Peculiarities of Mexican cuisine and the main products of local chefs. Main dishes of Mexican cuisine

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Mexican cuisine, which unites the culinary traditions of several nations, will appeal to everyone who loves juicy and bright flavors. Knowing certain tricks, anyone can cook its most popular dishes. All you need is a small list of familiar ingredients and, of course, your desire to experiment.

website I have selected 6 excellent Mexican dishes that will delight guests and are easy to prepare at home.

Fajitas

This is perhaps the most popular dish in Mexican cuisine. It is customary to serve the filling hot, right in the frying pan, and always along with traditional tortillas. This way, each guest can choose what to wrap in the flatbread and what sauces to eat it with.

Ingredients:

  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1 yellow bell pepper
  • 1 red onion
  • 1 chili pepper
  • 1 can canned red beans
  • 300 g beef
  • 2 tbsp. l. tomato paste
  • 3 tbsp. l. vegetable oil
  • 1 lime
  • 4 wheat or corn tortillas

Preparation:

  1. Cut beef tenderloin, bell pepper and chili pepper into thin strips.
  2. Marinate the meat in lime juice for 1 hour.
  3. Place vegetables on a hot frying pan and fry for 10 minutes.
  4. Add the beef to the vegetables and fry for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Add tomato paste and beans to the contents of the frying pan, stir and keep on fire for a couple of minutes.
  6. The filling for fajitas is ready! Serve it with flatbread, spicy tomato sauce and sour cream.

Guacamole

Adored by gourmets all over the world, avocado paste can be used as a side dish, for example, with meat or fish. But traditionally it is consumed as a snack and eaten with corn chips.

Ingredients:

  • 2 tomatoes
  • 3 ripe avocados
  • 1 onion
  • 1 chili pepper
  • 1 lime
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • bunch of cilantro

Preparation:

  1. Finely chop the onion, garlic and cilantro. Grate the lime zest.
  2. Remove the seeds from the chili peppers, remove the skins from the tomatoes and also chop them.
  3. Mash all ingredients with a fork. Salt and mix again.
  4. Add a couple of tablespoons of water and lime juice.
  5. Peel the avocado, remove the pit and cut into several pieces.
  6. Add the avocado to the tomato and chili paste and mash thoroughly with a fork.
  7. Serve with corn chips. Bon appetit!

Fresh Mexican salsa

Spicy Mexican sauce goes well with potatoes and meat and adds piquancy and richness to dishes.

Ingredients:

  • 3 tomatoes
  • 1 onion
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 2 chili peppers
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 2 tbsp. l. tomato paste
  • 2 tbsp. l. olive oil
  • cumin, salt, pepper to taste

Preparation:

  1. Remove the skin from the tomatoes and cut into cubes.
  2. Chop the onion and garlic in the same way.
  3. Remove seeds from chili peppers and cut into strips.
  4. Mix all the ingredients, salt and pepper, add cumin and tomato paste.
  5. Season with lime juice and olive oil.

Bean soup with chili

Mexicans love beans and add them to almost everything. Dishes with it, like this spicy and aromatic soup, turn out to be very nutritious and tasty.

Ingredients:

  • 300 g red beans
  • 2 liters vegetable broth
  • 1 bunch of cilantro
  • 8 cloves garlic
  • 2 red chili peppers
  • 1 tbsp. l. cumin seeds
  • 1 tbsp. l. coriander seeds
  • 1 tsp. allspice
  • 4 tbsp. l. olive oil
  • salt to taste

Preparation:

  1. Soak the beans in cold water and leave for 8–10 hours.
  2. Drain the water from the beans, fill them with vegetable broth and set to cook for 1 hour.
  3. Pour 2 cups of broth into a separate pan and set aside for a while.
  4. Remove a small amount of beans from a saucepan. It will be useful for decoration.
  5. Grind the remaining broth along with the beans in a blender.
  6. Chop the garlic and seeded chili pepper.
  7. In a dry frying pan, fry the cumin, coriander and allspice for 2 minutes.
  8. Place garlic and chili in a frying pan and add vegetable oil. Fry for 1.5 minutes.
  9. Place the reserved broth on the fire, transfer the contents from the frying pan and puree from the blender into it, add salt and pepper. The soup only needs to be heated, not boiled.
  10. Pour the soup into bowls and add the beans that we prepared for decoration.
  11. Serve with greens. The dish turns out very aromatic and rich.

