When thinking of authentic Mexican recipes, people typically see pictures in their mind of tacos and chiles. They see things wrapped in tortillas and imagine the burning sensation of hot chiles in their mouth.
As a person who has been traveling through Mexico for a long time, I cannot say that tortillas aren't popular--they are. Corn has been around for ages in Mexico, long before it was ever called "Mexico". The long-gone ancient tribes of Mayans, Aztecs, and other civilizations believed that corn was a gift of their gods, and it has since trickled into almost every single part of modern Mexican cuisine, including drinks like "atole."
With regards to the chiles, traditional Mexican recipes are seldom as spicy as people suppose them to be. In fact, spicy Tex-Mex recipes are often hotter than spicy authentic Mexican recipes, and this is because Mexicans use chiles primarily to add flavor, not just to "spice" a dish. If you walk into a Mexican restaurant abroad, you'll probably find a melting pot of ingredients from authentic Mexican cuisine, Tex-Mex food, and whatever the local food is of where you are, all combined and rolled up nicely in a (likely flour) tortilla for you to enjoy, as though it's Mexican because it's all wrapped up in that tortilla. And there's almost certain to be so kind of devilishly spicy chile "dip" in the salsa bar on the table too, for patrons wanting to "make it even more Mexican!"
But real Mexican food is not like this. The chiles in authentic Mexican recipes are almost always used to actually contribute a flavor to the dish that works well with the rest of the ingredients. The chile is integrated into the dish, not just thrown on top at the end "to add some zest". It's a very different approach, and consequently a very different result.
And so yes, it's a fact that the tortillas are a very popular component of authentic Mexican dishes, and chiles are used in a lot of traditional Mexican recipes, but in a meaningful and more natural way, and the cuisine has more variety than it is widely known for. Authentic Mexican recipes differ widely across the different Mexican states, with regional cuisines each serving their own take on the popular recipes. You'll find tacos served with pork in the southern and central states, flank steak and other cuts of beef in tacos of the north, and shrimp in the coastal region tacos. Also in the states bordering Guatemala, a lot of fruit from the tropics is use in the Mexican recipes, but you won't find anything like that in the states that border America. Wherever you are in Mexico, you're only ever a few minutes away from some of the most delicious street stall food on the planet, or a restaurant serving a world renowned dish from the world renowned cuisine that is authentic Mexican food.
A showcase of a few authentic Mexican recipes
As a person who has been traveling through Mexico for a long time, I cannot say that tortillas aren't popular--they are. Corn has been around for ages in Mexico, long before it was ever called "Mexico". The long-gone ancient tribes of Mayans, Aztecs, and other civilizations believed that corn was a gift of their gods, and it has since trickled into almost every single part of modern Mexican cuisine, including drinks like "atole."
With regards to the chiles, traditional Mexican recipes are seldom as spicy as people suppose them to be. In fact, spicy Tex-Mex recipes are often hotter than spicy authentic Mexican recipes, and this is because Mexicans use chiles primarily to add flavor, not just to "spice" a dish. If you walk into a Mexican restaurant abroad, you'll probably find a melting pot of ingredients from authentic Mexican cuisine, Tex-Mex food, and whatever the local food is of where you are, all combined and rolled up nicely in a (likely flour) tortilla for you to enjoy, as though it's Mexican because it's all wrapped up in that tortilla. And there's almost certain to be so kind of devilishly spicy chile "dip" in the salsa bar on the table too, for patrons wanting to "make it even more Mexican!"
But real Mexican food is not like this. The chiles in authentic Mexican recipes are almost always used to actually contribute a flavor to the dish that works well with the rest of the ingredients. The chile is integrated into the dish, not just thrown on top at the end "to add some zest". It's a very different approach, and consequently a very different result.
And so yes, it's a fact that the tortillas are a very popular component of authentic Mexican dishes, and chiles are used in a lot of traditional Mexican recipes, but in a meaningful and more natural way, and the cuisine has more variety than it is widely known for. Authentic Mexican recipes differ widely across the different Mexican states, with regional cuisines each serving their own take on the popular recipes. You'll find tacos served with pork in the southern and central states, flank steak and other cuts of beef in tacos of the north, and shrimp in the coastal region tacos. Also in the states bordering Guatemala, a lot of fruit from the tropics is use in the Mexican recipes, but you won't find anything like that in the states that border America. Wherever you are in Mexico, you're only ever a few minutes away from some of the most delicious street stall food on the planet, or a restaurant serving a world renowned dish from the world renowned cuisine that is authentic Mexican food.
About the Author:
Find more authentic Mexican recipes at Carlos' site, and learn to cook some very easy authentic Mexican recipes, here.
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