Tacos are the national dish of Mexico, dating back to the Mexican silver mines of the 18th century, when the word taco referred to gunpowder that was wrapped in a piece of paper and inserted into rocks. It was used to excavate the precious ore from mines and was called tacos de minero or miner's tacos. Today, the word is widely known to signify the leading street food and fast food item in Mexico – thin, flat griddle-baked tortillas topped with numerous fillings, folded and eaten without any utensils. A taco is basically anything eaten on a soft tortilla, and there is an infinite variety of them. In Sonora, in the north of Mexico, they eat the classic carne asada - thinly sliced meat grilled over coals and topped with salsa, onions, guacamole, and a lime wedge. In Baja, the topping consists of fried fish with cabbage and an acidic mayonnaise sauce. In Mexico City, sudados (sweated tacos) are the most popular option, filled with cooked and steamed meat. In Jalisco and Michoacan, they prepare carnitas, eaten in the morning or in the early afternoon, filled with deep fried pieces of pork that are sliced according to preference. Similar is the taco de cabeza, filled with pieces of cow's head that was steamed for a long time, and the customers can choose from slices of eyes, brains, tongue, lips, cheek, or ears. Tacos are mainly made of corn, except in the north, where wheat flour is used more often. They also differ in size, from the tiniest white tacos (blancas) to bigger ones, often made with blue corn. Most tacos come in pairs of two, in order to be able to hold all the flavorful and slightly wet ingredients. Some of them are fried until they become crispy and crunchy, in which case they're called tostadas. As anything can be a filling, there is a version made with fried veins from dried chiles, usually accompanied by salt, a tasty treat called tacos de venas. However, the standard is ground or shredded meat, cheese, potatoes, or vegetables and a topping of onions and coriander. Eaten at all times of day and night, one can find them on every corner in Mexico, in restaurants known as taquerias. Alternatively, they can be bought from numerous street vendors.
Tacos al pastor are thinly sliced pork marinated in a complex blend of dried chilies, spices, and achiote, stacked onto a vertical spit, and served on small corn tortillas with pineapple, onions, and cilantro. The origins of this vibrant street food trace back to the 1920s and 1930s when Lebanese immigrants arrived in Puebla, bringing with them the method of roasting lamb on a vertical, spinning spit known as a shawarma. Over the decades, local palates adapted this Middle Eastern technique, substituting the original lamb with thinly sliced pork shoulder and replacing Mediterranean spices with indigenous ingredients. Handling the meat involves a meticulous multi-day process. The pork is bathed in a thick, vibrant red adobo. This marinade relies heavily on rehydrated guajillo and ancho chilies, acidic vinegar, earthy cumin, fragrant oregano, and a dense paste made from crushed annatto seeds called achiote, which imparts the signature crimson hue. The marinated pork slices are tightly layered onto a long metal rod, forming a large, bell-shaped mound called a trompo. An onion and a peeled pineapple are typically placed at the very top of the spit. As the metal rod slowly rotates next to a vertical gas-powered heat source, the outer layer of the pork develops a charred, crispy crust while the interior remains succulent, constantly basted by the dripping juices of the roasting fruit above. While pork remains the standard base, multiple variations exist to accommodate different tastes. Chicken al pastor has emerged as a lighter alternative, utilizing the exact same red adobo but applied to stacked poultry. Plant-based iterations frequently utilize sliced king oyster mushrooms or textured soy protein bathed in the chile paste and griddled rather than spit-roasted. Another highly popular adaptation is the gringa, which takes the carved al pastor meat and places it inside a flour tortilla with melted cheese, then heats the entire package on a flat-top grill until the cheese bubbles. The serving style is fast-paced and visually theatrical. An individual wielding a long, sharp knife shaves the deeply caramelized exterior of the spinning meat directly into a pair of small, warm corn tortillas held in the opposite hand. A flick of the wrist slices a thin wedge of roasted pineapple from the top of the spit, letting it fall perfectly onto the waiting meat. The assembled meal is immediately dressed with finely diced white onions, chopped fresh cilantro, a generous squeeze of lime juice, and a spoonful of spicy salsa—most often a smoky chipotle or a bright, fiery salsa verde made from tomatillos.
Tostada is a Mexican dish consisting of toasted tortillas (hence the name) filled with various meats and vegetables. The dish is often topped with melted cheese, although there are numerous variations of tostada recipes throughout Latin America. In Mexico, tostadas are usually filled with shredded chicken, beans, chilis, lettuce, and avocado slices. Traditionally, the tortilla is slightly creased, a practice that originated from the need to use up tortillas that were not so fresh.
