Menu Of The Day: Mexico's Gulf Coast

Mexico’s Gulf Coast region was one of the first to receive Spanish colonizers. So you’ll find some Spanish influence, but not as much as you might think. The thriving indigenous communities continue to strongly influence its cuisine, incorporating tropical fruits and vegetables, as well as backyard fowl and the bounty of fresh seafood found in the Gulf’s waters.

Cocktail hour

Like most of the country, the Gulf Coast region is fond of mezcal and tequila, but the heat there will make you crave something cold and refreshing. Try an agua – water flavored with sweet lime, sour orange, or pepper chocolate – as well as liqueur made from cacao, sugarcane or habanero peppers.
#aguadelimas #aguadelima #limonada #lemonade #aguadelimones #refresconatural #bebidasconglamour
Una publicación compartida por Marta (@martabrucart) el Sep 8, 2017 at 1:10 PDT

To whet the appetite

Platanos Rellenos

In both Tabasco and Veracruz, stuffed plantains are extremely popular as a snack or accompaniment to a meal. For this recipe plantains are boiled, mashed and made into a kind of dough. That dough is then wrapped around fresh cheese, seasoned ground beef or beans, and then deep fried. They’re served with a dollop of either a tomato salsa or cream on the top.

Jaiba en Ceviche

Ceviche, raw fish cooked in lime and mixed with various fresh ingredients, is found up and down the Gulf Coast. Every chef has his or her own recipe and the type of fish or seafood can also vary. Common ingredients are tomato, onion, catsup, pepper, salt, sometimes oregano and cilantro, and even a chipotle pepper or two.

Garnachas

These small corn tortillas are spread with salsa and fried quickly in lard. In the Gulf they are most commonly topped with shredded pork, grated cheese and sliced onion, but you can also find them with shredded chicken and fried potatoes or occasionally with shredded beef.
Amor verdadero #truelove #foodlovers #foodpics #foodies #foodie #vivemexico #mexicomagico #sope #tlacoyo #maiz #raiz #realmexicanfood #foodstagram #foodstyling #cook #instashare #instagood #mmm #ilovecdmx #garnachas #cookstyle #cookstagram
Una publicación compartida por Marco Antonio Leaños Castillo (@chefmarcoleanos) el May 1, 2018 at 11:37 PDT

The soup course

Huatape

Huatape is a thick seafood soup made from a base of water, corn dough, and chiles. It’s often seasoned with the Mexican herb epazote, ancho chile, tomato, onion and garlic. In northern Veracruz look out for versions with prawns and river shrimp.
#huatapedecamaron #huatape #veracruzmexico #tamaulipas #cocinadelmar #traditional
Una publicación compartida por javier hernandez (@javierhernandez) el Mar 12, 2017 at 11:14 PDT

On the side

Totoposte

A super-thin tortilla made with corn dough and pork lard, in Tabasco the dough can be mixed with coconut, beans, sweet potato or beef fat. In Veracruz they make a version called the totoposte del viento (of the wind) that’s even thinner!

Queso Ahumado

La Joya Veracruz is known country-wide for its famous smoked cheese. A trip to this region wouldn’t be right without trying some.

Hearty main plates

Puchero Tabasqueño

A hearty beef and vegetable stew, the Tabasco version includes beef, beef bones and bone marrow as well as garlic, onion, chayotes (sometimes called vegetable pears), creole zuchinni, sweet potato, yuca, taro, corn, carrots and potatoes.

Mantaraya al Pibil

Found along the coast of Tamulipas, stingray is a delicacy and comes in various shapes and sizes. Stingray al pibil means that the meat of the stingray is rubbed with the juice of sour oranges and achiote – a sweet, slightly peppery red sauce made from a plant found in the tropics called annatto seed – wrapped in banana leaves and slow-cooked in an underground pit. Pibil is good on everything else, so why not stingray?

Arroz a la Tumbada

Tipical of the Sotavento area of Veracruz, arroz a la tumbada is a soupy rice and seafood dish, similar to Spanish paella in its basic concept but with a very distinct flavor. The dish has oregano, garlic, tomato and epazote in it and can include shrimp, octopus, crab, oysters and clam. It’s accompanied with bread or tortillas.
#arrozalatumbada 🐙
Una publicación compartida por Ale Avalos (@ale.avalos18) el Mar 15, 2018 at 2:36 PDT

For a sweet tooth

Dulce de Pataxte

Pataxte, or Theobroma bicolor, is a type of cacao found only in mesoamerica – the southern parts of Mexico, in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. The tree’s seeds are white and fatty and their pulp is mixed in Tabasco with piloncillo to make a traditional dessert.

Budin de Calabaza

A kind of zuchinni bread, this budin de calabaza is made with a yellow zuchinni in Tabasco with raisins and sugar mixed in. In Veracruz, it also has vanilla added.

Delicious extras

Cocadas

These little beauties come in all forms, but their basic recipe is grated coconut, cooked in water with sugar or piloncillo. In Tabasco they are often mixed with fruit like pineapple or sweet potato and in Veracruz they are decorated with raisins on top.
Feliz primer día de septiembre, que mejor que hacer una ricas cocadas!! Bueno mañana les subo la receta, quién dijo yo??? #polinenlacocina #cocadas
Una publicación compartida por polinenlacocina (@polinenlacocina) el Sep 1, 2017 at 5:30 PDT

About the author

Lydia Carey

Lydia Carey is a freelance writer and translator based out of Mexico City. She has worked as an editor and writer for various publications including Mexico's English–language newspaper The News, Afar, The New Worlder, International Living and The Latin Kitchen among others. Lydia has been blogging and writing in Mexico for over a decade and lives a double life as a local tour guide in her adoptive hometown. You can find her on the street eating tacos or at her blog www.mexicocitystreets.com.