili combo.)

This is just the tip of the iceberg. You can be sure I'll be adding more. In the mean time, feel free to share your favorites form Latin America.