Mexican Cuisine

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I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like Mexican food. Me? Love it! And if you’ve never tried the eats coming out of the deep southern part of North America, you are definitely in for a treat or two on this page, where you will find many of the best Mexican cuisine recipes to come out of that country.

political-map-of-Mexico

The peppers, the spicy meats, the herbs and spices, the use of flour and corn tortillas, and just the way they put ingredients together and prepare them, makes Mexican Cuisine amongst the best on the planet.

On this page you will find real, authentic Mexican food recipes, with pictures, to help you visualize the end product.

And don’t forget, Ethnic Foods R Us is also your Online Ethnic Foods Grocery Store, too. Any items you find difficult to obtain locally, if they are highlighted in the text, just click on them, you will be taken to a buy page.

Okay, ready?

Disfrute de su viaje a México !

(Enjoy your trip to Mexico!)

Please note: For your convenience, you can click on the recipes listed below and be taken directly to a page with just that one recipe on it, in printer-friendly format.

You are certainly welcomed to read through this whole page, all the recipes are here as well, and there are some videos and pertinent information on background, history, customs, special notes, etc., so it is well worth the read.

Here is the list, in alphabetical order:

Arroz Blanco con Verduras (White rice with vegetables)

Authentic Mexican Street Tacos

Authentic Mexican Tamales

Flan de Coco (Mexican Coconut Flan)

Frijoles de Olla (Beans in their own broth)

Huevos Rancheros con Chorizo (Ranch style eggs with chorizo sausage)

Oaxacan Chillied Chicken Enchilado

Pollo en Salsa de Almendra (Chicken in Almond Sauce)

Smoked Cow Head Barbacoa

Sopa de Fideos con Acelgas (Soup with Noodles and Chard)

Huevos Rancheros con Chorizo

Mexican Cuisine: Huevos Rancheros1

Let’s start with the main morning meal, Mexican style, shall we? Translated into English, this is “Eggs Ranch-Style with Chorizo”. Chorizo is a spiced up and cured pork sausage, it comes in different levels of hot spiciness, and it is a key ingredient in lots of dishes, required to get that real authentic Mexican cuisine flavor.

This kind of “breakfast” meal, in Mexico is considered “heavy” (almuerzo, they name it), and would be more likely to be taken in mid-morning, between 9:00 a.m. and noon. Traditionally the first early meal is more likely to be just coffee, or hot chocolate, or atole, a hot, thick beverage made from oats, rice, or corn, and perhaps a slice of sweet bread and/or a small portion of fruit.

Ingredients: (serves 6)
Directions:
  1. To make the sauce, add 1 tbsp. olive oil to a large skillet and brown chorizo, breaking apart into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Once nice and browned, remove from pan and set aside.
  2. Add onions to the rendered fat and cook for several minutes, until translucent and starting to brown around edges. Add garlic and cumin, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
  3. Add the tomatoes, along with their juice. Return the cooked chorizo to the pan. Add in 2 tablespoons of the chopped cilantro. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and let simmer while you do the rest of the cooking, stirring occasionally. Reduce to warm after it has been simmering for 10 minutes. Add salt to taste if needed.
  4. Heat the oven to a warm 150°F, place serving plates in the oven to keep warm.
  5. Heat a teaspoon of olive oil in a large non-stick skillet on medium high, coating the pan with the oil. Heat the tortillas in the pan, a minute or two on each side, until they are heated through, softened, and pockets of air bubble up inside of them. Then remove them and stack them on one of the warming plates in the oven to keep warm while you continue cooking the rest of the tortillas and the eggs.
  6. Using the same skillet as was used for the tortillas, add a little butter to the pan, about two teaspoons for 4 eggs. Heat the pan on medium high heat. Crack 4 eggs into the skillet and cook for 3 to 4 minutes for runny yolks, more for firmer eggs.
  7. To serve, spoon a little of the sauce onto a warmed plate. Top with a tortilla, then a fried egg. Top with more sauce, sprinkle with more chopped cilantro for garnish.

Now, after the almuerzo, it is the hottest time of the day in one of the hottest countries in deep southern North America, and if you’re like lots of Mexicans living there, you may opt for a siesta (mid-day nap) somewhere in the coolest shade you can find.

