A Food Guide

On the 13^th, very soon after we came back from the mountains, we got some visitors. Marcela and Andre, two of my dad’s previous students, came to visit us in Oaxaca. Not only did we learn how to make Mexican Hot Chocolate from them, but I grilled them on Mexican food definitions. Not just for Oaxaca, but all of Mexico, and I learned some specialties of different areas too.

First here are the food definitions according to the Zapotec woman from La Neveria. She is apparently well known, at least in La Neveria, because she was in the newspaper. In a well known newspaper there was an article about La Neveria. And there was a paragraph or two about cooking. Señora Amalia was discussed and photographed. And I can see why she was in the news—her food was delicious!

From Señora Amalia Santiago Cruz in La Nevería:

• Quesadillas are a grilled folded over tortilla with only cheese. The type of cheese is quesillo, a specialty Oaxacan string cheese. If the tortilla has something else inside beside cheese, the name of the dish changes. Ex: Chorzio (sausage) and Queso in a tortilla is called a Choriqueso.

• Tacos can be rolled, or folded over in half, and can have anything inside.
• Tlayudas—this dish is made with a Tlayuda Tortilla. A Tlayuda Tortilla is a large pure corn tortilla that is stiff because it has been toasted. Tlayudas are prepared by spreading lard (or another grease) on a Tlayuda Tortilla, filling half with any filling, usually beans, cheese, avocado and some type of meat, and then folded in half. The whole thing is then heated on the comal (see photo below)
• Gorditas or Picaditas are stuffed tortillas, like pita bread.
• Burritos are rolled tortillas from Mexico City and are not in Oaxaca, they have meat, guacamole and whole beans, not refried ones.
• Empanadas are made with white meat, yerbasanta (an herb) in a folded over tortilla that has it’s edges pinched closed (see photo again). Or, an alternative filling is Flor de Calabasa (squash flower), mushrooms and cheese.
• Tamales are corn puree baked in banana leaves or corn leaves. They usually contain meat.
• Amarillo is masa (corn and flour mix) and chile sauce mixed together, it is the first thing added in tamales and empanadas.

-------------------------------

From Marcela and Andre:

• Quesadillas are a soft corn tortilla, with cheese, folded over in half. In Mexico city and most of Mexico, Quesadillas can contain things other than cheese. In Veracruz however, Quesadillas can only have cheese.
• Tacos are a soft or fried corn tortilla that is rolled. If the Tacos are hard and fried, they are called Taco Dorados.
• Tlayudas are big corn tortillas that are not crispy and not floppy, like a tortilla. They have refried beans and cheese, but the other topping may change.
• Gorditas—In Veracruz, Gorditas have their “filling” added to the dough itself. The dough is then puffed, and tortillas stay puffed. The dough can be mixed with beans (Gordita Negra) or molasses (Gordita de dulce) or nothing ( Gordita blanca). In the rest of Mexico, Gorditas are stuffed tortillas, like pita bread.
• Picaditas are a soft, thick, corn tortilla with a rim. They normally have salsa, cheese and onions, but nothing else. They are larger than Sopes (see below).
• Sopes are like Picaditas, except smaller (about the size of an English muffin) and may have shredded chicken.
• Burritos are always made of wheat flour, and are rolled like big taco. Burritos are rare in Central Mexico but are more common in the north.
• Empanadas can be made of corn or wheat flour. They are folded in half, with their edges pinched shut and then the whole thing is fried or grilled. They can contain a variety of things.
• Sincronizadas are two wheat tortillas, laid flat on top of each other with the filling, often cheese and ham, in the middle.
• Tortas are sandwiches made from a local bread.
• Tostadas are hard, crispy tortillas, (harder than tlayudas) with various toppings. They always have refried beans, but can also have lettuce, chicken, tomatoes, avocadoes, cream, cheese onions, radishes on top.
• Tamales are a corn puree baked in banana leaves or corn leaves, depending on the area: banana leaves are more common in the Yucatan. Tamales usually contain meat.
• Enchiladas are tortillas rolled around something (meat, cheese, potatoes), and are baked in a salsa verde (green sauce) made of green tomatillos.
• Enfrijoladas are enchiladas with a bean sauce instead of a salsa verde. The bean sauce is well blended, until it has the consistency of thin yoghurt. Alternatively, Enfrijoladas can be made with a mole sauce (enmoladas).
• Huaraches are from Central Mexico. They are oval tortillas that is fried. They have an open face covered in salsa (green or red), possibly a piece of meat, and are topped by the Mexican crumbly cheese (like feta, except not as salty or wet). “Huarache” means shoe. The Huaraches are so named because they resemble a shoe.

-------------------------------

Breakfast Menu

• Huevos Rancheros are fried eggs on a fried tortilla, one egg per tortilla, with either red or green salsa pooled over them.
• Huevos Divorciados are Huevos Rancheros except the plate is divided (divorced), with one egg and tortilla on each side. Each side is one color of salsa, one red, one green.
• Huevos Motuleños—Marcela and Andre couldn’t remember, but when they do, I will get emailed the answers. So stay tuned!
• Huevos a la Mexicana are scrambled eggs with tomatoes, green chiles (not spicy ones), and onions. They are on every breakfast menu.
• Chilaquiles are pieces of fried tortillas soaked in red or green salsa.