Huevos Rancheros

According to legend, this dish was first invented by cowboys many years ago, and today every Mexican enjoys it for breakfast. It can be eaten straight from the pan or wrapped in a traditional flatbread.

Ingredients:

  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tomatoes
  • 1 red pepper
  • 1 green pepper
  • 100 g smoked sausage
  • 1 red onion
  • 2 tbsp. l. tomato paste
  • 2 tsp. ground cumin
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 tbsp. l. vegetable oil
  • bunch of parsley

Mexico, figuratively speaking, can be called a hot, passionate and very temperamental country. National Mexican cuisine and recipes for its dishes, as part of the national culture of this state, can be characterized by the same epithets. Mexican cuisine is rightfully considered one of the most colorful, and has been popular all over the world for centuries.

Lovers of meat dishes, spicy and bright tastes really appreciate this cuisine. It invigorates, surprises and delights. Mexican food recipes deserve to be known more about them, so that every housewife has several of the most popular and delicious recipes from this emotional and hot in every sense of the state.

Another advantage is that the products necessary for preparing Mexican dishes can be freely found on the shelves of our stores, and they are not expensive. The simplicity and at the same time sophistication of this kitchen is captivating.

I would also like to note the amazing consistency of Mexican cooks, because in almost every dish they have at least one of the ingredients such as corn, beans and the constant hot pepper.

We present to your attention several of the most popular Mexican cuisine recipes with photos.

All the dishes presented below use special flatbreads - tortillas. Therefore, it is quite logical that the approach to Mexico should begin with the preparation of these tortillas. They are used in so many Mexican dishes. In addition, they can be used instead of bread and are quite easy to prepare at home. But still there are some tricks.

Ingredients:

  • wheat flour – 300 g;
  • corn flour – 250 g;
  • olive oil – 4 tbsp;
  • purified water – 250 ml;
  • salt – 2 tsp.

Cooking features:

  1. If you don't have olive oil, you can use vegetable oil.
  2. If you use cornmeal alone, your tortillas will crumble a lot. This is due to the fact that corn flour does not contain a sufficient amount of gluten. If you take just wheat, they will be too hard and unleavened. Therefore, the combination of these two varieties is an ideal solution.
  3. When rolling out the cakes, if you wish, you can even out their edges using a plate or other round object. Or you can leave it with uneven edges. This will not affect the taste of the dish.

Preparation:

  1. Dissolve salt in warm water. This will allow it to be distributed evenly throughout the dough.
  2. Gradually pour water into the sifted flour. The dough will turn out quite stiff. If you feel like the dough is too hard, you can add a few more tablespoons of water.
  3. Mix everything into the resulting mass with olive oil.
  4. Divide the dough into 15 - 16 pieces of the same size, roll each into a ball. Cover them with gauze and let stand for about 20 minutes.
  5. After the dough has rested, take a rolling pin and two sheets of parchment. Place each cake between parchment leaves and gently roll out with a rolling pin. The diameter of each cake should be about 15 cm.
  6. Fry the flatbreads in a dry frying pan for less than a minute on each side.
  7. After frying is finished, stack the cakes and cover them with a towel so they can rest. Bon appetit!

Step-by-step quesadilla recipe

To prepare a Mexican quesadilla, you will need two main ingredients - tortillas and hard cheese. As already noted, tortillas are flatbreads made from wheat and corn flour. Simply put, it's a type of pita bread, so it's perfectly acceptable to use it in place of traditional Mexican flatbreads.

A quesadilla consists of two tortillas with a spicy filling between them. Cheese in this dish is necessary as a binding ingredient. The ingredients can be varied, it all depends on your imagination.

Let's consider the classic version of the quesadilla recipe - meat.

Ingredients:

  • tortilla – 4 pcs.;
  • fresh minced meat – 300 g;
  • boiled or pickled corn – 150 g;
  • sweet bell pepper – 1 pc.;
  • red hot pepper – 1 pc.;
  • onion – 1 pc.;
  • butter – 3 tbsp;
  • vegetable oil – 3 tbsp;
  • salt;
  • spices.

