What Did I Order?
Mexican Food Definitions
"What did I just order?" Ever ask yourself that question? Here are descriptions of some of the most common dishes on restaurant menus. Also, definitions of some Mexican cooking ingredients are included.
* Albondigas = meatballs.
* Atole = a thick, hot soup made from corn.
* Bizcochito = an anise-flavored cookie.
* Burrito = a small-to-medium white flour tortilla, filled with meat, beans, cheese, salsa, or a combination of these, and rolled.
* Caldillo = a thin soup of meat (beef, pork or a mixture), potatoes, and green chiles.
* Carne adovada = cubes of pork that have been marinated and cooked in red chile, garlic and oregano.
* Chalupa = a corn tortilla, fried into a bowl shape and filled with shredded chicken or other meat, beans, topped with guacamole and salsa. Similar to CalMex Taco Salad.
* Chicharrones = small pieces of deep fried pork rind.
* Chile or chile sauce = A sauce made from red or green chile peppers.
* Chile con queso = chile and melted cheese mixed together into a dip.
* Chili con queso = Tex-Mex-style chili con carne stew topped with cheese
* Chiles rellenos = whole green chiles stuffed, dipped in an egg batter, and deep fried.
* Chimichanga = a small deep-fried meat and bean burrito, smothered with chile sauce and cheese
* Chorizo = a spicy pork sausage, seasoned with garlic and red chile
* Cilantro = a pungent green herb used fresh in salsas, and as a topping for nearly any dish
* Enchiladas - corn tortillas filled with chicken, meat, and/or cheese, and either rolled, or stacked, and covered with chile sauce and cheese.
* Flan = a caramel custard dessert
* Flauta = a small, tightly rolled, fried enchilada
* Frijoles = refried beans, usually pinto beans
* Huevos rancheros = eggs (sunny-side up or over-easy) covered with a hot green or red chile sauce
* Natilla = soft custard dessert.
* Quesadilla = meat or chicken sandwiched between tortillas, fried, and cut in triangles
* Salsa = generally an uncooked mixture of chile peppers, tomatoes, onions and (usually)vinegar. The green chile variant usually uses cooked tomatillos instead of tomatoes.
* Sopaipilla = a puffed, fried bread, usually served as a dessert with honey. Sometimes stuffed with meat, beans, cheese and chile sauce.
* Taco = Surely you know.
* Tamale = meat rolled in cornmeal dough (masa), wrapped in corn husks and steamed.
* Taquito or taquita = a tightly rolled, deep-fried version of the taco.
* Tortilla = a flatbread made predominantly either of unbleached white wheat flour or of cornmeal.
* Tostada = A corn tortilla that is fried flat and covered with meat, lettuce and cheese. Like an open-faced taco.