Tamal is a dish dating back to the Aztecs, consisting of corn masa dough with a filling that can be either savory or sweet, steamed and wrapped in corn husks, leaves, or banana leaves. The tamales are traditionally accompanied by atole, a masa drink. Even though it is common for Mexican food to be served with a variety of sauces and salsas, tamales are the exception because they are usually eaten plain and simple without any sauces, although it is not a rule set in stone. One of the first records of tamales dates back to the 1550s when the Spaniards were served the dish by the Aztecs who made them with beans, meat, and chiles. Today, the fillings can be anything from beans to chicken, fish, pork, hard cooked eggs, pumpkin seeds or squash. Tamales rojo (red tamales) are filled with shredded meat such as beef or pork in a red chili sauce. Tamales verde (green tamales) have the same meat and a different sauce made from sour, green tomatillos. Tamales dulce, the sweet variety, is filled with dried fruits such as raisins or berries. Hot and flavorful tamales vary by region. In Culiacan and Sinaloa, they like them with sweet brown beans, pineapple, and corn. In Oaxaca, tamales are drizzled with the regional speciality called black mole, and in Yucatan, there is a variety with a filling consisting of chicken, tomato, and achiote. Whatever the variety, tamales have a special place in the colorful Mexican cuisine and culture.
Chilaquiles are, at their most basic, an assembly of fried tortilla pieces drenched in chili sauce with optional meat and vegetables. The dish is popular both in Mexico and the United States as a great way to use up leftover, stale tortillas. The name of the dish is derived from chil-a-quilitl, meaning greens or herbs in a chili broth. Today, there is a great number of regional variations of the dish, so in Sinaloa it is prepared with a white sauce, and in Mexico City, the dish is traditionally topped with epazote sprigs.
Mollete is a traditional sandwich from northern Mexico consisting of a halved bolillo bread roll that is topped with refried beans, cheese, and tomato salsa. It can be found throughout Mexico in numerous coffee shops, restaurants, and street food stalls. The sandwich has roots in Andalusia, Spain, where molletes signifies a rustic, oval-shaped bread that has been a breakfast staple for many years. However, the Spanish version is much simpler, served with olive oil, tomato, and garlic. Mexican molletes are sometimes referred to as a distant cousin of the Italian bruschetta, and in southern parts of the country, they are often served with pico de gallo and topped with bacon and mushrooms. With its rising popularity, molletes have even made it to the United States, so it is unsurprising that a sweet version of the dish also exists, made with butter, sugar, and honey instead of the usual, savory ingredients.
Fajitas is a popular Tex-Mex dish made from marinated, grilled skirt steak that is served in a wheat flour tortilla. The earliest printed mention of the word fajita referring to food appeared in 1971, and ten years later it had become one of the most popular dishes of Tex-Mex cuisine. The word fajita is derived from the Spanish faja, meaning girdle or strip, referring to a cheap cut of beef covering the diaphragm that was considered somewhat undesirable by many locals. In the 1930s, Mexican ranch workers used to tenderize the skirt steak by pounding and marinating it in lime juice before cooking it over an open fire and serving the meat in a wheat tortilla along with numerous condiments. Today, fajitas can be filled with grilled chicken, shrimp, and even vegetables, because the more popular the dish became, the less likely it was to be made with skirt steak. Typical condiments include ingredients such as lettuce, sour cream, cheese, tomatoes, or guacamole.
Frijoles charros is a simple Mexican dish consisting of beans, onions, tomatoes, chile peppers, and coriander. Meat such as bacon, ham, or salt pork is also used in the dish, but mostly as a flavoring agent. The combination of those ingredients is cooked with liquid in a pot for a long time, until the beans are tender and some liquid still remains in the vessel. The dish has origins with the Mexican cowboys who needed the nutritive value from inexpensive beans to sustain them for long days of cattle herding. Today, frijoles charros is usually served with rice and corn flour bread on the side.
Alambre is a dish made from finely chopped meat and vegetables such as beef, pork, onions, cheese, and peppers, typically served with a stack of corn or flour tortillas. There are a few variations on the dish, so in northern parts of Mexico, the meat is usually skewered and grilled, which is not unusual considering that the word alambre means wire. This simple comfort food can be found in several areas of Mexico, most notably in Mexico City and the state of Oaxaca, and its variations can also feature goat meat or chorizo sausage instead of pork and beef.
Aguachile is a simple dish originating from the Mexican state of Sinaloa. It is a type of Mexican ceviche that (in its most classic version) consists of fresh raw shrimp, cucumber, red onion, lime juice, and water-pulverized chilis, giving the dish its name. Unlike most ceviches, aguachile is served immediately after coating the shrimp in lime juice, so it is very important that the shrimp is as fresh as it can be. Aguachile is commonly accompanied by avocado and tostadas, while the beverage of choice is usually beer or tequila. There are also versions of aguachile prepared with octopus and scallops, but those versions are not traditional.
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