10 Mexican dishes you must try

Most people are familiar with Mexican cuisine, and Mexican specialities are found all over the world. Nevertheless, it’s different eating Mexican food under Mexican skies!

You can read about ten Mexican dishes below, seven of which are typical savoury specialities and three are desserts.

Seven traditional Mexican dishes

A lot of herbs, spices and chilli are used in Mexican cuisine to add flavour to the delicious specialities. Corn and beans are also essential ingredients in many Mexican dishes.

Enchiladas

Enchiladas are thin corn tortillas with a filling. They are served throughout Mexico, and you can get them with pork, beef, prawns, vegetables, cheese and beans. The dish is typically topped with a spicy sauce.
Mexicans have eaten enchiladas for many years, and the dish also features in the very first Mexican cookbook El Cocinero Mexicano (Mexican cuisine), which was published in 1831.

Enchiladas were invented by the Mayan Indians, who ate fish rolled in corn flour tortillas. Today, the Mayan Indians have their own traditional dish, similar to enchiladas. In the Yucatan region, you can get the Mayans’ papadzules, which are corn tortillas served with boiled and chopped eggs inside instead of meat and beans.

Mole

Mole, a sauce, is used in many different dishes in Mexico.

Mole comes in several versions and may be black, red, yellow or green depending on the ingredients used.

Making mole is a lengthy process. The sauce is cooked over a low heat and the Mexicans use more than 20 different spices to produce it. The most famous mole is Mole Poblano, which tastes of chilli with a hint of chocolate.

Tacos Árabes

Mexican cuisine is influenced by many different countries – including Lebanon.

Lebanese immigrants came to Mexico in the late 19th century and helped create one of the most popular fast food dishes in the country, Tacos Árabe.

Tacos Árabe consists of pork grilled on a skewer, marinated with cumin, oregano and then rolled up in flat bread. Lime, salt and salsa are typically added to the meat before serving. The dish is served with chopped onion and coriander, which are distinctive ingredients in Mexican cuisine.

Tamales

Tamales is a very popular dish in Mexico.

It is made of a corn-based dough that is filled and cooked with sweet or savoury ingredients such as vegetables, minced beef and cheese. It is all wrapped in a banana leaf, which is held together by string. NB. The banana leaf is not meant to be eaten!

As popular as it is, there is no proof that the dish originated in Mexico. There are various takes on tamales throughout South America, all called different things. Humintas al Horno, for example, is a Bolivian dish that is very similar to the Mexican tamales.

Tostadas

This speciality is a tortilla that has been deep-fried until crispy.

Tostadas are served with and without a filling. With filled tostadas, refried beans, cheese, meat or prawns are placed inside. The garnish stays on the crispy tortilla as a layer of guacamole is spooned over the top.

The speciality filling depends on the region where they are made.

Pozole

The centuries-old dish pozole is a bit of a mish-mash. A traditional Mexican speciality, it was originally used in conjunction with sacrificial rituals.

There are many different versions of the dish either with chicken, pork or vegetarian.

Like so many other dishes in Mexico, it is based on corn and beans, and it is a long-winded affair to make the dish as it contains so many different spices. Nevertheless, it’s a popular dish in Mexico, served at family gatherings with fresh lettuce, lime and chilli.

Elotes & esquites

Corn is an important part of many Mexican dishes – and that goes for snacks, too.

Elotes is a popular snack in Mexico, consisting of grilled, smoked or boiled corn on the cob, topped with different ingredients such as butter, chilli, mayonnaise, goat cheese and much more besides.

Esquites is another popular corn snack, where the corn is removed from the cob and cooked. As with elotes, it is topped with various ingredients such as butter, cheese, chilli and lime, and the dish is served in a cup or the like.

3 traditional Mexican desserts

Churros

Churros is a popular dessert in Mexico, which can also be found in many places at home.

It is commonly called the Mexican doughnut, but it is, in fact, a dessert from Spain.

Legend has it that churros were invented by a shepherd who lived in the mountains. Unable to go to a bakery, he invented this cake that could be fried in a pan. Nowadays, churros are deep-fried and served with chocolate sauce, sugar and/or cinnamon.

The dessert is popular all over the world today and available in a wealth of flavours and variations.

Flan

Many Mexican desserts consist of baked goods with sugar sprinkled on top. Yet, one of the most famous Mexican desserts is the custard dish, flan.

Flan is a sweet custard with caramel sauce on top, inspired by the French dessert “flaon”.

Flan is made of egg, milk, cream, vanilla and finally sugar that is made into a caramel on top of the dessert. The dessert comes in many different flavours such as coffee and chocolate.

Cocadas

Cocadas is a typical Mexican dessert-snack similar to coconut macaroons.

The dish is made of eggs, condensed milk and grated coconut, mixed and baked in the oven. There are several variations of the little cake, as some people add almonds or dried fruit.

Cocadas can be purchased at local markets, but they are often also sold on the beach as a snack.

Enjoy a taste of Mexico with TourCompass

The traditional dishes in Mexico often vary from region to region, but no matter where you travel to in Mexico, you will find fresh, authentic Mexican food as well as old culinary traditions influenced by different cuisines from around the world.

Many of the traditional dishes can be found at Mexican restaurants, but there are also small street kitchens where you can enjoy the food on a Mexican street corner.

If you wish to taste authentic Mexican cuisine, what’s stopping you? Check out one of our tours to Mexico and find inspiration for your next holiday.

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