A native Mexican might just simply nestle up against something firm, pull his sombrero down over his face for shade, and nod off with ease.

siesta 1

If you’re from the cooler northern regions, like I am, you’d probably want to find a nice hammock under a shade tree, maybe chill with a good book until you doze off …

siesta 2

 

Whatever the case, once you’ve had your siesta and are refreshed, you busy yourself with your day in anticipation of the main meal of the day (The Comida), a mid-afternoon (between 2 and 4 p.m.) repast with multiple entrees. The next several recipes will show you how to prepare an authentic, traditional Comida meal.

Remember, when cooking authentic Mexican food recipes, it is very important that you do not substitute ingredients, or deviate from the step-by-step directions.

Sopa de Fideos con Acelgas

(Mexican Noodle Soup with Chard)

mexican noodle soup

 

For your Comida’s first course, have some delicious, savory soup. But don’t fill up on it – there are lots more courses coming!

Ingredients: (Serves 6 as a first course)
  • 1 quart good chicken stock
  • 2 Roma tomatoes, roasted and peeled
  • 1/2 white onion, peeled and chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 2 tbsp. corn oil (a must ingredient, for authentic flavor)
  • A couple different vegetables, like carrots, green beans, etc., cut into bite sized pieces, enough to fill 2-3 cups, chopped up.
  • 1 200-gram (7 oz.) package Mexican fideos (Mexican spaghetti) or 8 ounces angel hair pasta
  • 1 bunch Swiss chard, washed, ribs removed, cut into strips
  • salt to taste
Directions:
  1. Heat the chicken stock to a simmer.
  2. Meanwhile, puree the tomato, onion and garlic in a blender with just enough of the stock to allow the blades to move.
  3. Heat the corn oil in a large saucepan, add the noodles and sauté them, stirring constantly to prevent scorching, until they are just golden in color.
  4. Add the tomato mixture and stir to coat the noodles.
  5. Add the hot stock and continue cooking until the noodles are nearly done.
  6. Add the chard and continue cooking until the chard is wilted.
  7. Add salt to taste, and serve.

Arroz Blanco con Verduras

(White Rice with Vegetables)

n2-Arroz-blanco-con-verduras-1

Next up on the Comida menu, is this delightful, soft and flavorful rice dish, as we continue our ethnic food adventure into the world of …

Mexican Cuisine

Ingredients: (serves 6)
Directions:
  1. In a blender, puree 1/2 cup milk with the cream cheese and set aside. In a medium-size heavy-bottomed saucepan (or a cazuela, for the real Mexican experience), heat the oil and saute the rice, stirring, until it forms clumps. Add the garlic, onion, mushrooms and chile and continue to saute, stirring, until the rice separates into individual grains.
  2. Add the water or broth and epazote , with salt to taste, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until the water has just been absorbed. Add the cup of milk that was not blended with the cheese, cover again, and continue to cook over low heat until the milk has been absorbed.
  3. Remove from heat, stir in corn, pour the cheese mixture over all, cover and let stand for 15 minutes before serving.
  4. Stir and serve.

Pollo en Salsa de Almendras

(Chicken in almond sauce)

Pollo en Salsa de Almendras

And now for the main course, the “meat” of the Comida. This dish will forever change your idea of what a skillet-prepared chicken entree can taste like, and is one of the truly authentic traditional Mexican recipes.

Ingredients: (serves 6)
Directions:
  1. Place the chicken, onion, garlic, peppercorns, water to cover and salt or bouillon to taste in a stockpot, bring to a boil, lower heat and cook until the chicken is tender, making sure to remove the breast pieces when they are cooked through, since they will become rubbery if cooked for the same length of time required for dark meat.
  2. Remove the cooked chicken, strain the stock and reserve.
  3. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet, add the cooked chicken pieces, and saute until golden. Remove and keep warm, covered.
  4. Place the almonds, egg yolks, bread and 1 cup of the reserved broth in a blender and puree. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in the skillet, add the almond puree and cook, stirring, 5-10 minutes. Add broth as necessary, a little at a time, to form a medium-thick sauce. Return the chicken to the pan and heat through. Serve the chicken covered with generous helpings of the sauce.

