Mexican cuisine is a style of food that originates in Mexico. Mexican cuisine is known for its varied flavors, colorful decoration, and variety of spices and ingredients, many of which are native to the country. Cultural influences left from Spanish colonization of the Southwest and California remains not only in the names of places but also in the ingredients in cooking; these influences are strongly reinforced today by their proximity to northern Mexican states like Sonora, Baja California, and Chihuahuha.
For those of you who are planning a trip to Mexico, don’t leave the country without trying their cuisine. In this category, we will be featuring traditional and modern Mexican Food that can help your travel to Mexico be filled with deliciousness!
The mexican Rice, also known as the Spanish Rice is a side dish that is basically made white rice, tomatoes, garlic, onions, parsley, cilantro and other ingredients that you would wish to add. The dish is simply called arroz which means rice in Spanish. And it is usually served as a side dish alongside other Mexican cuisine.
And so to be able to enjoy this delicious side dish I’m talking about, here is an easy and step by step procedure you can use to try out and cook it yourself. Enjoy!
Ingredients
* 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 1 cup uncooked long-grain rice
* 1 teaspoon garlic salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1/4 cup chopped onion
* 1/2 cup tomato sauce
* 2 cups chicken broth
Directions
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and add rice. Cook, stirring constantly, until puffed and golden. While rice is cooking, sprinkle with salt and cumin.
2. Stir in onions and cook until tender. Stir in tomato sauce and chicken broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
Tamales begin with a dough made from nixtamalized corn, called masa, and are generally wrapped in corn husks or plantain leaves before cooking, depending on the region from which they come from. They usually have a sweet or savory filling and are typically steamed until firm. Tamales are a favorite comfort food in mexico, eaten as both breakfast and dinner, and often accompanied by hot Atole or Champurrado, maize-based beverages of indigenous origin. Street vendors can be seen in every corner serving them from huge, steaming, covered pots (tamaleras). The most common fillings are pork and chicken, in either red or green salsa or mole. Another very traditional variation is to add pink colored sugar to the corn mix and fill it with raisins or other dried fruit and make a sweet tamal (tamal de dulce). There are commonly a few “deaf”, or filling-less, tamales (tamal sordo), which might be served with refried beans and coffee.
Tamales is one of the representatives of mexican culinary tradition in Europe, being one of the first samples of the culture that the Spanish conquistadors took back to Spain as proof of civilization.
There is nothing that can be compared with real mexican food! And this Cheese Enchiladas is absolutely one of my favorites and i hope soon it’ll be yours too. Enchiladas originated in mexico and it is is a corn tortilla rolled around a filling and covered with a chili pepper sauce.
Although we all know that Enchiladas can be filled with a variety of ingredients, including meat, beans, potatoes, vegetables, seafood or combinations, i would still go with cheese. Why? Besides from the fact that it’s very easy to prepare, it will sure be a hit to the whole family including the kids.
And to make it more enjoyable to eat, don’t be afraid to put some tomato, avocado, and cilantro to the side to add more color and flavor. Then top it of with sour cream and guacamole. So time to dig in and enjoy your meal!
A rare tropical fruit that is home grown in mexico is the Cherimoya. It may not look very appealing as that of an apple or grape fruit, but locals swear by its glorious taste despite its somewhat pre-historic appearance. It is very similar in appearance to another tropical fruit – soursop.
The exotic Cherimoya tastes like the fusion of tastes of banana, strawberry and pineapple. It may be sublime when eaten by itself, but Cherimoya enthusiasts says its exquisitely superb when made into ice cream, smoothies or mixed with yogurt.
You can enjoy the rare Cherimoya during months of January to June, when the said fruit is in season.
Nothing beats ending a meal with capping it off with a savory dessert. Whenever I travel, it is imperative that I taste the place’s dessert offerings.
In mexico, one of the traditional and most popular dessert is the Tres Leches. A literal translation from Spanish, Tres Leches is made up of three different kinds of milk. It is so popular that a lot of restaurants in different parts of the globe are now offering this delicious dessert. Fortunately, you can now enjoy this dessert and indulge your sweet tooth at home. Try out the recipe below:
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup white sugar
5 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups whole milk
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9×13 inch baking pan.
Sift flour and baking powder together and set aside.
Cream butter or margarine and the 1 cup sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs and the 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract; beat well.
Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture 2 tablespoons at a time; mix until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Pierce cake several times with a fork.
