41 Fun Mexican Food Facts You Probably Didn’t Know!

Beef tongue tacos are made using the tongue of a cow, cooked into a sauce and added to a taco. Mulitas, not to be confused with quesadillas, are an on-the-go street food snack and are also popular throughout the US. The dish was named after the governor who enjoyed shrimp tacos and had a dish made specifically for him at a restaurant in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. This is traditional Mexican street food – it’s roasted sweet potato that is often sweetened even more during the cooking process. These can be filled with pork crackling, cheese, veggies, or meat and are then cooked on open-air griddles. In various regions, however, you may also find meat, veggies, cilantro, salsa, cheese, and cilantro being piled on as well.

Warm up this season with Good Food

  • The flavor-rich fusion of old and new gave rise to the diverse and delicious Mexican cuisine we know and love today.
  • Central Mexico brings us hearty stews and barbacoa made with slow-roasted meats.
  • Mole poblano, often called the “national dish of Mexico,” contains more than 20 ingredients!
  • Families, cooks, and even nuns actively worked to infuse the new flavors with the old.
  • You get all the bold taco flavors—no meat, no dairy, no fuss.
  • You can’t go wrong with tacos de barbacoa, enchiladas, or chilaquiles if you’re trying Mexican food for the first time.
  • These dishes are approachable, full of flavor, and not overly complicated.

Chilaquiles rojos is a classic Mexican breakfast made with crispy fried tortillas tossed in a bold red salsa. It’s creamy, flavorful, and ready to serve with tacos, nachos, burritos, or as a quick snack. It’s bold, filling, and built on corn tortillas for that classic Tex-Mex flavor. This Mexican breakfast casserole is a make-ahead brunch favorite layered with eggs, chorizo, black beans, cheese, and salsa. They’re rich, spicy, and full of flavor—perfect for tacos, burritos, or scooping with chips.

Fun Food Traditions

Enchiladas Potosinas are a type of enchilada typically containing salsa, queso fresco and vegetables like avocado. Mojo de ajo is a garlic sauce that can be used as a marinade, a topping, or a dipping sauce in Mexican cuisine. In some variations, guarapo is mixed with lime juice or served over ice for added flavor and coolness.

  • Maize (corn) is the backbone of Mexican gastronomy, considered sacred by ancient civilizations such as the Aztecs.
  • If you love easy beignets or sopapilla cheesecake, you’ll be obsessed with these sweet, fluffy bites.
  • Trends like sustainable sourcing and plant-based versions of traditional dishes ensure that Mexican food remains forward-looking while still honoring its past.
  • Mexican food is so much more than tacos and tequila.
  • One of my favorite Mexican food quotes claims that “Mexican food is the art of turning simple ingredients into magic,” and I have to agree.
  • The chicken is simmered in a broth or tomato-based sauce until it becomes tender and infused with the rich flavors of the spices.

But beyond your regular taco fillings, locals also enjoy a few exotic variants that you can only try in Mexico. Some say is the “art of eating with tortilla” and, of course, Mexicans would never deny a taco to anybody. This dish is cooked on a plow disc previously cured over some wood. Huevos Rancheros is a delicious Mexican dish and the dish represents the hats of two ranchmen.

Taco Stuffed Bell Peppers

Families, cooks, and even nuns actively worked to infuse the new flavors with the old. Like many other national cuisines, Mexican food weaves a tale of history and national pride. Tune in to the latest episodes to hear our experts discuss all things food.
Mexicans consume an average of 80 kilograms of tortillas per person per year. Mexico City boasts more than 15,000 taco stands! In some parts of Mexico, quesadillas don’t always include melted cheese—shocking but true! Tortillas come in many colors—including white, yellow, blue, and even red—depending on the type of corn used to make them. Tamales are the go-to food for special occasions and festive celebrations in Mexico, such as the Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) and Christmas. The state of Puebla is not only home to mole poblano but also chiles en nogada, a patriotic dish that features the Mexican colors of red, white, and green.

Pulled Pork Carnitas Quesadilla

On top of the tortilla, lard, black beans, tasajo (dried pork meat), chorizo, and cheese are traditionally used. Quesadilla (Cheese-adilla) are corn or flour tortillas folded in half, usually stuffed with cheese and sometimes with other ingredients, which can be either deep fried or grilled. The most common Mexican tamales fillings are mole, shredded chicken or pork with green or red salsa, pepper with cheese, and yellow corn kernels. It´s made with two fried corn tortillas, topped with fried beans, and two sunny side up eggs all bathed in red hot sauce and decorated with coriander and freshly ground black pepper. Chalupas consist of a thick, fried dough shell which is filled with seasoned meat, salsa, cheese, lettuce, vegetables, and topped with sour cream.

Here, stale corn tortillas are deep-fried in oil until they turn golden and crispy. This is popular street food in Mexico and can be found virtually everywhere. These corn tortillas are filled with pork that has been stacked on a long spit. Other ingredients in the dish include pork, tomatoes, red chiles, and other spices.

Mexican fiesta rice

The dark mole sauce consists of Mexican chocolate, adding complexity and depth to the whole dish. It is then doused with black mole sauce and topped off with sesame seeds and more cheese. Chiles en Nogada isn’t just a traditional dish, it is also a rather patriotic one. Most new dishes that sprung from settlements were a result of hard work and imagination. Even today, Aztec and Mayan dishes continue to be served as regular fare. Mexican rice, taco bowls, and quesadillas are also super beginner-friendly and don’t require any fancy ingredients.
From spicy adobos in northern Mexico to the tropical flavors of the Yucatán Peninsula, every corner of Mexico offers its own culinary story. The original version was generously filled with cheese and picadillo (seasoned ground meat), but today, fillings vary widely. It consists of a roasted poblano pepper that's been stuffed, battered, and fried to achieve a crispy, golden exterior that encases a delicious mix of ingredients within. Birria, a flavorful goat stew, hails from Jalisco but has gained international fame as a taco filling. But this is just one of the unique ingredients and foods of Yucatán worth discovering!
Chilies, almonds, chocolate, and other spices fell in the casserole and the resulting dish was so delicious that the mole was born. One of them says that the original recipe of Poblano Mole, which included about 100 ingredients, was created by a nun from the the city of Puebla, a city tenobet review known for its fantastic culinary tradition. Mole is a sauce made from a mixture of dried chilies, tomatoes, chocolate, seeds, and spices. This candy is made from amaranth seeds, which are popular in Mexico, mixed with honey. The central-southern states prefer them with cream and cheese or with lemon chili powder, but not a mix of these, while some people cook them with epazote, a Central American herb, and bone marrow. It was invented in the city of Puebla and the dish colors resemble the Mexican flag.

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