Mexican Food Allergy Guide

Thin slices of achiote and chile-marinated pork, cooked on a vertical rotisserie (trompo) and shaved directly onto small corn tortillas, topped with pineapple, onion, cilantro, and salsa.

Oaxaca's most complex mole: a deep, dark sauce made from toasted dried chiles, charred vegetables, chocolate, peanuts, almonds, sesame seeds, stale bread, and lard, simmered for hours and served over turkey or chicken.

Fresh avocado mashed with lime juice, cilantro, white onion, serrano or jalapeño chile, and salt. Served with totopos (corn tortilla chips).

A hearty soup of nixtamalized hominy corn kernels simmered with pork shoulder, onion, and garlic in a chile broth, served with toppings chosen tableside: shredded cabbage, radishes, oregano, lime, tostadas, and optional crema.

Corn masa dough stuffed with fillings (pork in red chile, chicken with salsa verde, rajas with cheese, sweet corn), wrapped in corn husks or banana leaves and steamed until firm.

Corn tortillas dipped in chile sauce, filled with chicken, beef, or cheese, rolled and baked or simmered in sauce, topped with crema, queso fresco, and raw white onion.

Roasted and peeled poblano peppers stuffed with cheese (or picadillo meat filling), dredged in flour, dipped in whipped egg white batter, and fried until puffy and golden, served in a tomato sauce.

Cooked pinto or black beans mashed and then fried in lard (or oil), seasoned with salt, often finished with a few drops of lime juice and served as a side dish or tortilla filling.

Fresh raw fish or shrimp cured in lime juice until opaque, mixed with tomato, cucumber, white onion, cilantro, jalapeño, and avocado. Served with tostadas.

Grilled corn on the cob or corn kernels in a cup, coated with mayonnaise, crema mexicana, cotija cheese, chile powder, lime, and salt.

A Yucatan specialty: pork marinated in achiote (annatto) paste with citrus juice (orange, lime), wrapped in banana leaves, and slow-roasted in an underground pit or oven until tender. Served with pickled red onions and habanero salsa.

Fried corn tortilla chips simmered in red or green chile salsa until they soften slightly, topped with crema, queso fresco, sliced onion, cilantro, and a fried or scrambled egg.

A smooth egg custard dessert with a caramel sauce, made from whole eggs, condensed milk, evaporated milk, and vanilla, baked in a water bath and inverted to reveal the caramel.

Long-grain white rice toasted in oil until golden, simmered in tomato-based broth with garlic, white onion, and carrots until fluffy and fragrant. A universal side dish at Mexican restaurants.

A light sponge cake soaked through with a mixture of three milks (sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and whole milk or heavy cream), topped with whipped cream or meringue.

Long ridged sticks of choux-like wheat dough piped and fried until crispy, rolled in cinnamon sugar, and served with a thick hot chocolate dipping sauce.

A Sinaloa specialty of raw shrimp marinated in a spicy blended sauce of fresh chiles, lime juice, cucumber, and cilantro. Served immediately, the lime-chile 'water' cooks the shrimp via acid.

A tomato and chile broth soup with fried corn tortilla strips, topped with crema, queso fresco, sliced avocado, dried chile strips, and optionally chicken.

A green sauce made from roasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas), tomatillos, jalapeños, cilantro, and garlic, served over chicken or pork. A lighter, herb-forward alternative to mole.

Beef cheeks or lamb slow-cooked in a chile-spiced broth until fall-apart tender. Traditionally cooked in an underground pit (pib) wrapped in maguey leaves; modern versions use a Dutch oven or steamer. Served as taco filling with corn tortillas, cilantro, onion, and salsa.