Welcome to Los Amigos Playa Del Carmen |
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Culinary Dictionary
Wondering if you really want to try those tacos de lengua?
Use our Mexican Food Glossary to help you decide.
A
Achiote
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Red paste made by grinding annatto seeds and adding garlic and lime juice
or vinegar. Popular in the Yucatán Peninsula.
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Adobo
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Smokey chile marinade made of chile peppers, garlic, vinegar or citrus juice, garlic and spices. Often served on pork or chicken.
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Alambre
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Pieces of chicken or beef sauteed with bacon and vegetables like green peppers and onions. Served with tortillas and salsas. Similiar to fajitas.
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Almuerzo
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Lunch
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Annatto
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Seeds from the Yucatecan annatto tree used to make achiote paste.
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Arrachera
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Marinated and grilled flank steak.
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B
Barbacoa
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Meat barbecued in a pit. Depending on the region, the meat may be borrega (lamb) in central Mexico, barbacoa de cabeza (cow head) or cabrito (kid goat) in the North, or cochinita pibil (pork) in the Yucatán.
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Bistec
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Beefsteak
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Botanas
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Snacks often served free of charge in a cantina with purchase of a beer.
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Burritos
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A large white tortilla rolled up around fillings such as meat, salsa, rice, beans, and avocado.
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C
Cabrito
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Kid goat, Usually the entire body, minus the head and feet, is roasted and served.
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Cajeta
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Caramel-like confection made by simmering goat's milk with sugar. Often is served out of a squeezable bottle.
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Calamar
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Squid
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Caldo
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Broth soup, usually offered as chicken or beef.
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Camarón
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Shrimp
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Carne asada
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Marinated and grilled flank steak.
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Carnitas
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Pork roasted in lard and citrus juices, then shredded. Often served from carts in corn tortillas with pickled onions and eaten for breakfast.
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Cecina
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Thinly sliced and cured beef, often served in tacos.
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Cena
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Dinner
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Ceviche
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Seafood cooked by marinating in lime juice, mixed with tomatoes, onions, and at times, avocado. Shrimp, fish and squid or a combination are commonly offered.
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Coctel
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Cocktail, In seafood restaurants, this refers to a seafood cocktail. Shrimp, fish, crab, or squid may be mixed with with red salsa and presented in a cocktail glass for consumption.
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Costillas
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Ribs
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Crema
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Similiar to sour cream, but less thick and less sour tasting.
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Chaya
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Green leafy vegetable, often compared to spinach. Native to the Yucatán Peninsula, this veggie is packed with vitamins, but can be poisonous if consumed raw.
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Chicharrones
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Fried pork rinds
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Chilaquiles
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Crunchy tortilla strips fried with eggs, chicken and/or cheese, and covered in a red or green sauce. Served for breakfast.
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Chile Relleno
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Roasted and peeled poblano pepper stuffed with cheese, dipped in an egg white batter, and fried. Often served with a red sauce.
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Chorizo
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Spicy pork or beef sausage.
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Chuleta
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Pork chop
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D
E
Empanadas
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Masa dough stuffed with a filling, folded over into a crescent shape, and fried. Fillings vary but may include cheese, chicken, potatoes, and chorizo.
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Enchiladas
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Corn tortillas are quickly fried in oil, soaked in a sauce, filled with meat or cheese and rolled. The rolls may then be covered with additional sauce, cheese, crema or lettuce.
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Escabeche
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Vegetables pickled in vinegar, oil and herbs. Jalapeno peppers, carrots, onions and cauliflower are commonly used. May also refer to a meat stew.
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F
Flauta
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Large tortilla, rolled up with meat, and fried.
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Frijoles Charros
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Pinto bean soup with bits of pork or bacon, spices and vegetables.
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G
Gordita
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Thick masa dough shaped like a small pita. Often filled with a guisado.
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Gringa
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Pastor taco made with a flour tortilla.
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Guacamole
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Mashed avocado, often mixed with tomatoes, onions, cilantro, chiles, garlic and/or lime juice. May be served as a dip with tortilla chips or as a garnish with a meal.
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Guisado
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Cubes of meat cooked in a sauce.
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H
Hominy
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Dried corn kernels that have been boiled in lime juice and water to remove the hard outer hull. Used in menudo and pozole and to make masa.
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Huaraches
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Literally means sandals. A thick piece of masa dough about the shape and size of a sandal is fried and covered with refried beans, meat, lettuce, cheese and crema.
