Mexican Cuisine and The Most Popular Dishes: Guacamole, Tacos, Mole, Tamales

Become an Expert on Mexican Cuisine

This post is dedicated to our food lovers, coffee lovers and foodies who want to know a more about Mexico and the Mexican cuisine.

Mexico has long been among the world’s most popular vacation destinations for its sunny beaches, lovely people, ancient traditions, folklore, art, music, and its delicious cuisine.

Mexican cuisine is very rich in flavours, colours and aroma. It is highly appreciated because Mexican cuisine carefully mixes soft spices, hot chilis, and salty and sweet flavours in every single dish.

The well-known Mexican cuisine was born from a combination of ancient dishes of indigenous cultures and the Spanish cuisine that arrived to Mexico after the Spanish conquest.

Mexico Real Café is proud to mention that Mexico’s cuisine won the honor of being declared a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intagible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2010.

In this post we present you some of the most well-known and representative dishes that Mexican people enjoy in their daily diet.

It is important to mention that some dishes are complex and require lots of effort and time to cook.  For this reason they are sometimes only cooked either during the weekends at home or for special celebrations such as traditional weddings, baptisms, or family gatherings.

Guacamole

Guacamole is one the most popular dishes and easiest to prepare. It is widely known in America and Europe. Guacamole is a kind of sauce made with avocados.

Guacamole dates back to the time of the Aztecs. You can prepare guacamole at home, you just need to mash up one or two avocados, mix them with a bit of chopped onion, tomatoes and coriander. Then, add some lemon juice, pepper and salt. You can enjoy guacamole with tortilla chips.

Chilaquiles

Chilaquiles is the preferred dish for breakfast in Mexico. To make chilaquiles you will need lightly fried corn tortillas cut into quarters and top them with green or red salsa.

Green salsa is made up of a type of Mexican tomatoes that are only grown in Mexico. These tomatoes are known as green tomatoes or tomatillos.

The red sauce is prepared with red tomatoes, onion and chili peppers. Chilaquiles are often served with refried beans and a grilled steak.

Chiles en Nogada

This is one of the most patriotic dishes, it displays the colours of the Mexican flag: red, white, and dark green.

Chiles en nogada is prepared with the Poblano Chili pepper which is filled with chopped chicken. This chicken has been previously seasoned and cooked with herbs and mixed with sweet fruits such as apple, peach, raisins, almonds etc.

Once the chile poblano is filled, it is then fried. At the end, chile poblano is topped with a white sauce made up of cream and nuts. Finally, some red pomegranate seeds are sprinkled over the nut cream.

Mole

Mole is a rich Mexican sauce that is served hot and poured over chicken, turkey or chicken taco rolls.

There are various types of moles but the most popular ones are Mole from the state of Oaxaca (Southern Mexico) and mole from the state of Puebla (Centre of Mexico).

Mole is a delicious meal that is cooked frequently for special occasions such as traditional weddings, baptisms or Sunday gatherings.

This dish is cooked over a couple of hours, and it requires dedication and love. To prepare mole sauce you might need at least 20 ingredients such as: dark chocolate (free of milk), cinnamon, pepper, 4 or more varieties of chili-peppers, cumin, chicken stock, tomatoes, onion, garlic etc.

Tacos al pastor

In Mexico there is a large variety of tacos. Tacos al pastor is one of the most popular types.

This specific type of taco was born after the arrival of Lebanese and Syrian immigrants to Mexico.

Tacos al pastor are made up of thin strips of pork that have been marinated overnight in vinegar, orange juice and chili-powder.

This slowly cooked meat is placed on a corn tortilla and served with onions, coriander leaves and pineapple.

Tamales

Tamales are today part of the Mexican diet. Indeed, tamales are loved by Mexican and Hispanic people. Nowadays there are some special dates each year when eating tamales is a must: February 2nd (Candlemas Day) and the Day of the Dead.

Thanks to globalization, tamales have also become very popular in America and Europe where they are served in Mexican restaurants. This delicious dish traces its origins to pre-Hispanic times, when tamales were an essential part of religious celebrations.

Would you like to cook tamales at home? Tamales are made of corn dough, lard and salt. This mixture is stuffed with any type of cooked meats, sauces, fruits, cheese etc., then wrapped and slowly steamed in corn husks. The wrapping is discarded before eating.

Now that you are an expert on Mexican cuisine, remember to have a daily cup of Gourmet Arabica Coffee of Mexico Real Café to taste the real flavour of Mexican coffee.

Here are many recipes to enjoy Mexican Arabica coffee any time of day: espresso, lungo, doppio, espresso martini, tequila coffee, Mexican Style Coffee (Café de olla) and much more. Find these delicious recipes on our blog.