10 Mexican Dishes That Aren't Tacos
Questions This Article Answers
What are some classic Mexican dishes?
What foods are popular in Mexico?
Are quesadillas popular in Mexico?
What is a gordita?
1. Quesadillas
There is a lot of debate in Mexico about whether a quesadilla must contain queso(cheese) or not. After all, the name contains the Spanish word for cheese! However, the cheese is not the defining factor of what makes a quesadilla, and they’re equally delicious with or without cheese.
The Diccionario del español de México(Dictionary of Mexican Spanish) defines a quesadilla as a corn or flour tortilla(tortilla), folded in half, filled with various ingredients, and either fried or cooked on a traditional griddle called a comal(griddle). Typical fillings include cheese, potatoes, mushrooms, meat, chicken, crispy pork skin, and squash blossoms.
2. Gorditas
Gorditas are little corn cakes that typically contain a leavening agent, so they puff up a bit when cooked on the comal. They’re usually sliced open and stuffed with savory fillings, like meat, cheese, beans, or a mixture of potatoes and chorizo sausage.
There are also sweet versions that are served plain and resemble a fluffy pancake.
3. Mole
This entry on the list is not actually a dish on its own. Mole(mole) is a delicious sauce that is used in various dishes throughout Mexico.
While there are different versions that come in a variety of colors (red, green, yellow), classic mole is brown because it is a mixture of dried chiles, dark chocolate, nuts, dried fruit, and especias(spices), such as cinnamon, black pepper, and cumin.
The ingredients used for mole are ground into a paste that is then combined with water or broth and simmered until a rich sauce forms. This sauce is then used as a marinade, braising liquid, or finishing sauce for meats and other dishes.
Don’t forget to have some fresh tortillas on hand to sop up the extra sauce!
4. Enchiladas
Enchiladas(enchiladas) are Mexican comfort food at its finest! They’re made with corn tortillas that are stuffed with a filling, rolled up, and placed seam-side-down on a plate. They’re then often bathed in a delicious sauce made from green or red chiles or mole and topped with garnishes such as cheese, sour cream, lettuce, and radish slices.
Typical fillings include potatoes, cheese, ground meat, shredded beef or chicken, or black refried beans.
5. Tlayudas
A classic dish from the Mexican state of Oaxaca, tlayudas(tlayudas) are easy to recognize compared to other corn-based Mexican dishes because of how big they are.
Tlayudas consist of a large, thin tortilla that is either fried or cooked on a grill until nice and crispy. It’s then topped with frijoles refritos(refried beans), shredded lettuce or cabbage, and Oaxaca cheese. It often contains meat, such as cecina(thinly sliced, salted, and aged beef) or shredded chicken, as well as avocado and salsa.
It can be served open faced or folded in half.
6. Sopes
Another dish made with corn, sopesstart with a fried masa(corn dough) base that is like a really thick tortilla. It’s then topped with savory ingredients, such as refried beans, lettuce, onions, crumbled cheese, salsa, and sour cream.
7. Pozole
There is no one single recipe for pozole—the classic sopa mexicana(Mexican soup). But every bowl, regardless of the cook’s preferences, will contain hominy cooked in broth. The soup is usually made with chicken or pork, but there are vegetarian versions as well.
The color of the soup depends on whether a chile-based salsa is added, with pozole blanco(white pozole) being the original version, pozole verde(green pozole) having the addition of a salsa verde(green sauce), and pozole rojo(red pozole) containing a salsa roja(red sauce) made with dried red chiles and usually tomato.
Perhaps the best part of pozole is the toppings! You can load up your bowl with ingredients such as avocado, radish slices, shredded cabbage, chopped onion, fresh chiles, crispy tortilla pieces, and even chicharrón(fried pork skin). And don’t forget to sprinkle on some Mexican oregano and squeeze a healthy dose of fresh lime juice over your bowl!
Hominy
Have you ever wondered what hominy is and why it looks a bit different than corn kernels? Maíz nixtamalizado(hominy) is corn that has been nixtamalized, meaning it was treated with an alkali substance, such as lye or lime (the mineral, not the fruit). The nixtamalization process softens the corn and makes it easier to digest.
The nixtamalized corn is often ground to make a dough or dried to make a flour, both of which are used to make tortillas and other masa dishes. But when the kernels are left whole, they’re called hominy and used in dishes like pozole.
8. Elotes and Esquites
Elotes(corncobs) are cobs of corn that have been cooked, slathered in mayonnaise and crumbled cheese, sprinkled with salt and dried chile, and given a good squeeze of lime.
Esquites(esquites) are essentially the same as elotes, except the maíz(corn) is first cut off the cob so that the kernels can be served in a cup with the other ingredients dolloped on top. In some parts of Mexico, esquites are known as elote en vaso(corncob in a cup).
9. Chilaquiles
Perhaps the perfect breakfast food, chilaquiles consist of pieces of fried corn tortillas drenched in a salsa picante(spicy sauce), with sour cream and cheese to finish them off. Chilaquiles are often topped with a fried egg or two!
10. Chiles En Nogada
Considered a national dish of Mexico, in part because the colors match the country’s flag, chiles en nogada are stuffed green poblano chiles. The filling usually includes ground meat, spices, and fruit, such as apples, pears, and peaches. They’re covered with nogada sauce, which is a creamy sauce made with nueces(walnuts). And they’re topped with pomegranate seeds and parsley. This beautiful dish is usually served in Central Mexico in August and September when granadas(pomegranates) are in season.
We hope this list made your mouth water! Don't be afraid to give one of these non-taco dishes a try the next time you’re in Mexico or a Mexican restaurant! ¡Buen provecho!(Bon appétit!)
Learn more about Mexico, other hispanic foods, and other hispanic cultures with these articles!