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Huevos Mexicanos
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Breakfast dish of eggs fried with tomatoes, onions and chaya (representing the red, white and green of the Mexican flag).
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Huevos Rancheros
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Breakfast dish of tortillas topped with fried eggs and coverd in a red salsa.
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J
Jamaica
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Cold beverage made by brewing water with hibiscus flowers. Some say it reminds them of pomegranate juice.
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L
M
Mariscos
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Seafood
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Marquesita
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A crepe is rolled around shredded edam cheese and condensed milk. The crepe hardens after rolling and reminds many of an ice cream cone. Alternative fillings such as nutella may also be offered. Often served from a cart at fiestas and special events.
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Masa
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Corn dough. Dried corn kernels are boiled in lime juice and water to remove the hard outer hull, and then mixed with water to form a dough. Used as the dough for tortillas, tamales, gorditas, etc. A staple in Mexican cooking.
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Menudo
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Tripe soup, considered a hangover cure in Mexico.
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Milanesa
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Pork or beef cutlet, lightly breaded and fried.
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Mojo de Ajo
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Garlic sauce, often served over fish filets.
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Molcajete
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Bowl made of volcanic rock used for grinding or mashing foods. Often used to make guacamole and salsas.
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Mole
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Complex sauce made of many ingredients and having many variations. Ingredients may include unsweetened chocolate, chiles, spices, nuts, fruits and seeds. May be served over chicken, turkey, or enchiladas.
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N
Nopales/
Nopalitos
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Cooked slices of cactus paddle.
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P
Panucho
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Thick circular masa dough fried and filled with refried beans, topped with shredded meat, lettuce, cheese and crema.
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Papadzules
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A Yucatecan dish of enchiladas filled with hard-boiled eggs, often covered with a pumpkin seed sauce.
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Pastor
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Thin slices of pork marinated in achiote and roasted on a spit. The pork is sliced off the spit and served in a taco with onions, cilantro and pineapple.
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Pavo
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Turkey
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Pescado
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Fish
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Pico de Gallo
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A relish of raw diced tomatoes and onions, with cilantro and/or chile peppers. Also referred to as salsa Mexicana.
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Pipian
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Pumpkin seed sauce often served over chicken, turkey or fish.
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Poblano pepper
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Large, dark green, mildly spicy chile pepper.
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Poc Chuc
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A Yucatecan specialty, pork steak is marinated in sour orange juice and achiote, and then grilled.
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Pollo
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Chicken
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Pozole
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Soup made of hominy, pork and spices.
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Puerco
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Pork
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Pulpo
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Octopus
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Q
Quesadilla
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Flour tortilla filled with cheese, folded over and pressed flat. Heated over a griddle until cheese melts. Other ingredients may be added to the cheese, such as mushrooms and rajas.
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Queso Fundido
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Mexican cheese fondue. May be served with mushrooms, roasted poblano peppers or chorizo. The fondue is usually spooned onto tortillas and eaten as an appetizer.
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R
Rajas
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Roasted, peeled, and sliced poblano peppers.
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Res
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Beef
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S
Salchicha
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Sausage. In Mexico, franks or wieners are referred to as salchica.
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Salbute
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Thick circular masa dough fried and topped with shredded meat, lettuce, cheese and crema.
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Salsa
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Sauce
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Sope
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Thick circular masa dough fried and topped with refried beans, shredded meat, lettuce, cheese and crema. Sopes generally have a rim to hold the ingredients in.
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T
Tacos Dorados
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Deep-fried tacos filled with shredded meat.
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Tamale
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Corn masa dough stuffed with meat, wrapped in a corn husk or banana leaf, and steamed.
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Taquito
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Small tortilla, rolled up with meat, and fried.
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Torta
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Mexican sandwich made of bolillo rolls, may be filled with refried beans, shredded or sliced meats, lettuce
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Tortilla
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A thin, flat unleavened bread made of masa for corn tortillas or harina (flour) for flour tortillas.
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Tostada
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Fried corn tortilla. When on a menu, it may be topped with refried beans, meat, lettuce, cheese, and/or crema.
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Tres Leches
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Meaning Three Milks, this refers to the rich Tres Leches cake, soaked in sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and whole milk or cream.
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At Los Amigos, we take real pride in serving our guests authentic Mexican dishes made with the finest ingredients available. Like salsas made fresh throughout the day to ensure the ultimate in flavor, Tableside Guacamole prepared with only Haas avocados. These are just a few of the efforts we make every day to bring you the real flavors of Mexico.
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