Cooking features:

  1. First, we need to clarify some points regarding the ingredients.
  2. You can use absolutely any meat at your discretion. A good option would be if you take beef and pork in equal parts. This will give additional juiciness to our dish. You can also make quesadillas with chicken and even seafood.
  3. Instead of corn, you can use boiled or pickled beans, or combine these two flavors.
  4. Select spices at your discretion. If you are comfortable with spicy dishes, you can also add freshly ground black pepper. In addition, it is recommended to use cumin, nutmeg, and coriander.

Preparation:

Prepare the minced meat.

  1. Peel the onion and fry in vegetable oil until soft.
  2. Add the chopped meat to the onion and fry for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
  3. Remove seeds from hot and sweet peppers and cut into squares. Hot peppers can be cut slightly smaller than sweet peppers.
  4. Add beans or corn and chopped peppers to the minced meat.
  5. Salt and add spices to taste.
  6. Mix everything well and simmer under the lid for another 15 minutes.
  7. Cover the minced meat and set it aside. It is important to ensure that the filling does not cool down.

Preparing the quesadilla:

  1. Grate hard cheese on a coarse grater.
  2. Place a teaspoon of butter in a heated frying pan. The secret to a crispy quesadilla is using minimal oil.
  3. When the oil is hot enough, place the flatbread in the pan.
  4. Sprinkle cheese over the entire surface of the tortilla and immediately spread the filling onto half the area of ​​the tortilla. For 1 tortilla you should need about a glass of prepared filling. You shouldn't take more, otherwise it will simply fall apart.
  5. After 1 - 2 minutes, when the cheese begins to melt, carefully cover the minced meat with the second part of the flatbread with a spatula. Press lightly with a spatula and immediately remove from heat.

And here it is - a fragrant, hot, nutritious quesadilla is ready. Most likely, you have already prepared something similar in your kitchen. But they didn’t even know that you were preparing the national dish of Mexico – quesadilla. Bon appetit!

Mexican taco recipe

The most common dish in Mexico can be called tacos. This dish can be prepared at home without any problems. The taco filling can be either meat or vegetable, or a combination of your choice. We offer a recipe for tacos with chicken meat filling. To prepare this dish, we will again need tortillas - special Mexican flatbreads.

Ingredients:

  • taco shells – 3 pcs.;
  • chicken fillet – 300 g;
  • tomatoes – 2 pcs.;
  • bell pepper – ½ piece;
  • hot pepper – 1 pc.;
  • sharp hard cheese – 90 g;
  • garlic – 3 cloves;
  • onion – 1 head;
  • taco spices;
  • greens to taste.

Cooking features:

  1. Taco shells are already prepared tortillas, folded in half, but not all the way.
  2. The tortillas for tacos must be warm. If you don’t have such flatbreads, you can safely use pita bread.
  3. The true taste of a taco is very spicy. If you are not a particular fan of spicy foods, adjust the heat to taste.

Preparation:

  1. We chop the chicken meat with a knife, or twist it in a meat grinder. We also chop onions, garlic, sweet and hot peppers, tomatoes and herbs. We cut everything quite finely.
  2. Three cheeses on a coarse grater.
  3. Lightly fry the minced chicken in vegetable oil.
  4. Add the onion and 1/3 of the total garlic. Season with spices and simmer for 5 minutes.
  5. We put our tomatoes - ½ of the total quantity and peppers - sweet and hot into the minced mixture. Simmer for 10 minutes.
  6. Add the remaining tomatoes, garlic and herbs to the almost finished minced meat. And immediately remove the pan from the heat.
  7. We form the tacos: put the filling in a taco shell, like in an envelope, and sprinkle grated cheese on top. Bon appetit!

How to make real fajitas

I would like to dwell on one more dish of Mexican cuisine, which amazes with both its taste and simplicity. These are very famous in Mexico - fajitas. The step-by-step recipe below is closest to the original of this dish in its homeland. However, you can always modify it by replacing some ingredients with others.

