Antojito facts for kids
Mexican street food, often called antojitos (which means "little cravings"), is a big part of daily life in Mexico. You can find these tasty treats from street vendors and at busy traditional markets. Some popular street foods include tacos, tamales, gorditas, quesadillas, tostadas, and elote. You can also find fresh fruit, vegetables, drinks, and soups like menudo and pozole. Most of these foods are sold in the morning and evening. This is because the main meal of the day, called la comida, is usually eaten in the mid-afternoon.
Mexico has one of the largest street food cultures in Latin America. The magazine Forbes even named Mexico City as one of the best cities in the world for eating street food.
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What are Antojitos?
In Mexican Spanish, the quick foods made on the streets and in market stalls are called antojitos. They are usually foods you wouldn't eat at a formal meal. You can find street foods most easily in the early morning, and then again in the evening and late into the night. Most of these foods are made with corn. You can also find them at street markets known as "mercado sobre ruedas" and tianguis. Some famous places for street food in Mexico City include the San Pedro de los Pinos market and the Mercado de Antojitos in Coyoacán.
Mexico's street food culture is very rich. About 43% of people think it's safe, and about 58% eat street food at least once a week. UNESCO recognized Mexican food as an important part of human culture. Forbes magazine also listed Mexico City as one of the top ten cities for street food globally. Street food has even influenced fancy restaurants in Mexico. Many upscale places now serve similar dishes, sometimes with a special twist.
Types of Mexican Street Food
Tacos
A taco is a soft tortilla folded around a filling. The fillings for Mexican street tacos change depending on the region. Most tacos use corn tortillas. However, in northern Mexico, wheat flour tortillas are more common. The tortillas in Mexican tacos are soft. Sometimes, the whole taco is fried, which is called "dorado" (meaning "golden").
Tacos have a long history, going back to before the Spanish arrived. Back then, tortillas were used to scoop up other foods. Modern tacos became popular in Mexico's countryside. Wives would bring meals wrapped in tortillas to their husbands working in the fields. Tacos came to the cities when many people moved there in the 1900s. Mexico City, for example, offers taco specialties from almost every part of the country. Tacos are eaten by everyone, no matter their social or economic background. This is why they are called "the most democratic of Mexican foods."
Taco fillings are very diverse. Most taco sellers specialize in certain kinds, like al pastor and bistek. Some tacos have fillings like beef eyes, brains, or tongue for those who are more daring. Taco vendors often have a large wooden block called a tronco. They use it to chop meat and other fillings with a big knife. Tacos usually come with chopped onion, cilantro, different salsas, grilled green onions, and lime wedges.
Many types of tacos are only available in the morning or afternoon. Morning tacos include tacos de canasta and those with barbacoa or cabeza de res (beef head). Tacos de canasta (basket tacos) are not made on the spot. They are tortillas filled with things like potatoes, chorizo sausage, or beans. Then they are steamed and wrapped to stay warm in a basket. Barbacoa is meat cooked in a pit. It's often made with mutton in central Mexico and beef in the north. Cabeza de res tacos are made from beef head parts. Vendors selling these tacos usually sell out and close by midday.
In the late afternoon and evening, especially on weekends, other taco stalls open. They offer different grilled, fried, or steamed meats. A famous evening taco in Mexico City is tacos al pastor (shepherd-style tacos). These were inspired by Middle Eastern spit-cooked meat, brought by immigrants from Lebanon. However, the meat is pork, seasoned with mild chili pepper, onions, and pineapple. Other taco types include tacos de guisado, which are filled with meat or vegetables in a sauce.
Fritangas are tacos with fried meat, like sausage. Carnitas is pork cooked in lard with orange rind for flavor. It started in Michoacán and Jalisco but is now found across central Mexico. The most famous grilled taco is carne asada (grilled meat), from Sonora. It's beef grilled over charcoal. These tacos are served with grilled green onions. They can come with flour or corn tortillas, depending on the region. Fish tacos are a specialty of Baja California and the Pacific coast. They are also very popular in parts of the States.
Tamales
Tamales have a filling wrapped in corn-based dough called masa. They are then steamed in corn husks. Tamales can be sweet or savory, some spicy and some mild. The most popular kinds have pork or chicken with a salsa or mole sauce. Another popular version, called "rajas," is filled with strips of poblano chili pepper and cheese. Tamales are often considered a safe street food for new visitors to try. This is because they are cooked and kept warm in a steam pot while being sold.
Corundas are a type of tamale from Michoacán. They are triangle-shaped and wrapped in corn stalk leaves. You can eat them alone, with salsa, or as a side dish. Tamales from Chiapas have a special flavor. They often include ingredients like pibil, mole sauce, carrots, corn kernels, egg, raisins, and almonds. Some versions use a local herb called chipilín with chicken or white cheese. Others are wrapped in banana leaves. Vendors often sell them from special tricycles. Uchepos are tamales made with fresh corn. They are usually made in Michoacán during July and August.
Camotes
Camotes are a traditional food found in Central and Southern Mexico. This Mexican street food is closely linked to the holiday Dia de Muertos, or Day of the Dead. Because of this connection, camotes are very important to Mexican culture.
