The secret to the sweetness of Mexican shrimp cocktails, which can become addictive, is the unlikely addition of orange soda. I didn’t believe it until I tried making the sauce myself. Bufalo and Valentina sauces are Mexican pantry staples and, for those outside Mexico, can be purchased at most Latin supermarkets or ordered on Amazon. […]
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Mexico is a country where soup is an integral part of the comida — the main meal of the day — and many people feel that this meal is not complete without it. I’ve written about it before (Soup of the day: La sopa del día), and this website has an extensive repertoire of soup recipes, but […]
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Mexico presents a different face to each person that meets her. Traveling through the country is an experience unique to the individual, even to people on the same journey, whether they be tourists spending a week at an ultra-modern beach resort or ethnologists visiting remote indigenous villages. Each of us has a personal framework through […]
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I recently watched a video of women in the lush, green Papaloapan region of Oaxaca making yucca tamales. As is quite often the case with tamales of all kinds, it was a group effort. The labor-intensive culinary ritual involved in their preparation seemed a lot easier with the conversation and camaraderie that went on with […]
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It would be difficult to think of a food more versatile than the empanada except, of course, the taco. Both consist of a dough-based wrapper around a filling, and both can hold a huge variety of ingredients within. But while the taco has its roots in the indigenous Mexican culinary tradition, the empanada was an […]
Continue Reading As we settle into the crisp autumn months and adapt cooking techniques and ingredients to the change of seasons, it seems like a good time to look at the use of spices in the Mexican kitchen. Besides providing great depth of flavor, spices have both a warming and anti-inflammatory effect on the body, making them […]
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Part One: Culinary guide to Mexican fish and shellfish: Las delicias del mar I Last month’s column presented the first part of an alphabetized list of Mexico’s most popular eating varieties of fish and shellfish, expanded beyond the literal meaning of mar – ocean – to include freshwater species. Throughout Lent, markets and supermarkets have been selling […]
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The state of Veracruz is part of the the Gulf Coast Region of Mexico, along with the states of Tabasco and Tamaulipas. The state capital is the colonial city of Xalapa (900,,000). Other major cities include the industrial twin cities of Coatzacoalcos (250,000) and Minatitlán (360,000) in the extreme south, and the port city of […]
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The state of Tamaulipas is part of the the Gulf Coast Region of Mexico, along with the states of Tabasco and Veracruz. The state capital is Ciudad Victoria. Other large cities include Reynosa, Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo and Tampico. The state shares 370 kilometers (230 miles) of the U.S. border with Texas and is home to […]
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