Combine the whole milk, condensed milk, and evaporated milk together. Pour over the top of the cooled cake.
Whip whipping cream, the remaining 1 cup of the sugar, and the remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla together until thick. Spread over the top of cake. Be sure and keep cake refrigerated, enjoy!
A vital part of a travel experience is having your fill of the country’s street foods. When in mexico, a highly recommended street food that you can opt to serve in parties and other social gatherings, would be the tlayudas.
Tlayudas came from Oaxaca and is generally a huge tortilla with beans, meat and cheese for toppings. It is rather a very simple dish to prepare, so the clincher comes from one’s skill in whipping up great toppings. If you are pressed for time, you can just purchase the ingredients from a grocery, but its actually more fun to create it from scratch.
Try out the recipe below and re-live your Mexican street food tasting adventure.
Ingredients:
4 large flat tortillas
Black bean puree (recipe follows, or use refried beans)
Smear a couple tablespoons of black bean puree on one side of the tortillas.
Sprinkle cheeses and pork over the bean puree.
Bake tlayuda for 5 minutes, or until the cheese starts to melt.
Top with a small handful of shredded cabbage and a bit of chopped cilantro.
Bake tlayuda for 5 minutes more to finish crisping the tortilla. (Optional: one interesting variation here is to fold the tlayuda in half before baking the second time before the tortilla gets too crispy)
Serve in wedges with sour cream, guacamole, and salsa.
Black Bean Puree
Ingredients:
2 cups cooked black beans (Canned or dried, it doesn’t make too much of a difference. Drain and save the liquid.)
Three cloves of garlic, minced
1 small onion, minced
Half a red pepper, minced
Chili powder to taste
3 tsp. ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
Process:
In a frying pan, fry garlic, onion, pepper and spices until soft.
Dump all ingredients into a blender or a food processor with enough of the saved bean liquid to make a paste a little looser than tomato paste.
Mexicans love to eat and they cook well! No wonder you’ll find mexican restaurants in different parts of the world. Another dish that Mexican’s are famous for, is the Mexican Fajitas. Fajita is actually grilled meat served in flour or corn tortilla. In the past, the meat used is only limited to skirt steak, but today more and more people are innovating and re-inventing the fajitas by making use of chicken and pork meat and other beef cuts.
Want to create fajitas at the comfort of your own kitchen? Here’s a basic recipe you can start with. Feel free to alter some of the ingredients or the suggested portions to suit your taste.
MEXICAN FAJITAS:
2 lb. steaks (round, sirloin, flank, chuck)
2 med. onions, chopped
3/4 c. beer
1/2 c. oil
1/4 c. lime juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 to 2 tbsp. chili powder
2 tbsp. oil
1 med. sweet red or green pepper, cut in thin strips
1 med. tomato, chopped
16 (8 inch) flour tortillas
Salsa
Avocado dip
Salt and pepper
Thinly slice meat into bite-size strips. Place meat in plastic bag. Chop one onion. Combine onion, beer, 1/2 cup oil, lime juice, garlic and chili, pour over meat. Close bag. Marinate in refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight, turning bag several times; drain.
Wrap tortillas tightly in foil. Heat in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.
In a large skillet add 1 tablespoon oil, add chopped onion, peppers, stir fry 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until crisp-tender; remove from skillet. Stir-fry meat 1/3 at a time for 2 to 3 minutes until brown.
MEXICAN FAJITAS
2 lb. steaks (round, sirloin, flank, chuck)
2 med. onions, chopped
3/4 c. beer
1/2 c. oil
1/4 c. lime juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 to 2 tbsp. chili powder
2 tbsp. oil
1 med. sweet red or green pepper, cut in thin strips
1 med. tomato, chopped
16 (8 inch) flour tortillas
Salsa
Avocado dip
Salt and pepper
Thinly slice meat into bite-size strips. Place meat in plastic bag. Chop one onion. Combine onion, beer, 1/2 cup oil, lime juice, garlic and chili, pour over meat. Close bag. Marinate in refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight, turning bag several times; drain.Wrap tortillas tightly in foil. Heat in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.
In a large skillet add 1 tablespoon oil, add chopped onion, peppers, stir fry 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until crisp-tender; remove from skillet. Stir-fry meat 1/3 at a time for 2 to 3 minutes until brown.
Nothing beats ending a meal with capping it off with a savory dessert. Whenever I travel, it is imperative that I taste the place’s dessert offerings.