Ingredients:

  • tortilla – 4 pcs.;
  • beef tenderloin – 400 g;
  • tomatoes – 3 pcs.;
  • sweet bell peppers of different colors – 2 pcs.;
  • hot chili pepper – 1 pod;
  • purple onion – 1 head;
  • garlic – 4 cloves;
  • hard cheese – 100 g;
  • juice of half a lemon or lime;
  • olive oil – 4 tbsp;
  • spices;
  • greenery.

To submit:

tequila – 30 ml.

Cooking features:

  1. The meat for this dish requires marinating. It is best to do this overnight or at least for 3 hours by soaking it in grape wine or any marinade you prefer.
  2. Tequila is indicated in the recipe for the purpose of aesthetic presentation of the dish. The original serving is done in a frying pan. In front of the guests, tequila is poured into a frying pan with meat and set on fire. It looks impressive.
  3. It is better to take salty varieties of cheese, such as Parmesan or salted cheddar.
  4. In this case, cilantro or parsley, basil and oregano will go well with the dish.

Preparation:

  1. We clean the meat from film and veins, cut into thin strips. This condition is mandatory.
  2. Let's start preparing the vegetables: chop the onion and bell pepper into fairly large strips. We also cut the tomatoes into large pieces of arbitrary shape. Chop the garlic and chili pepper very finely. If you do not want the taste of the dish to be too aggressive, then the chili pepper must first be cleared of seeds.
  3. In two different frying pans over high heat, fry the meat and vegetables separately. Tomatoes should be added to vegetables 2 - 3 minutes before the end of frying.
  4. Remove the pans from the heat. Add chopped garlic and lime or lemon juice to the vegetables.
  5. Mix the contents of the pans, season with spices to taste and put on the fire for another 5 - 7 minutes.

Fajitas are served directly in the container in which they were prepared, with tortillas, hot sauces such as chili or guacamole, sour cream and grated cheese. The guest must take a tortilla, choose the filling, season the tortilla with their own sauces and sprinkle with cheese. Use with hot tequila. Bon appetit!

Mexican enchiladas recipe

Enchiladas are traditional meat patties baked in the oven. The tenderness and aroma of the tortilla combined with the spicy filling will not leave you indifferent. Enchiladas, like many other Mexican dishes, leave a very pleasant aftertaste. Once you try to make this dish once, you will definitely not stop there.

Ingredients:

  • tortilla – 3 pcs.;
  • chicken fillet – 350 g;
  • hard cheese – 200 g;
  • tomatoes – 2 pcs.;
  • onion – 1 pc.;
  • garlic – 4 cloves;
  • chicken broth – 250 g;
  • olive or vegetable oil for frying;
  • butter – 1 tbsp;
  • hot chili ketchup – 5 tbsp. or ½ pod of hot chili pepper;
  • salt and spices to taste;
  • greens for decoration.

Preparation:

  1. Boil chicken fillet in lightly salted water. Cool and cut into small cubes.
  2. If you use chili peppers, remove the seeds.
  3. Chop the onion into quarters of rings, and chop the garlic as finely as possible.
  4. In a heated mixture of vegetable and butter, fry the onion until soft.
  5. Add the chopped meat, season with spices and continue frying for about 5 - 7 minutes.
  6. Mix ketchup and broth until smooth and pour this mixture over the minced meat.
  7. Add garlic and simmer the whole mass for about 10 minutes.
  8. Strain the finished filling and place it in a colander to remove excess moisture. We use the resulting sauce in further preparation.
  9. Grate the cheese on a coarse grater.
  10. Place the filling on one edge of the flatbread, sprinkle cheese on top and wrap it in a roll.
  11. On a baking sheet lined with foil, pour a small amount of tomato sauce, which we have left after straining the minced meat. Place enchiladas rolls on top in even rows. Pour the remaining sauce over it and sprinkle the remaining grated cheese on top. Cover the baking sheet with another piece of foil on top, as if sealing the baking sheet.
  12. Place the dish in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. The temperature should be within 180 °C. After 15 minutes, remove the top layer of foil and continue baking until the cheese is browned.
  13. Place the dish on serving plates and decorate with herbs. Bon appetit!

