Recreating the Cuisine of Mexico
So you went to Mexico and had a great time and just wish you could get your hands on some traditional Mexican food at home. Well, you can, just read on and let your taste buds revisit that amazing Mexican vacation you just had. You might need to start saving up for the beaches and swim-up bar part of the vacation as I can't really give you directions on how to create an at home all inclusive Mexican resort, but I can help you with the food!
To start you need to walk right on past the "Mexican" area of your grocery store and head online or to a specialty Mexican grocer. If it comes pre-packaged in a box made in Ohio it's probably not authentic Mexican as delicious as it may be. We'll save these American-Mexican meals for another day because right now we are focused on re-creating that amazing Mexican excursion you wish you were still on!
If you look online for "authentic Mexican recipe" you will find MANY options and probably even some recipes for the very same dishes you have previously enjoyed in your travels. It's hard to say what ingredients are the staples of Mexican cuisine as the food differs so much from one area to another as in many countries. If you were staying in a resort near the sea you most likely enjoyed a lot of dishes featuring fish, but if you were away from the beaches you may have had more dishes using beef or chicken as the main protein and of course Mexican food is full of many vegetarian dishes.
The few ingredients that seem to show up no matter where you are in Mexico are chilies of all sorts and sizes and hotness, corn both fresh and flour, beans of all kinds, tomatoes and rice. Often Mexican foods are flavored with herbs such as cilantro and can also at times feature cocoa which comes from their Mayan heritage.
The best way to go about re-creating an authentic Mexican dish is to find the recipe you are looking for and then be sure to buy authentic ingredients. For example often cinnamon is used in Mexican food though if it is authentic Mexican food you would use cinnamon called "Canela" or "Ceylon cinnamon", this cinnamon comes from a tree native to Sri Lanka and is much lighter in color than what you would find in a regular US grocery store.
One thing we do wrong to Mexican food in our not so authentic way of making it is we load it up with cheddar cheese! Authentic Mexican food does incorporate cheese ("queso") but not cheddar, you can find lists of traditionally used cheeses online or again at your local Mexican grocer if you happen to have one. You can really make such a difference to your Mexican dishes by adding even just a few authentic ingredients and by using fresh herbs and dried beans instead of canned. These little steps make a huge difference in your cooking and it is sure to take your taste buds at least a little closer back to Mexico if not entirely!
Buen Provecho!
To start you need to walk right on past the "Mexican" area of your grocery store and head online or to a specialty Mexican grocer. If it comes pre-packaged in a box made in Ohio it's probably not authentic Mexican as delicious as it may be. We'll save these American-Mexican meals for another day because right now we are focused on re-creating that amazing Mexican excursion you wish you were still on!
If you look online for "authentic Mexican recipe" you will find MANY options and probably even some recipes for the very same dishes you have previously enjoyed in your travels. It's hard to say what ingredients are the staples of Mexican cuisine as the food differs so much from one area to another as in many countries. If you were staying in a resort near the sea you most likely enjoyed a lot of dishes featuring fish, but if you were away from the beaches you may have had more dishes using beef or chicken as the main protein and of course Mexican food is full of many vegetarian dishes.
The few ingredients that seem to show up no matter where you are in Mexico are chilies of all sorts and sizes and hotness, corn both fresh and flour, beans of all kinds, tomatoes and rice. Often Mexican foods are flavored with herbs such as cilantro and can also at times feature cocoa which comes from their Mayan heritage.
The best way to go about re-creating an authentic Mexican dish is to find the recipe you are looking for and then be sure to buy authentic ingredients. For example often cinnamon is used in Mexican food though if it is authentic Mexican food you would use cinnamon called "Canela" or "Ceylon cinnamon", this cinnamon comes from a tree native to Sri Lanka and is much lighter in color than what you would find in a regular US grocery store.
One thing we do wrong to Mexican food in our not so authentic way of making it is we load it up with cheddar cheese! Authentic Mexican food does incorporate cheese ("queso") but not cheddar, you can find lists of traditionally used cheeses online or again at your local Mexican grocer if you happen to have one. You can really make such a difference to your Mexican dishes by adding even just a few authentic ingredients and by using fresh herbs and dried beans instead of canned. These little steps make a huge difference in your cooking and it is sure to take your taste buds at least a little closer back to Mexico if not entirely!
Buen Provecho!
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