La Comida de Oaxaca

While there are many things to love about Oaxaca, one thing in particular stands out above the rest: the cuisine. I have been back in the states since April, and I still find myself dreaming about some of Oaxaca's famous dishes. In this blog post, I would like to share with you, my favorite Oaxacan foods.

1. Tlayudas

A tlayuda is a handmade dish consisting of a large, thin, and crunchy tortilla covered with a spread of beans, lettuce or cabbage, avacado, meat (typically beef or pork), quesillo or Oaxacan string cheese, and salsa. Tlayudas are often given the nickname "Oaxacan pizza." The best time to pick up one of these bad boys is when you are looking for a pretty filling dinner. You can order a tlayuda in a restuarant during a sit down meal or grab one to go at your favorite food vendor.

2. Elotes

Elotes are a very popular street food throughout Mexico. They are typically consumed on a stick, or by grasping the husk of the cob that has been pulled down to form a "handle". Condiments such as salt, chili powder, butter, cheese, lemon or lime, mayonnaise, and sour cream are usually added to the elote. I preffered my elote fairly simple: grilled with lime and cheese. This was probably my favorite midnight snack!

3. Pollo con mole negro

Oaxaca is known as "the land of seven moles." While each mole offered something a little different and exciting, I think my favorite mole was mole negro. This was the savory-sweet mole, and also the one most frequently found on American menus. According to foodrepublic.com, it is an intricate recipe with a lot of ingredients and steps, you’ll be grinding and stewing the following together: onion, garlic, whole spices like cinnamon, cloves, black pepper and cumin, dried chiles, pumpkin and sesame seeds, herbs like hoja santo and cilantro, bread for thickening and sometimes dried fruit for extra sweeteness. Oh, and plenty of dark chocolate.

4. Chocolate con leche

Lastly, I will leave you with my favorite Oaxacan treat: chocolate con leche. Mexican hot chocolate is very simple, it contains only cacao, cinnamon, sugar, and milk or water. The stick shown in the picture above is used to mash up the chocolate and mix it into either hot milk or water. Chocolate can be consumed any hour of the day, but it is often a morning drink to be had with pan dulces, or sweet breads, which you can dip into your drink.