14 Amazing Mexican Food and Drinks You Should Try

Turning our attention to an iconic example of Mexico City street food, pambazos are white bread rolls filled with potato and chorizo, then dipped in a warm red chilli pepper sauce, giving the bread its famous coloring. It’s then fried until crispy and topped with lettuce, salsa, cheese and/or sour cream.  You can also get mini versions known as pambacitos.

While mollete is simply a flatbread in Spain, in Mexico it’s basically an even better version of a grilled cheese: an open sandwich piled with refried beans, salsa, cheese and slices of jalapeño or serrano pepper. It’s then grilled in an oven until the cheese melts. We’re drooling just looking at it.

We couldn’t write about amazing Mexican food without mentioning tacos, one of the country’s best-loved foods. As Enrique Olvera, head chef of Mexican restaurant Pujol (one of the world’s best 50 best restaurants in 2017) put it, “tacos are a way of life”. You’ve most likely tried a taco before, but here are some examples of less common but nonetheless mouth-watering taco recipes to try at your local taqueria (a Mexican restaurant specializing in tacos):

• Carnitas tacos: originating in the state of Michoacán, carnitas (meaning ‘little meats’) is seasoned, slow-cooked pork which is shredded and commonly served with chopped coriander leaves and diced onion, salsa, guacamole, tortillas, and refried beans (frijoles refritos). If you fancy making them yourself, there’s a recipe here.
• Guisado style tacos: if you fancy eating tacos in the morning, these are for you. These tacos are filled with stewed ingredients placed in ceramic pots, with an endless array of options, such as the picadillo hash (ground beef with vegetables).
• Tacos al pastor: probably one of the most famous Mexican street foods, tacos al pastor (pictured above) were brought over by Lebanese immigrants in the 1990s and consists of spit-roasted pork, similar to the Turkish döner kebab and the Greek gyros, shaved off into a tortilla, which might be topped with a slice of pineapple. If you study in Mexico, you may well find yourself picking this one up after a night out.

If you’ve got any room left for pudding after you’ve tried one of these delicious Mexican dishes, you might like to try a bionico, which originated in the city of Guadalajara in Jalisco. It’s a Mexican-style fruit salad made up of a range of chopped fruits, drenched with cream or yogurt and served with granola, shredded coconut, raisins and occasionally honey.

Staying on the sweet side for the last of the best Mexican dishes, the pan de muerto (literally “bread of the dead”) is a sweet roll traditionally baked in the run up to the Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebrations from October 31 to November 2 each year. Due to this, the bread often gets a unique appearance, with bone-shaped dough toppings, commonly presented in a circle to represent the circle of life.

Tejuino is a cold drink made from fermented corn, which is particularly popular in the state of Jalisco. It’s made of the same corn dough found in tortillas, which is mixed with water and brown sugar.

Pulque is a milk-colored alcoholic drink made from the fermented sap of an agave plant. It’s a predecessor to tequila that’s been around for at least 2,000 years, when it was reserved only for priests and nobles and referred to by the Aztecs as the drink of the gods. After declining popularity in the 20^th century, pulque is now making a comeback, despite having quite a sour, yeasty taste. It’s also apparently got some health benefits, being rich in probiotics, vitamins and minerals.

Or if you’d prefer a non-alcoholic option among Mexican drinks, agua de Jamaica is a herbal iced tea made from the sepals of the roselle flower. It’s a popular drink, and for good reason, as it’s delicious, refreshing and also potentially good for you, containing natural compounds that might help lower cholesterol and reduce blood pressure. Find out how to make your own here.

The last of our top Mexican drinks is a Mexican cerveza preparada (beer cocktail), made with tomato juice, hot sauce, lime juice and beer. As you’d expect, it’s definitely got a kick to it (thanks to the hot sauce) and it’s also apparently good for curing hangovers. If you want to try your hand at making one, here’s the recipe.

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