Frijoles de Olla

(Beans in their own broth)

beans

Are you getting full yet? I hope not, because we still have more courses yet to enjoy. Enjoy this mouthwatering Mexican style beans dish, and spice it up with as many slices of jalapeno peppers for garnish as you wish.

Ingredients: (serves 6)
  • 2 cups dried pinto beans, sorted and washed, soaked overnight and drained
  • 1 medium white onion, peeled and chopped, plus 1/2 onion, finely chopped, for garnishes
  • 2 large garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
  • 2 tablespoons lard (I know, lots of people cringe at using lard these days, but for the real authentic Mexican flavor, this is a must ingredient)
  • 2 sprigs or 2 tsp. dried epazote
  • 4 quarts water
  • salt to taste
  • 1 or 2 large jalapeno peppers, sliced, for garnishes
  • Mexican cheese (like a good Queso Panela), crumbled, for garnishes
  • Chopped fresh cilantro, for garnishes
Directions:
  1. Place the beans in a large cazuela  – clay pot – or stockpot with the onion, garlic, lard, epazote and water. Do not add salt until the beans have finished cooking. Cover and cook for 4 hours or until tender. Alternatively, beans may be cooked in a pressure cooker – as is frequently done nowadays in Mexico, following manufacturer’s instructions.
  2. When the beans are done, remove about 1 cup of them and mash or puree them with some of their liquid. Add the mashed beans back to the pot, and continue cooking a few more minutes, until the mashed beans have thickened the bean broth a bit. Add salt to taste.
  3. Serve the beans in the clay pot or an attractive, heat-proof bowl. Pass a platter of garnishes – chopped onions, crumbled cheese, chopped cilantro, and sliced jalapeno peppers – so that each diner can add them to taste.

Flan de Coco

(Mexican coconut flan)

flan

At last, we have come to the final course, a light, flavor-packed, melt-in-your mouth flan made with coconut. The perfect, refreshing way to top off a wonderful Comida repast.

Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. Mix both milks, eggs and vanilla until well-combined.
  2. Stir in the flaked coconut and pour the mixture into 6 individual custard cups or a larger flan mold. Place the cups or mold in a large baking pan, and fill it with water to a depth of 1″.
  3. Bake in a preheated 350º oven for 30-35 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. A flan mold will take longer than individual cups.
  4. Allow to cool, then refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

Typically, the final meal of the day, for most Mexicans, is la cena (pronounced “seh-na”). It might consist of nothing more than some bread and a hot drink, although dining out at a restaurant is not uncommon.

The relief of the cooler after-sunset hours makes for wonderful night life in Mexico, and more than likely if you are out and about, the enticing aroma of the many street-side vendors, grilling fresh tacos, will pull you over for a final day’s snack, chowing down on one or two (or more) tacos.

Having spent some time in Mexico, I can tell you, the flavor of those “Mexican Street Tacos” is unparalleled, and hard to reproduce. This recipe is the best I’ve found. I prepared them in this fashion, and wow – it really took me back, having vivid and fond memories of eating authentic Mexican food, way down south of the border!

Authentic Mexican Street Tacos

authentic-carne-asada-street-tacos-21465092

Please do not substitute or delete any of the ingredients, or prepare in any other way than put forth in this recipe. It all comes together in just the right way for the real Mexican “street” taco experience. When it comes to authentic Mexican taco recipes, it just doesn’t get any better than this.

Ingredients:
Marinade:

The marinade is the key, and what will give your tacos the authentic ‘street’ flavor.

