Mexico Flashcards
Bottled Water
Coffee is always served with pure water.
Bote de aqua pura.
BOH-teh
Agua Pura POO-rah
AH-gooah
Café siempre sirven con un vaso de agua pura.
A traditional Mexican breakfast dish of sauce-drenched corn tortillas, often topped with a fried egg.
Chilaquiles
chee-la-KEY-lays
A legendary taco made with shawarma-inspired spit-roasted pork
Tacos Al Pastor
A popular crunchy, smokey snack made from grasshoppers.
Chapulines
cha-poo-LEAN-ehs
Corn in a cup – a street food snack in Mexico with numerous variations
Esquites
ehs-KEY-tehs
A Pueblan dish with poblano chiles stuffed with a mixture of ground beef, tomatoes and potatoes,covered in a creamy walnut sauce and pomegranate seeds. Often served at room temperature.
Chiles En Nogada
CHEE-leys en no-GAH-dah
A pizza-style dish with a base of oval-shaped masa corn dough and refried beans
Huarache
wah-RAH-che
A super-seasoned filling made from beef, goat, or lamb that’s featured in many Mexican dishes, such as tacos, tostadas, and salad.
Barbacoa
bar-bah-COH-ah
A classic Mexican sandwich with many varieties
Torta
Only in Mexico is a sandwich called “La TORTA”.
A torta-esque antojito (snack) of sauce-dipped bread stuffed with potato chorizo.
Pambazo
Pam-BAH-zoh
A toasty, warm traditional corn drink that goes perfectly with tamales for breakfast
Atole
ah-TOE-ley
A rich chocolatey or nutty sauce that’s a staple in Mexican cooking
Mole
Not always chocolate
A masa pocket stuffed with meat, cheese, veggies, and more. Similar to a stuffed arepa.
Gordita
A regional delicacy made from steamed cornmeal cooked in corn husk or banana leaves
Tamales
A fried and thick blue corn tortilla packed full of cheese, beans, or meat
Tlacoyos
tlah-COY-yohs
Swiss-style enchiladas with chicken and a creamy tomatillo ( Tomatillos have a slightly more acidic, slightly less sweet flavor than ripe and unripe tomatoes) sauce (very filling)
Enchiladas Suizas
A customary Mexican stew bubbling with hominy, pork, and red chiles
Pazole
pah-ZOH-ley
Open Air Street Market
We’re going to the market to buy esquites. Do you want to come? - Yes! But I’m going to get corn-on-the-cob instead.
I’m going to the open-air market to look for a backpack.
El Tianguis
TYAN-geese
Vamos al tianguis a comprar esquite. ¿Vienes? - ¡Sí! Pero mejor voy a pedir elote.
Voy al tianguis para buscar una mochila.
This sweet potato dish is served piping hot with condensed milk and strawberry jam.
Camotes
A very popular type of string cheese sold in balls of various sizes.
Quesillo or Queso Oaxaca
A slow cooked shredded pork stew. The meat is marinated in achiote, orange juice, onion, and vinegar, then cooked wrapped in banana leaves. It is served with marinated onion and fresh habanero. You can try it in tacos, burritos, tortillas… etc.
Cochinita Pibil
The sauce is made from toasted and ground pumpkin seeds and usually goes on poultry, although it is sometimes accompanied by pork, beef, or rabbit.
Pipián
pee-pee-ANN
Pulled or shredded meat,in a smokey tomato sauce. Usually chicken, but can also be pork or beef. Sometimes in pastry or taco, but not always.
Tinga
Slow cooked beef brisket, usually in tacos
Suadero
Taco with minced spicy pork, tastes like a chorizo.
Longaniza Taco
lon-ga-NEE-saw
Tender, braised flank steak, pan-fried chorizo, and crispy chicharrónes (pork rinds) tucked inside of a warm corn tortilla.
Campechano
cam-pay-CHA-no
Also can mean “folksy” or as a derogative meaning “hillbilly “
Braised Beef Cheeks, usually in a taco
Also literally means cheeks (human) or slang for buttocks
Cachete
cah-CHEY-teh
Skirt Steak
Arrachera
ah- rrrah-CHEY-rah
Bread usually topped with refried beans, cheese that’s melted under a griddle or in the oven, a salsa of your choice and then other toppings that you can choose from. Normally at breakfast.
Molletes
It basically just means that you can have both the salsa roja and the salsa verde on your food. In the instance of the huevos, you’ll get a fried egg topped with one sauce and the second egg topped with the other sauce.
Divorciado
Huevos Divorciados
Fried eggs served with a tomato-based sauce. The sauce usually has chili in it, some are very spicy and some are not spicy at all.
Huevos Rancheros
Scrambled eggs with tomatoes, onions, and chilis. It’s usually served with tortillas and some refried beans on the side.
Huevos Mexicanos
Taco meat, usually al Pastor, which is wrapped in crunchy cheese and then placed on a tortilla.
Envueltos
ehn-boo-ALE-toes
Envuelto = Wrapped (up)
A rich chile oil from Veracruz, Mexico, made from variations of dried chiles, garlic, nuts and seeds fried in oil and finely chopped.
Salsa Macha (MAH-cha) soft “ch” like in “chow”
Edible Prickly PearCactus
El Nopal
Soft Shell Crab
La Jaiba Suave
HI-bah
Pieces of Braised Pork, often meat pulled from spare ribs
Las Carnitas
Tripe
Las Pancitas
pan-SEE-tahs
Las Tripas
Main Square (only in Mexico)
Zócalo
ZOH-cah-low
meh-SKAL
Smoked or cured beef like beef jerky, sometimes chicken
When I was in Mexico I had the most delicious dry salted beef.
La Cecina
Cuando estuve en Mexico probé una cecina de res estupenda.
Toothpick
Picadientes
An enchilada made with chile-infused corn dough and filled with cheese and other items.
Enchilada Potosina
The popular Mexican beer cocktail invented in San Luis Potosí, concocted of beer, lime juice and an assortment of sauces, spices and chili
Michelada
Ground Beef or Pork in chili sauce cooked with carrots, string beans, potatoes and peas
Picadillo
A type of Gordita
Cooked biscuit-like items made from cornmeal and lard, and later stuffed with macerated meat, potato, cactus slivers, beans, pig meat, eggs, etc.
Bocoles
A type of Gordita
Corn on the cob slathered with a mix of mayonnaise, sour cream, or crema, and then sprinkled with cotija cheese, chili powder, and often lime juice and cilantro.
Elote
Corn on the cob slathered with a mix of mayonnaise, sour cream, or crema, and then sprinkled with cotija cheese, chili powder, and often lime juice and cilantro.
Elote
eh-LOW-tay
Pork Hock (only in Mexico)
Beef Shank
My mom makes delicious marinated pork hock.
El Chamorro de Cerdo
El Chamorro de Res
cha-MOE-rroe
Mi mamá prepara un delicioso chamorro de cerdo adobado.
