Mexican food is sometimes misunderstood. People can be afraid to venture into a good Mexican meal because they are convinced that the element of spices may be a bit overwhelming. We’ve all seen those cartoons where the character takes a bite of mexican chili and consequently becomes a fire breathing dragon!
Well, not every mexican food is guilty of providing the diner with that type of heat. There are many foods of this ethnicity that are spicy, but only on the medium level, and some that are so mild that the spice is barely noticed. It all depends upon the customer’s preference. Mexican food has been deemed to be America’s most popular ethnic food. Mexican food lovers all have their own favorite best mexican restaurants>/em>, as well as their favorite mexican food.
As much as Americans love their condiments, especially ketchup and mayonnaise, salsa, Mexico’s own, has now risen above and beyond that love. Diners now eat more salsa than those old tried and true favorites. Another surprising fact is that tortillas have risen in popularity since 2010 and are now a hotter item than hot dog buns!
Mexican enchiladas are also a food that has risen on the charts over the years in the United States. The meaning of enchilada is “in chile”. It is supposed to have been derived from the Aztecs using tortillas as a type of wrap, which is filled with meat and a sauce mixture; however, the word enchilada was first used in America in the year 1885. The meaning of enchilada verbally has one simple definition. However, in different locations that serve mexican food, when speaking of the enchilada’s ingredients, its meanings begin to take on many different lives. Basically, the enchilada is a corn tortilla wrapped around any one of a wide variety of meats, cheeses, vegetables, or potatoes, or with a combination of these, and covered with a chili pepper sauce.
The meaning of enchilada when mentioned can conjure up a number of different ideas according to taste and preference. Originally the meaning of enchilada was simply a corn tortilla rolled up and dipped in a type of chili sauce. It was considered a mexican street food and was eaten without any filling. These days enchiladas have become a favorite type of mexican food and can be found in all or most mexican restaurants. There are now more than 38,000 mexican restaurants throughout the United States, and, in american homes, mexican food is prepared often, its ingredients easily added to many other combinations of meals as well. It can be as simple or as flavorful as the diner wants it to be. It can be filled with any type of meat and almost all kinds of vegetables. The sauce that fills and covers it can be as hot or as mild as is preferred. As far back as is recorded, another meaning of enchilada was corn tortillas wrapped around small fish.
Another way that enchiladas are served is with a topping of refried beans instead of chili sauce. Refried beans can also be served alongside. Swiss families who migrated to Mexico many years ago concocted a sauce with a base of either milk or cream that came from the dairies they built in their new home for the production of cheese and other dairy products. Enchiladas can also be served with tomato sauce if the diner prefers that to chili sauce.
New Mexico devised their own variation of enchiladas by frying corn tortillas until they are soft, and then stacking them. Between the layers they add ingredients such as shredded cheese, chopped onions, and either a red or a green sauce. Sometimes they add meat, as well, and then the stack is topped with a fried egg. These are simply called stacked enchiladas.