Mexican cooking is built on dozens of fresh and dried chillies, toasted and ground into salsas and moles, with native herbs like epazote and Mexican oregano and a handful of Old World spices.
Overview¶
Mexico is where much of the world's chilli diversity was first domesticated, and Mexican cooks use more types of chilli, with more precision, than any other cuisine. The same pepper can have one name fresh and another dried — a poblano dries into an ancho, a jalapeño smoked and dried becomes a chipotle — and each has its own role. On top of that Indigenous foundation of maize, beans, squash, chilli, tomato and native herbs, the Spanish introduced pork, dairy, wheat and Old World spices such as cumin, cinnamon, cloves and black pepper, used in small amounts.
Tex-Mex, with its chili powder and heavy cumin, is a separate (and legitimate) Texan tradition; much of Mexico uses cumin far more sparingly.
The core palette¶
Chillies¶
| Chilli | Fresh or dried | Character | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jalapeño | Fresh | Grassy, medium heat | Salsas, pickled en escabeche |
| Serrano | Fresh | Brighter, hotter | Pico de gallo, salsa verde |
| Poblano / ancho | Fresh / dried | Mild; dried is raisiny, sweet | Chiles rellenos, rajas / moles, adobos |
| guajillo | Dried | Bright, tangy, mild–medium | Pozole rojo, adobos, salsas |
| pasilla | Dried | Dark, bitter-chocolate notes | Moles, salsas |
| chipotle | Smoked, dried | Smoky, medium–hot | Adobo, salsas, tinga |
| Chile de árbol | Dried | Sharp, hot | Table salsas |
| habanero | Fresh | Very hot, fruity | Yucatán salsas |
Mulato, cascabel, morita, chilhuacle and costeño are among many others.
Herbs and spices¶
- Herbs: coriander (cilantro), epazote (in black beans and quesadillas), Mexican oregano (Lippia graveolens, a different plant from Mediterranean oregano, more citrusy and resinous), Mexican bay, hoja santa (anise-scented), avocado leaf and culantro.
- Spices: canela (soft Ceylon-type cinnamon), allspice (native to the region), cloves, cumin, black pepper, sesame and aniseed in moles, and vanilla, native to Mexico and first cultivated by the Totonac people of Veracruz.
- annatto (achiote), ground into recado rojo in the Yucatán.
Regional differences¶
- Oaxaca: "the land of seven moles" — negro, rojo, coloradito, amarillo, verde, chichilo and manchamanteles — plus tlayudas, chapulines and chilhuacle chillies. See mole.
- Puebla: mole poblano, chiles en nogada, and a strong colonial-convent tradition.
- Yucatán: Maya-influenced, with recado rojo, sour orange, habanero and pit-roasting (pib). Cochinita pibil is the landmark dish.
- Jalisco and the west: birria, pozole, tequila; guajillo and árbol chillies.
- The north: beef, wheat tortillas, grilling (carne asada), and simpler seasoning.
- Veracruz and the Gulf: seafood, vanilla, and dishes like pescado a la veracruzana with olives, capers and herbs — a clear Spanish influence.
- Mexico City: every regional cuisine plus the capital's own street food, from tacos al pastor (a Lebanese-Mexican invention using guajillo and annatto marinade) to quesadillas with epazote.
Key techniques¶
- Toasting dried chillies: a few seconds a side on a hot comal or dry pan, until fragrant and pliable. Burnt chillies turn bitter. See toasting-spices.
- Rehydrating: soak toasted chillies in hot water for 15–30 minutes before blending. See rehydrating-dried-chillies.
- Charring fresh ingredients: tomatoes, tomatillos, onions, garlic and fresh chillies are blackened on the comal for salsas.
- Frying the salsa (sazonar, freír la salsa): a blended sauce is poured into very hot lard or oil and cooked down until it darkens and thickens. This concentrates flavour and is the step that makes moles and adobos taste finished.
- The molcajete: a basalt mortar for salsas; see pestle-and-mortar.
💡 Strain your chilli sauces
Dried chilli skins do not fully break down even in a strong blender. Push adobos and moles through a sieve for a smooth sauce.
Landmark dishes¶
Mole poblano and the Oaxacan moles, cochinita pibil, chiles en nogada, pozole, tacos al pastor, birria, tamales, chilaquiles, enchiladas, tinga de pollo, frijoles de olla with epazote, sopa de lima, and salsas from pico de gallo to salsa macha.
Stocking the cupboard¶
- Dried ancho, guajillo and chipotle chillies — the essential three
- Chiles de árbol and pasilla
- Mexican oregano
- cumin seed, allspice and cloves
- Canela (Ceylon cinnamon)
- epazote (dried if fresh is unavailable)
- Achiote paste for Yucatán cooking
- Chipotles in adobo, in a tin