If you ask 100 different people in Mexico their favorite dish, you can get 100 different answers. Mexico extensive land and climates provide a huge pallet of flavors and texture in their food. The other key element in their food is the wide variety of peppers from mild to extremely hot, it is important to say that in order to enjoy Mexican food it is mandatory to use their salsa made with peppers. For me is key the freshness of their ingredients, today they have hundreds of open air markets were you can get vegetable, fruits, meats that go directly to their cuisine. I will share my experience of “el mercado” in another post.
If you ask for my favorite dish it would be almost impossible to just select one, but for the exercise I would tell you that the “Cochinita Pibil” would take the number 1 place, it is a traditional Mexican slow-roasted pork dish from the Yucatán Peninsula. Preparation of traditional “cochinita” involves marinating the meat in strongly acidic citrus juice, seasoning it with annatto seed which imparts a vivid burnt orange color, and roasting the meat while it is wrapped in banana leaf.
The best way to try Mexico food is thru a buffet, we found one in a trip to Guadalajara (more to come about these beautiful city) the price was around $20 USD per person and had more than 100 different options, see the photos below from one of our trips. On Sundays many hotels and restaurants have their own Mexican buffet, give a try to food made on the spot …
Cochinita can be served in many ways: Tacos, With beans, As a sandwich but my favorite is the “Panucho” (Corn Tortillas filled with mashed black beans, cochinita pibil , topped with purple onion and habanero sauce), the secret is that the tortillas are fried before putting all other ingredients.
The great thing about Mexican food is you can enjoy a simple “Taco de Canasta” from a lady in a street to a tasting menu from Pujol one of the best restaurants in the world, one in front of the other. The alternative are endless and for every budget and taste buds. I will try and cover different foods and places in my posts, also will share a list of places we have enjoy thru the years in the Food section.
I hope this brief introduction have set you up for a culinary trip across Mexico, give a try to their cuisine and taste the large variety of foods from Seafood to local produced meat, from local fruits to the more than 100 hundred different peppers to make a salsa.
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