Updated Mexican Food Glossary

[Libby]

I've just updated the Mexican Food Glossary, including the addition of the following new glossary terms.

agua fresca
ancho chile
bolillo
brocheta
chelada
comida corrida
cordero
flan
helado
horchata
huitlacoche
jaiba
langosta
limonada
michelada
molletes
ojo rojo
paleta
para llavar
plato fuerte
raspado
tamarindo
tampiquena
vegetariano/vegetariana

If you have any suggestions for the food glossary, please send them to me or post them here, and I'll get to them as soon as I can.

[Dan-0]

Libby, the Food Glossary is great. Here are a few suggested additions I have:

brazo de reina
tik-n-xik (spelling?)
queso relleno
relleno negro

[Libby]

Originally Posted by Dan-0

Libby, the Food Glossary is great. Here are a few suggested additions I have:

brazo de reina
tik-n-xik (spelling?)
queso relleno
relleno negro

Thanks, Dan! Those are great suggestions! I'm hoping you're familiar with these food items cuz I have a couple of questions for you.

I've never had brazo de reina before and I'm a bit unclear about the filling. Does it taste similar to caramel or dulce de leche?

And by queso relleno, do you mean chile relleno con queso? I do have that listed under Chile relleno.

I love pavo de relleno negro, but I don't see it much around here. The first time I had it was at a restaurant in Izamal, and it was AMAZING! I've also tried it at Yaxche, and it was pretty good there. I'm thinking El Faisan y Venado might be a good place for it.

Thanks for your feedback!

[Dan-0]

Originally Posted by Libby

Thanks, Dan! Those are great suggestions! I'm hoping you're familiar with these food items cuz I have a couple of questions for you.

Libby, all of these dishes are challenging to find in restaurants, but not impossible. I'm not that familiar with Playa restaurants, and I don't get to Playa that much, so maybe this could be a culinary challenge for y'all?

I've never had brazo de reina before and I'm a bit unclear about the filling. Does it taste similar to caramel or dulce de leche?

There's only one restaurant I know of in Chetumal that makes brazo de reina. It's usually eaten for breakfast, I guess because it's made with boiled eggs. In north Mexico, I think brazo de reina is like a cinnamon roll, or sweet bread, but in the Yucatan it's kind of like a huge tamale. Here's a recipe: Brazo de reina And here's an article that discusses both brazo de reina and queso relleno: YUCATAN: A GASTRONOMICAL TOUR OF THE MAYA HEARTLAND

And by queso relleno, do you mean chile relleno con queso? I do have that listed under Chile relleno.

The queso relleno I'm familiar with is different from chile relleno. Here's a recipe: Queso relleno . And, this is from an article from "Food and Wine" on Yucatan cuisine that discusses this dish: queso relleno, a stuffed cheese rind that's a Yucatán delicacy. "Queso relleno is really the hollowed-out Edam cheese," Baker tells us. "The soft part of the cheese, the center, was scooped out by the patrón, the boss. The servants got the rind, which they stuffed and steamed." A Yucatán Adventure | Food & Wine

I love pavo de relleno negro, but I don't see it much around here. The first time I had it was at a restaurant in Izamal, and it was AMAZING! I've also tried it at Yaxche, and it was pretty good there. I'm thinking El Faisan y Venado might be a good place for it.

Thanks for your feedback!

You're welcome, thanks for compiling the Glossary. I think you're probably right, El Faisan y El Venado would be a good place for relleno negro. Or the market. I've had relleno negro in the market in Carrillo Puerto. This is my wife's maternal grandmother's specialty. It looks gross because they actually burn the chiles to make the sauce, but it tastes good.

Pavo en Relleno Negro Estilo Francés

[Libby]

Thanks Dan! I'll take a look at those links.

[Dan-0]

Libby, one thing I think would be helpful for the Glossary is this: the names of fish that are popular in restaurants (i.e. grouper, snapper, etc.). I always have a problem with this. Maybe some fishermen can help out with this. Here are a couple that I'm familiar with:

pargo- sea bass
boquinete- snapper (I think!)

[Libby]

Originally Posted by Dan-0

Libby, one thing I think would be helpful for the Glossary is this: the names of fish that are popular in restaurants (i.e. grouper, snapper, etc.). I always have a problem with this. Maybe some fishermen can help out with this. Here are a couple that I'm familiar with:

pargo- sea bass
boquinete- snapper (I think!)

That's a great idea Dan! I have problems with this too.

I think pargo is actually red snapper. Although red snapper is referred to as huachinango in some Mexican fish recipes I've seen online.

I think boquinete is snapper, but I've also heard hogfish. Maybe hogfish is a type of snapper??

The most common fish that I see here in restaurants are:

mero - grouper
dorado - mahi mahi

[Dan-0]

Caracol- Conch or sea snail.

Huevos Motuleños- Breakfast dish eggs with black beans and cheese, often with other ingredients such as ham, peas, plantains, and salsa picante.

Morcilla- Blood sausage, often served with carnitas.

Machacado- Fruit drink, similar to a milkshake, made with crushed ice, condensed milk, and sugar.

[roni]

Arrachera - skirt steak or hanger steak (not flank steak)

But, there have been long discussions about that

[roni]

Originally Posted by Dan-0

Huevos Motuleños- Breakfast dish eggs with black beans and cheese, often with other ingredients such as ham, peas, plantains, and salsa picante.

That reminded me of a blog entry by a retired ex-pat living in Merida, they traveled to Motul to have the dish. Here is a photo, followed by a link to the blog entry:



Debi in Merida: Motuleños in Motul

[roni]

More on those the huevos motuleños

Motul is "where, after all, that they were developed. At the Museo de Felipe Carillo Puerto the caretaker/guide indicated that the chef to Felipe Carillo Puerto developed, prepared, and served huevos motuleños to visiting officials and dignitaries."

and, from Wikipedia

Felipe Carrillo Puerto (1874–1924) was a Governor of the Mexican state of Yucatán. He was born in the town of Motul, Yucatán. He was a progressive who favored land reform, women's suffrage, and rights for the indigenous Mayan people. He had a romance with a United States journalist, Alma Reed of San Francisco, California, which was commemorated in the song "La Peregrina". Carrillo died by assassination in January 1924.

Felipe Carrillo was called the Red Dragon with the Eyes of Jade by his enemies and the Apostle of the Indians by those who loved him. He was one of 14 children, 13 of whom lived to adulthood. All but one of the Carrillo siblings worked to better the lives of the Mayan people. When Felipe was killed, 3 of his brothers, Wilfrido, Benjamin, and Edesio, were killed with him, as well as eight of their friends.

[Dan-0]

roni, thanks for the background info on my favorite breakfast- huevos motuleños. Eggs and English peas don't sound good together, but it works! This is a dish, like some of the others that I mentioned, that's a little challenging to find in restaurants but well worth the effort, IMHO.