Six Must Have Regional Dishes of Mexico

The cuisine of Mexico is a favorite to culinary connoisseurs worldwide and last year, UNESCO actually awarded it World Heritage Status, which was the first time the food of a country had ever received the honor. Here are six regional dishes that can’t be skipped when visiting Mexico:


Discada - From the Copper Canyon

Discada | Courtesy of Wilbert Barrera

Discada is a traditional dish found in northern Mexico and takes its name from tradition, when locals would weld plow discs shut and use them as a pan. Meat-lovers worldwide will love Discada as the main ingredients are diced beef, bacon, ham, sausage, and chorizo, which are mixed with bell peppers onions, and tomato. As the meats are cooked and mixed, the dish gets seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, and paprika.

This meaty delight is a hearty dish often cooked at fiestas for large amounts of people but is probably most appreciated when cooked over an open fire after a long day of hiking the Copper Canyon.

Chiles En Nogada - From Puebla

Chiles en Nogada | Courtesy of el_imaginario

This dish is a national treasure and is associated with the liberation of Mexico from Spain. Although attributed to Puebla, Chiles En Nogada is cooked in cocinas around the country on Mexico's independence day.

Chiles En Nogada takes its name from the Spanish word for Walnut Tree, nogal. The dish consists of polblano chiles stuffed with picadillo, which is a mixture of ground meat, fruits, and spices. The stuffed chili is then covered with a white walnut-based cream sauce and sprinkled with pomegranate seeds making the dish a visual symbol of Mexican pride with its colors of green, white, and red.

Fish Tacos - From Baja California

Fish Tacos | Courtesy of DaveCurry8

Baja Fish Tacos are quite different from the traditional tacos found throughout the mainland of Mexico. Where as most tacos in Mexico consist of diced or shaved meat on a grilled tortilla topped with onion and various red and green salsas, Baja Fish Tacos require lightly breaded and fried fish, flavored/spiced cabbage, and a dairy-based white sauce.
Different restaurants and cooks will make different variations of the cabbage/white sauce combination but no matter how they're served - when combined with a Corona, a sandy beach, and an un-obstructed view of the Pacific, there's nothing better.

Mole - From Oaxaca

Mole Torta | Courtesy of emkeller

Although technically a sauce, Mole (in Mexico) has also become known as an actual dish. This creamy sauce takes its name from the Nahuatl word mulli meaning "sauce or concoction," which perfectly reflects the varieties in which the sauce is actually served.

Mole sauces typically contain around 20 different ingredients including various chiles, tomatoes, dried fruits and sugar, spices, nuts, garlic, and chocolate. After being ground together, broth is added and the mixture is slow cooked into a rich, dark sauce, which is typically served over turkey or chicken. Because the process is so tedious, generations of family members often take turns during different stages of making mole, and the dish is often reserved for special occasions and celebrations.

Tortas Ahogadas - From Guadalajara

Torta Ahogadas | Courtesy of Guanatos Gwyn

A staple in the diet of any true Chivas fan, the Torta Ahogadas (or the "drowned sandwich”) is a spicy sandwich known to burn away even the fiercest of hangovers. It's just as messy as it is delicious.

A true Torta Ahogadas begins with the bread. Almost stale in texture and consistency, birote (or bolillo) bread needs to be thick and tough to withstand the abundance of chili and watery tomato sauces that are poured all over the sandwich, "drowning" the roll, the chopped pork, the onions, and the cabbage that fills it. Pair one of these with some onion rings and a cold cerveza, and you're ready to watch Chivas destroy Mexico City's team America in a football match.

Cochinita Pibil - From Yucatan

Cochinita Pibil | Courtesy of Quiero Cancun

This traditional Yucatan dish is a favorite of BBQ lovers worldwide due to its rich, smoky flavor. Making true Cochinita Pibil is a labor of love as it is a lengthy process that requires marinating and preparing meat, digging and preparing of a fire pit, carefully burying the food (cochinita pibil means "buried baby pig"), waiting for the food to slow cook, and then unearthing the cooked food to serve.

Cochinita Pibil is usually made of shoulder pork that has been marinated in highly acidic juices of Seville, or bitter oranges, often in combination with limes and/or vinegar. The pork is also flavored and colored with Achiote, or Annatto, whose flavor is "slightly sweet and peppery." The marinated meat is then wrapped in banana leaves, placed atop rocks that have been laid over a fire that has been set in a pit in the ground, and then covered with wood, leaves, and then dirt. The process slow roasts the meat, giving it its unique and delicious flavor.

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