Saying “Mexican cuisine” is like saying “European cuisine,” as Mexico’s 32 distinct regions (31 states plus Mexico City) are a culinary maze of subregions, pre-Hispanic recipes, neighborhood specializations, and rumors of magical dishes you have to chase on a bus to a remote village with ingredients unknown to even the most thorough investigators of Mexico’s traditions.
“Mexican cuisine doesn’t really exist,” says Enrique Olvera, Mexico’s most famous chef, in an interview with Eater. “People need to stop talking about ‘Mexican cuisine’ and instead talk about Oaxaca, Veracruz, Merida, the Central Valley.”
The foods of the states of Yucatán, Chihuahua, Chiapas, and Nayarit are as different as those of France, Germany, Britain, and Slovenia.
In Mexico City there are dishes you can find only in the neighborhood of Tepito, like migas (pork-leg-bone soup thickened with breadcrumbs and tortillas) and cabezas (chicken-head tostadas).
The carnitas (confit-style pork) in the cities of Quiroga, Uruapan, and Sahuayo (all three within the state of Michoacán), have subtle differences.
And even a dish like enchiladas rojas (red enchiladas) varies from region to region in its style of tortilla, chili pepper, and salty cheese sprinkled on top.
Baja California Sur
The southern end of the jagged, saberlike Baja peninsula is the business end in terms of condos, resorts, and bars. Although it has few culinary traditions to match its picturesque lagoons, bays, beaches, and exotic Vizcaíno Desert, the selection of local shellfish—like chocolate clams—more than makes up for it.
Campeche
The three states that form the Yucatán Peninsula (Yucatán, Quintana Roo, and Campeche) share dishes like pan de cazón (dogfish enchiladas). However, this oil-rich state relatively untouched by tourism is Mexico’s pumpkin seed capital and therefore the right place to try deer in pipián.
Guanajuato
This north-central Mexican state, where the revolution that drove Spain from the continent began, is the preferred place for American expats to retire. Perhaps it’s because of the guacamayas (tortas filled with chicharrones).
Click here for full article by Bill Esparza on https://explorepartsunknown.com/
Source: https://explorepartsunknown.com/