Mix:
  • 3-4 cups of orange juice (Enough to fully cover the meat in a sealable freezer bag)
  • 1 tablespoon of lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon of ground cumin seed
  • 1 tablespoon of minced fresh garlic
  • 1 tablespoon of finely chopped cilantro
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
Directions:
  1. Put marinade in a large freezer bag, along with the meat and get enough air out of the bag so the meat is completely in covered in marinade. Seal the bag tightly. The citric acid breaks down the meat and tenderizes it, so the longer the better, minimum 6 hours, even better for two whole days.
  2. Every so often, flip the bag over, to ensure the meat is equally saturated and marinated over time.
Topping-
  • White onion, diced, and ¼ cup cilantro, mixed together.
Cooking the Meat-
  1. This has to be done on the grille. Sear the meat on both sides and turn over regularly. Skirt steak is sliced pretty thin, so it doesn’t take long to cook. Usually, you’ll want to cook till about medium done.
  2. Re-heat the chopped meat, until nicely warmed, not too hot. You can do this back on the grill in a metal container, or stove-top in a pan, or in a microwave.
Tortillas-
  1. Yellow corn tortillas (In my opinion) are the best for tacos. Tear off two paper towels and fold. Wet them until just moistened through, and wring them to eliminate excess water—you don’t want them dripping wet.
    Wrap 4 tortillas up in the paper towels and heat in the microwave on high setting for one minute.
  2. If you are making more than 4 tacos, re-moisten the paper towels between reloading.
  3. Your tortillas should come out flexible and moist. All you do now, is load them with the meat, add some topping, and if you want it spicier hot, add some chopped fresh jalapeno peppers or hot salsa, and BINGO!

Enjoy some authentic Mexican “Street Tacos”!

In the USA, when cows are butchered, the heads are removed, the tongues often kept for food, but the rest is typically thrown away.

Not so in Mexico. There, cow head is a delicacy, and aside from the skin and bones, all of it is used in making Barbacoa—tongue, cheeks, brains, and even eyes. Smoked for a long time, the head is then either served up whole on a platter with a couple side dishes, or all the edibles forked out, shredded together and used in tacos, enchiladas, etc. Barbacoa is a favored breakfast meal, especially for Sunday mornings.

In Mexico, Barbacoa is cooked over an open fire, often a pit dug into the ground, lined with banana leaves. But if you live in a municipality that forbids open fires in the backyard, you can achieve pretty much the same results smoking it in a charcoal smoking grille.

So if you are a brave ethnic food adventurer, try this out, a barbacoa cow head recipe that, if you have the experience of tasting it, will find your courage well rewarded.

Mexican Smoked Cow Head Barbacoa

smoked cow headBarbacoa_(en_Hidalgo)

 

 

Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. Plan ahead! You should be able, in most parts of the world, to find a local butcher shop or meat market that can get you whole cow or calf heads, but it may not be fast—expect 4 days to a week. When the head(s) arrive, ask the butcher to saw the head(s) in half. This will reduce the cooking time and also make it easier to remove the meat when your “cabeza” (Spanish for “head”) is finished cooking.
  2. Your cabeza will most likely arrive frozen, so you will need to thaw it. Depending on the size, this can take 2 to 3 days. If you have any family members with squeamish stomachs, preferably in an out of sight place—it’s a rather gruesome sight.
  3. When your cabeza is fully thawed, fire up your smoker or smoking-enabled barbecue grille.
  4. As the smoker is heating up, cut the tongue out of the head—for some reason, leaving it in imparts a bizarre taste to the finished barbacoa. Save it, though, you will cook the tongue separately.
  5. Place chili peppers and onion quarters into cavities in the cabeza, generously salt and pepper the heads inside and out, then wrap it in several layers of aluminum foil.  Also wrap the tongue in foil. Wrap tightly, it will not prevent the smoky flavor from penetrating the meat.
  6. Place the wrapped packages in smoker or barbecue grille, and smoke over low heat, about 160 degrees for 8 to 10 hours, adding hickory wood chunks as needed. Expect to use at least 5 pounds of hickory, in order to keep the smoke billowing up prolifically the entire time.
  7. You will know when your barbacoa is fully cooked when it is a nice golden, dark brown color, and when you peel back the foil and poke it with a fork the meat is very tender, and the aroma is making your mouth water.
  8. To serve, either place each half of the cabeza on a separate plate, and dine on it whole with one other person, or, you can fork out all the edibles, shred and combine them together, and feed several people by using the meat in tacos or enchiladas.

****************

Here is a short video, to walk you through the basics of smoking your cow’s head Barbacoa.

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