Beyond Tacos: Why Huaraches Should Top Your Foodie Wishlist
Beyond Tacos: Why Huaraches Should Top Your Foodie Wishlist
Mexican huaraches are one of the most delicious and favorite foods for many Mexicans.
That’s why I will dedicate a space to this delicious street food to tell you a little about its history.
As you may know, something that characterizes Mexico is the rich and extensive gastronomy.
It makes food lovers from different parts of the world visit this country to try our famous Mexican snacks such as huaraches.
So if you like this dish or have no idea what I’m talking about, keep reading to learn more about it.
Who created Mexican Huaraches?
It was 1935 in beautiful Mexico City when Mrs. Carmen Gómez Medina started a food stall in the old Jamaica Market where she sold delicious Mexican snacks such as sopes, gorditas, and tlacoyos.
Her small business began after she became a widow and sought a way to support a household of 5 children.
Although I must emphasize that she did not have an exact idea of how to prepare these dishes since she never needed to cook.
She came from a wealthy family, which she set aside to marry a lower-class man, who died years after joining Carmen’s life.
This is how Mrs. Gomez started this food business which did not have many customers because the food had a somewhat high price for that time.
How did Huaraches come about?
There are some versions of how the huarache was created. One says that Carmen began to prepare the tlacoyos with a longer shape than usual.
The result of that experiment turned out to be very similar to a type of sandal known as huarache, hence the name.
Another version of the huarache was requested by a customer who asked Carmen to roast a rib and place it on top of 2 gorditas.
When the customers saw this dish, they told her that it looked like a huarache.
From that moment on, she began to prepare this food bigger than usual, adding sauce, ribs, or scrambled eggs.
How to make a Mexican Huarache
Nowadays, huaraches have many variations; they add chicken, cheese, nopales (cactus paddle), or other ingredients.
To prepare it, you need corn dough, steak, or any other ingredient of your choice (cheese, flank steak, sausage, etc.), beans to fill the huarache, salsa, and sometimes grated Oaxaca cheese.
Start by rolling a medium corn dough ball and making a hole to fill with beans.
Then the dough is flattened until it has an oval shape. It should be a little thick.
In a skillet or on a buttered comal, cook the huarache on both sides until the dough is golden brown.
Roast the stew you want to add. Finally, put a layer of sauce, the hash, and a little grated cheese, and eat!
Difference between tlayudas, doraditas, and huaraches
Tlayuda
Tlayudas are a typical Mexican dish in Oaxaca, recognized for its ancestral gastronomy and creative mixtures.
Traditionally, the tlayuda is a corn tortilla about 30 centimeters in diameter that is browned on a comal, covered with black beans, tasajo or dried chili meat, chorizo, quesillo (Oaxaca cheese), and avocado.
This dish has shown variations; some dare to prepare them with grasshoppers, escamoles, and even seafood.
Tlayuda comes from the Nahuatl word tlao-li, which means “shelled corn,” and is complemented with the suffix uda, which denotes abundance.
Huaraches
As I mentioned, Mexican huaraches are a corn-based food whose shape simulates the traditional Mexican sandals of the same name.
Among its differences is that it has a softer consistency than the other two dishes in question.
The preparation of the huarache is made with corn dough stuffed with beans derived from the also famous tlacoyos.
It is commonly served with steak, ribs, or fried egg and accompanied by sauces and cheese.
Doraditas
In some areas of Mexico City, doraditas are known as tlayudas.
However, they are different dishes due to their preparation, ingredients, and the region where they are served. Doraditas are like “tostadas.”
This Mexican dish also took a great boom in the country’s capital with an elongated shape similar to that of huaraches but acquires a brittle consistency that is assimilated to the dish originating in Oaxaca.
As for the ingredients, doraditas have a bean base, and then nopales, grated cheese, and salsa are added.
It does not have meat or any additional ingredients like the previous ones.
As you can see, the Mexican huarache is just one of our country’s many exquisite Mexican foods. Don’t hesitate to try them on your next trip.
