Constant Craving: Corn Antojitos Are The Heart Of Mexico In A Bite

Mexican snacks are called “antojitos,” which means “little cravings.” Antojitos not only cast a spell on locals; tourists are usually enamored by them, too.

Corn is usually their base ingredient. They may or may not be spicy. Antojitos can look very similar at first sight, but their preparation and presentation vary from region to region and from house to house.

Sopes are small thick tortillas with a raised rim made from pinches. Cooks prepare them on a comal (a flat clay griddle), spread beans on them and add a stew of pork, beef or chicken, plus lettuce, crumbled cheese and salsa.

The state of Veracruz has similar snacks, but locals call them picadas. The difference is that picadas use a larger tortilla, which cooks fry with lard (pork fat).

Diners add red or green salsa to spice up their picadas. Mole, a sauce made with peppers, nuts and chocolate, can serve that purpose, as well. But if spicy food is not their thing, they can turn the heat down with a tomato salsa.

Onion slices and crumbled cheese complement the flavor. Some also add a stew or a scrambled egg on top of their picadas.

“All kinds of customers come to the restaurant. American tourists are the ones who leave the happiest. After tasting picadas or empanadas, they say that their flavor is crazy, that it is delicious,” said Mariana Villaseñor Cruz, a cook at the restaurant Refugio del Pescador, from Veracruz’s Gastronomic Plaza.

“It takes a corn empanada stuffed with cheese, fried in oil, with green salsa, cream and cheese to make them completely happy,” she said.

Market vendors in the state of Oaxaca offer memelas for breakfast. Memelas are giant tortillas cooked on the comal, with beans, quesillo and a stew that can be chicken, ground beef with vegetables or pork rinds in salsa.

Yucatán has the salbutes, which are very similar to Veracruz’s gordas. Both are fried corn patties stuffed with beans, usually served with shredded venison or chicken.

People from Veracruz shape the dough and stuff it with beans before frying it. With the oil, the patty puffs up. People enjoy gordas with salsa and crumbled cheese. Salbutes are thinner, but they are also stuffed with beans.

“We offer both salbutes and gorditas, whatever the customer asks,” said Gabriela Reyes Rosas, a waitress at Doña Cruz restaurant in Boca del Río, Veracruz. “Despite being similar, their preparation is different. It is more common for people to ask for gorditas for breakfast and for salbutes, panuchos, empanadas or tostadas at night.”

Traditional antojitos in northern Mexico are tacos de asada. When making them, cooks grill beef steak and warm tortillas with steam. They may marinade the meat in spice, in which case is called carne enchilada. If desired, cooks can bathe tacos with a salsa made from árbol chili peppers and spices.

Tacos al pastor are common antojitos throughout the country. “The taco al pastor is one of the most accepted tacos,” said Roberto Andrade Salas, who works at El Sabroso restaurant in Boca del Río, Veracruz. “What clients ask for first are tacos al pastor. We sell pastor for 120 pesos [$6] per kilo or by the taco, depending on how hungry the customer is.”

Traditional antojitos in northern Mexico are tacos de asada. When making them, cooks grill beef steak and warm tortillas with steam. They may marinade the meat in spice, in which case is called carne enchilada. If desired, cooks can bathe tacos with a salsa made from árbol chili peppers and spices.

Tacos al pastor are common antojitos throughout the country. “The taco al pastor is one of the most accepted tacos,” said Roberto Andrade Salas, who works at El Sabroso restaurant in Boca del Río, Veracruz. “What clients ask for first are tacos al pastor. We sell pastor for 120 pesos [$6] per kilo or by the taco, depending on how hungry the customer is.”

Taqueros — cooks specializing in tacos — marinade the meat with annatto and other spices. Then they mount the steaks forming a top, which rotates in front of the embers. They “cut the meat directly from the top. Coriander, onion and a pineapple slice are added to the tortilla. Salsa is to the taste of the client,” said the taquero.

Corn antojitos are an essential aspect of Mexican culture. Corn is a central staple in the Mexican economy. It is also the base of its gastronomy and a prevalent element in Mexico’s myths and folk art.

Tourists and locals who have enjoyed antojitos’ diversity of smells, colors and flavors may say that they know Mexico intimately as they have become acquainted with its most beloved ingredient: corn.

(Translated and edited by Gabriela Olmos. Edited by Matthew B. Hall)