For many a broke college student and person suffering from late-night munchies or a wicked hangover, Mexican food seems like a blessing. The food is very affordable and there's nothing better than the combination of cheese, meat, veggies, and Mexican spices.
Many Americans have such a love affair with Mexican food that restaurants such as Taco Bell and Chipotle are the default go-to places for people who have the craving for Mexican food. Visions of crunchy tacos, burritos bursting out of their wrap, and nachos buried under a landslide of melted, gooey cheese -- that's the perfect Mexican feast, right?
Wrong. What most Americans think of as Mexican food is actually Tex-Mex, which is more the "Americanized" version of Mexican food. So, what constitutes authentic Mexican food?
Corn is EVERYWHERE.
Corn is used as a key ingredient in Mexican cuisine, specifically as a vehicle for containing food and transporting it to your mouth. Two of the most popular examples are corn tortillas for wrapping, as well as corn husks used to wrap tamales.
Forget flour-based tortillas; those are a Tex-Mex ingredient through and through. Any place that uses flour tortillas cannot be considered as "authentic" Mexican.
Varied Fillings -- and ground beef is nowhere on the list.
In authentic Mexican cuisine, you will rarely, if ever, see ground beef on the menu because beef is expensive! Traditionally, Mexicans used what was plentiful and cheap around them, so fillings such as squash blossoms, insects, or even "huitlacoche", a fungus that attacks corn, were used.
When they actually used meat, they choose tough, cheap cuts which they marinaded and braised slow and low for maximum flavor and tenderness.
Cheese is Neither Yellow Nor Gooey
Forget that yellow, gooey image of melted cheese you have on top of your nachos, or even that shredded yellow cheese on your tacos. Real Mexican cheeses are either queso fresco or queso Oaxaca. Fresco is crumbly, nutty, and salty, while Oaxaca is stringy and melty, like mozzarella. However, authentic Mexican cuisine uses these cheeses sparingly, as not to overpower the other flavors of the dish.
Salsa Ain't Salsa
Mention salsa to an American, and they will get an image of chopped tomatoes, onions, and cilantro, with a dash of lime juice. However, that same image is called a pico de gallo to anyone who is familiar with Mexican cuisine. Their version is salsa is a sauce that is made from steeping chillis with tomatoes, garlic, onions, jalapeno, and lime juice, then blending it into a liquid sauce.