The national cuisine of Mexico is a unique synthesis of Spanish, Aztec and Indian cuisines. The dishes of this cuisine are very diverse and enjoy constant success all over the world. The very fact that Mexican cuisine is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List speaks of the uniqueness and originality of the dishes that all tourists and guests of this beautiful and hospitable country simply must try.

Meat, vegetables, legumes and grains, and seafood are widely used to prepare national dishes. But the dominant place is occupied by corn. Here corn is boiled, fried, and served with meat, pepper, mayonnaise, and grated cheese. In addition, corn flour is widely used. Here are just some dishes from this wonderful plant, the cereal family:

  • "" is a very popular Mexican flatbread made from corn flour.
  • "tacos" - corn tortilla with filling.
  • “pinoles” - toasted corn flour with cocoa.
  • “Posoles” is meat cooked in corn flour; there is also a drink of the same name made from corn.
  • "Tamales" - steamed pieces of corn dough with sauce.
  • “tostados”, “quesadillas”, “chimichangas”, “nachos” - amazing flatbreads with various fillings.

Separately, I would like to say about “tortilla”, which has long become the hallmark of the national cuisine of Mexico. This thin corn cake with spices is used not only separately, but also as part of many dishes.

  • “buritto” is a kind of tortilla roll stuffed with beans, minced meat, tomatoes, avocado, rice and cheese.
  • “enchiladas” - a tortilla rolled into a tube and filled with meat, tomato or cheese.
  • “Tartilla soup” - fried pieces of tartilla, with chicken broth, cheese, chili peppers, garlic, onions and tomatoes.
  • "Fajita" - beef meat cooked on the grill, with vegetables and wrapped in tortilla.
  • "Papatzules" - fried flatbread with pumpkin seeds and egg.

Mexican cuisine is famous for its spiciness and wide use of various spices and seasonings. Local chefs like to add hot chili peppers, cilantro, pepperoni, chaya, cumin seeds, serrano peppers, avocado leaves, Helenaño peppers, onions, garlic to their dishes... In general, in Mexico, there are more than a hundred types of peppers, differing in taste and degree wit.
Mexican sauces are usually served with meat and fish dishes. The most famous and popular are salsa sauce (made from tomatoes, garlic, chili peppers, pepperoni and black pepper) and guacamole sauce (from fresh avocados, peppers, onions and tomatoes).

I bring to your attention a few more dishes that vividly characterize the national cuisine of Mexico:

  • "" - minced meat wrapped in corn leaves. There are more than 500 species of these peculiar Mexican cabbage rolls. The dish is so popular that there is an annual tamale festival.
  • “chicharones” - a roll made from pieces of fried pork skin.
  • “Ceviche” is fresh fish marinated in citrus juice.
  • « peeled cactus salad".
  • « mexican salad"- made from lettuce, black beans, tomatoes, cheese, onions, sour cream and salsa.
  • “nacho” is a dish made from chicken fillet, sour cream, cheese, crushed chips and salso sauce.
  • Chipotle is a tomato soup made with chicken broth.
  • Olla Podrida is a Mexican goulash.
  • "Chipile" - pork with vegetables.
  • "Carne asados" - fried pork, with a side dish of beans.
  • "Monte Lablano" - stewed or fried turkey.
  • « tacos al pastor» - pork slices roasted on a spit.
  • Mexicali is a dish similar to chicken tabaka.
  • Sopa de Marisco is a seafood soup.

The national cuisine of Mexico will delight food lovers. First of all, these are wonderful and juicy local fruits, fruit desserts, sweet buns, muffins, and puddings. Popular among tourists are:

  • “Canas asadas” is an original and unusual dessert made from fried sugar cane.
  • "" - sweet royal bread, with dried fruits.
  • « cherry chimichanga".
  • « mango with whipped cream".
  • « sweet corn soufflé".
  • "pumpkin in syrup".

Those who have been lucky enough to visit Mexico at least once note the originality and uniqueness of the national cuisine. Indeed, the culinary traditions of Mexicans differ in many ways from the preferences of Russian people. What is so unique about the gastronomic customs of Mexico? Let's try to figure it out in our article.

