Mexican Food - A Closer Look

Just like the United States, Mexico is a large country and its cuisine is anything but monolithic, with many regional variants in style. Each state of Mexico has its own different culinary specialties and there are dishes, which are popular in one part of the country while being exceedingly rare elsewhere.

In fact, some of the dishes, which people in the US think of as Mexican, are largely unknown in Mexico itself! For example, let us take chimichangas and nachos. Chimichangas were actually invented in the southwestern United States; and nachos which did originate in Mexico but are found more plentifully in other countries than in Mexico itself. The things, which you think you know about Mexican food, may not be representative of the reality of this cuisine, as it exists in the country.

The coastal regions of Mexico have their own regional Mexican recipes, which as you would expect, feature fish and other seafood. Veracruz in particular is known for its fish dishes, especially those which are "Veracruzana" (in the Veracruz style), especially those served with a spicy tomato sauce containing olives and capers - - having a clear influence from Spain.

The state of Oaxaca is known for mole. These often-spicy sauces are made from a variety of ingredients including chocolate, chilies, pumpkin seeds, and others. They have a fusion of different flavors and vegetable, meat and cheese mole dishes are all quite common.

In northern Mexico, you will find a lot of Spanish influence on the local cuisine, with beef dishes being much more common than in the rest of the country. This is primarily because of the Spanish colony positioning on either side of the Rio Grande and the colonists' demand for beef. This is the part of the country where you will find the famous carne asada, which is also a very popular dish in Texas and the American southwest.

In Central Mexico, you will find dishes and culinary influences from neighboring regions of the country, but Central Mexico is also the home of some distinctive Mexican recipes, which are the region's own. These include the spicy goat soup birria, the hominy and pork soup pozole and the tripe soup known as menudo. It is the region's soups and stews, which are the most famous of its dishes, but central Mexico is also the home of carnitas, a fried pork dish that is often served on tacos and tortas.

There are also Mexican recipes, which are popular, nationwide, such as chiles en nogada, a stuffed poblano dish topped with a walnut cream sauce and pomegranate seeds (the three colors of the ingredients suggest the colors of the Mexican flag). Tacos are another Mexican food, which you will find all over the country, though there is a great regional variation in terms of which ingredients are used to prepare them.

Mexico contains a great many different climates and different indigenous cultures, all with a greater or lesser degree of influence from Spanish cuisine, as well as from other groups of immigrants, all of whom have brought their own culinary influences. Mexican cuisine offers a lot to explore, going well beyond the familiar tacos and burritos; try a few regional Mexican recipes for something different and exciting at your table.


Copyright (c) 2009 Christine Szalay Kudra