Camotes are sweet potatoes cooked in a pressure cooker. They are served individually to each customer. Traditionally, a camote is a pressure-cooked sweet potato topped with condensed milk. It can also be seasoned with chili peppers, cinnamon, or strawberry jam. Camote vendors are easy to spot because of the very loud, high-pitched whistle from their cooking carts. You can hear a camote vendor from blocks away in Mexico City. Even though it's a traditional food, camotes are mostly found in or around Mexico City and other big cities.
Other Tortilla-Based Foods
There are many other street foods made with tortillas. Tostadas are flat, hard tortillas that are either fried or dried. They are topped with various ingredients like shredded chicken, pork, beef, seafood, cheese, and salsa. Quesadillas come from the Spanish word for cheese, queso. They are tortillas folded in half and filled with cheese. They might also have other ingredients like spicy meat, mushrooms, or chili pepper strips. The type of cheese used often changes by region. In some areas, cheese isn't even used unless you ask for it.
Empalmes are three corn tortillas stacked with beans and some kind of meat or stew. They are common in the state of Nuevo León. Sincronizadas (meaning "synchronized") are two corn tortillas with meat and cheese filling. They are toasted on both sides until the cheese melts. Gringas are similar to quesadillas but made with a flour tortilla. Tlayudas are large, dried tortillas topped with beans and other ingredients. They are like a pizza or a big tostada and are popular in Oaxaca.
Other Corn Dough-Based Foods
Some street foods use the same corn dough as tortillas but are prepared differently. Gorditas are found almost everywhere in Mexico. They are very thick corn dough patties, either fried in oil or cooked on a comal (a traditional griddle). After cooking, they are split open and filled with various ingredients. There is also a version made with flour dough in Coahuila. Bocoles are small, round gorditas popular in Hidalgo, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, and San Luis Potosí. They are split and filled with cheese, picadillo, salsa, beans, or cooked eggs.
Chalupas are small, fried corn dough cups. They are filled with cheese, beans, or different stews. They are topped with salsa and chopped lettuce. They are most popular in Puebla. Similarly, chilapas are crispy fried tortilla cups. They are filled with shredded meat, salsa, cream, avocado, chili peppers, chopped lettuce, and onion. They are a specialty of Chilapa, Guerrero. Huaraches are large and flat. They are topped with chopped or shredded meat, and often beans, cheese, cream, and salsa. Sopes are also flat and thick but disk-shaped. Their edges are pinched, and they are topped with beans, salsa, and more.
Elote and Fresh Produce
Elote means fresh corn. It's served on the cob or as cut kernels. If it's on the cob, it's either grilled or boiled. Then it's covered with mayonnaise and dusted with chili pepper, salt, cotija cheese, lime juice, and hot sauce. The cut kernels are usually served in a dish called esquites. Similar seasonings are mixed in, and you eat it with a spoon.
Fresh fruits and vegetables are also popular street foods. Fruit cups are common and change with the seasons. They usually have watermelon, papaya, mango, orange, jicama, and cucumber. These are cut into thin spears or cubes. Lime juice, salt, and chili pepper powder are added. Jicama is a root vegetable that is often eaten raw. It can be eaten in strips or chunks as part of a salad or fruit cup. A jicaleta is a large slice of jicama on a stick, like a big lollipop. You can eat it plain or cover it with sweet or savory powders, hot sauce, or lime juice.
Wheat Bread-Based Foods
The Spanish and later the French brought different kinds of wheat breads to Mexico. These have been adapted into various street foods. Tortas are rolls cut to make thick sandwiches with many fillings. These can include refried beans, cheese, hot meats like breaded chicken or pork, carnitas, or egg. They also often have avocado, onions, and pickled jalapeños.
Tortas can be cold or warm. Cold tortas are often found near public transport stops or schools. In Puebla, a similar sandwich is called a cemita. It's named after the special bread used to make it. Molotes are a type of torta, bread with a filling and salsa that varies by region. In Hidalgo, they are cylinder-shaped and filled with chicken, cheese, or beef. In Oaxaca, they are filled with chorizo sausage and potatoes. In Tlaxcala, they are shaped like a pointed oval. Pambazos are small tortas with various fillings. The salsa either covers the filling (in Veracruz) or coats the bread (in Mexico City). In the Yucatán, small tortas are called salbutes. They are heated on comals and filled with tomatoes, cabbage, onions, and meat. Another European-inspired dish is the empanada. These are turnovers made from flour or corn flour, with a filling, and then baked. In Hidalgo, they are called "pastes" after the English word "pasty."
Soups
Not all Mexican street foods are based on breads. Street stalls and markets also serve soups and broths. These include menudo, pozole, and pancita. Caldo de pollo is chicken soup. Its price depends on the number of chicken pieces it has. It usually also contains rice and chickpeas. You can add things like oregano, onions, salt, lime juice, and chili peppers.
Beverages
Besides food, several drinks are popular on the streets. Aguas frescas are a classic street drink. They are often made with fruits like watermelon, mango, orange, or lime, mixed with water and sugar. Other aguas frescas are made with rice (called horchata), coconut, and tamarind. There's also a hibiscus flower tea called Agua de Jamaica. In southern Mexico, fermented corn drinks like tejuino are popular. In Tabasco, Chiapas, and parts of the Yucatán Peninsula, a similar drink is known as pozol. It's often flavored with chocolate and served cold.
See Also
In Spanish: Antojito para niños
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