Mexican cuisine

Mexican cuisine can rightfully be called a harmonious combination of Indian and Spanish culinary traditions. This feature is associated with historical events and cultural customs from the life of the local people. Since ancient times, the inhabitants of Mexico have prepared dishes from products grown here:

  • corn,
  • Chile,
  • legumes,
  • chocolate,
  • vanilla,
  • tomatoes.

Over time, when the first Spanish conquerors appeared on the local shores, the culinary traditions included various types of meat, cheeses, wine, etc. The usual recipes changed, and the taste of the dishes also changed. Thus, the national cuisine of Mexico gradually acquired a form familiar to modern people.


At a UN conference held in November 2010, Mexican cuisine was recognized as one of the cultural heritage of UNESCO. No cuisine in the world has ever been awarded this status.

What are Mexican dishes made from?

Mexican national cuisine is distinguished by its spicy and spicy dishes. Since ancient times, various spices and spices have been growing on the territory of the modern state, which give the treats a unique taste.
A mandatory ingredient in almost all types of dishes is corn. Local residents learned to prepare various treats from it. For example, thin flatbreads, sauces, side dishes and even desserts are made from corn flour.
No table is complete without chili pepper. The product, which has an indescribable burning taste, imparts a special piquancy that is used in the preparation of meat dishes.
Many Mexican dishes are accompanied by various sauces. Some of them use tomatoes as the main ingredient. Seasoned with piquant spices, they complement and highlight the taste of the main dishes.

Meat dishes: popular treats

Mexican meat dishes amaze with their fullness and variety of flavors. They can rightly be called the unofficial calling card of the country. After all, visiting Mexico and not trying one of its most famous dishes is a crime.
The most popular meat treats are:

  • Mexican tacos - corn tortillas with minced meat and vegetables, seasoned with Tabasco sauce;
  • quesadilla - flatbread stuffed with chicken and cheese;
  • fajitas - grilled beef with tomatoes, wrapped in a corn flour tortilla;
  • · enchiladas - cornmeal rolls with minced beef in tomato sauce;
  • tamale is a dish of corn paste and meat that is cooked in the leaves of corn cobs.
Mexican national cuisine is in many ways similar to fast food from popular fast foods. However, this did not prevent local treats from winning the love of representatives of various countries and peoples of the world.

Traditional Mexican sauces

The names of traditional sauces of Mexican cuisine are known in different parts of the world. Even if you don't know their taste or appearance, you've probably heard of guacamole or tabasco. No Mexican meal is complete without them.
The most popular sauce is salsa. It is prepared from tomatoes, chili peppers, cilantro, celery with the addition of lime juice. All ingredients are crushed and mixed, and then served with meat dishes and hot appetizers.
Another famous sauce is guacamole. It is green in color because it is made from avocado, lime and green pepper. The sauce is served with meat dishes, as well as nacho chips and corn tortillas.
Mole sauce is not so well known among tourists. Various herbs and spices, cocoa beans, nuts and oils, and chili peppers are used as ingredients. Serve it with poultry or fish.
Well, what are Mexican sauces without Tabasco? The spicy dish is prepared from ripe Tabasco peppers with vinegar and salt. The sauce is infused for three years in special barrels. After cooking, it is served with soups and meat, added to vegetable stews and other hot snacks.

National soups of Mexican cuisine

Traditional Mexican soups are also prepared with the addition of spices and herbs. Such hot dishes are suitable for Russian people. They warm well in cold seasons, giving the body strength and energy.
The most popular Mexican soup is tortilla soup. The dish is chicken broth with tomatoes, spices and dried chili peppers. This combination gives the hot treat a unique spicy taste.
Mexican food is diverse and unique. Local cuisine boasts an abundance of dishes, as well as options for preparing them. In such a variety, everyone can find something tasty and healthy for themselves.

Another popular cuisine of the world that I was able to try while vacationing in Mexico is Mexican cuisine. I must admit, its main and characteristic feature is the addition of chili pepper to almost all dishes, so all dishes are so spicy that they had to be washed down with refreshing drinks.

I learned about Mexican cuisine and its history from, where they make incomparable tequila, be sure to read this article. As the guide, whom I met through other tourists, told me, Mexican cuisine began its ascent at the beginning of the 16th century, thanks to the reunification of Spanish and Indian traditions.

The first dishes of the Mexican forge were not a very rich choice; they included only bean and corn tortillas, tomatoes and dishes made from chili peppers and other spices. Then it was the Spaniards who brought new products to this country, such as wheat, rice, meat, herbs, wine and even cheese products.

Since the end of the 16th century, Mexican cuisine has been known throughout the world for its delicious dishes and traditional cooking recipes. Currently, all recipes for preparing traditional Mexican dishes have not changed.

Basic ingredients of Mexican cuisine

As I have already said, all the recipes for traditional dishes have not changed and are prepared from the same ingredients as in the early 16th century. All Mexican cuisine has its own traditional ingredients: beans, corn, hot chili peppers and its varieties, many hot spices, cactus, meat, cocoa...

On the coast of Mexico there is a contrast of seafood dishes with the same listed ingredients. The main ingredient of dishes in Mexico is beans of various types; in each individual region of this country several dozen of this crop grow and each type of bean has its own taste. Having tried four types of black beans, I did not feel any difference, as for me the taste is the same, as they say, “beans are beans in Africa.”

The most important place in traditional Mexican cuisine is occupied by corn; all the abundance of dishes in this cuisine consists mostly of the ingredient - corn in any of its forms. As for chili peppers, this is the second ingredient in the cuisine; there are more than 78 varieties of it in Mexico.

As for meat, before Indian cuisine learned Spanish innovations, the variety was game (snakes, beetles, birds, iguanas...). Nowadays you won’t find such dishes anymore; now the meat we are all familiar with is prepared here; fish dishes are especially delicious, for example, swordfish with lemon or cod with garlic.

  • By the way, everything about prices, reviews and other aspects of a vacation by the sea can be found on a separate page.

Of all the traditional drinks in Mexico, it is, of course, worth highlighting tequila, the only country where you can taste real tequila. In other countries where I was able to try tequila, I was disappointed; a truly authentic and traditional Mexican drink called tequila can only be made in its homeland.

I don’t know why I remember the taste of tequila in Mexico, but I will say one thing: you must drink tequila freshly prepared. Yes, there are drinks aged in barrels for several years, but they don’t taste the same. By the way, on an excursion in France I learned a lot of useful things about barrels for fermenting wine and other alcoholic beverages; it turns out that the quality of the material and the method of assembling the barrel greatly affects the taste, you can read about this in a separate article.

Another drink that belongs to the cuisine of Mexico is the traditional drink “Mezcal”, to be honest, it is the same as tequila, but for some reason it is considered a separate drink here; the taste seemed to me to be a little higher in alcohol content, and the color was a little cleaner.

In fact, to check the quality of the Mezcal drink, traditionally they put a caterpillar in a glass, then pour the drink, if the caterpillar does not dissolve, then the drink is considered high quality, but I don’t know who will drink it after the caterpillar. After learning this tradition, I never touched the Mexican drink Mezcal again!

Mezcal is one of the traditional drinks of Mexico

As for Mexican wines, all the wines that are produced here are made using European technologies. You won’t find traditional Mexican wines here, but you can try drinks such as Don Pedro brandy, which you will really like, and real Mexican Corona beer.

The most popular traditional dishes of Mexican cuisine

In order to avoid your misunderstanding of all Mexican dishes, I will explain a little what a tortilla is. Almost all Mexican cuisine consists of tortillas. A tortilla is a soft and thin wheat or corn tortilla.

Burrito - tortilla flatbread stuffed with minced meat (beans, avocado, rice, cheese...)

Tacos are a tortilla dish filled with various fillings - beef, pork, chicken, seafood...

Quesadilla

Enchilada

Nachos are tortilla chips with various additives, a snack from Mexican cuisine.

A bunch of dishes made from the diversity of all the flora and fauna that live in Mexico, the most important thing that shocked me is that you won’t find imported products here like in Russia, here everything is prepared from our own!

You can see the names of dishes of Mexican traditional cuisine in any restaurant in your city; there is not enough space to list them, because one dish may have a composition of ingredients, but if you add one spice, this dish will have a different name. I advise you to learn less theory and try more Mexican cuisine along with the site, do not forget to subscribe to the latest articles about tourism.