A gringo's guide to mexican food terms

or everything you need to know to read a taqueria menu

•  Abuelita - a brand of chocolate, used to make hot chocolate
•  Achiote-Annatto, a spice used in the Yucatan region
•  Adobo - chiles, garlic, vinegar, onions, tomatoes
•  Adobado - meat flavored with Adobo
•  Ajo-Garlic
•  Al carbón - marinated meat
•  Al Horno- Oven baked
•  Al Pastor - marinated pork
•  Albóndigas - meatballs with rice in broth, often with vegetables
•  Ancho-Dried poblano chile
•  Antojito-Appetizer
•  Apio - celery
•  Arroz-Rice
•  Arroz con pollo - rice and chicken, typically with saffron and sofrito
•  Azúcar-Sugar
•  Barbacoa-Barbecue
•  Birria - spicy mexican meat stew, usually with goat, lamb or mutton
•  Bistec - beefsteak
•  Bolillo - a bread, similar to a baguette
•  Borrego - lamb
•  Buche - pork stomach cooked in lard
•  Cabeza - cow head
•  Café-Coffee
•  Calabaza-Squash
•  Caldo - soup
•  Caldo de Mojarra - fish soup
•  Caldo de Res - beef soup
•  Carne en su jugo - meat and beans in a meat broth
•  Camarón-Shrimp
•  Carne-Meat, usually beef
•  Carnitas-Shredded, fried pork, often salty
•  Cebolla-Onion
•  Cecina - dried, salted meat, usually beef.
•  Cemita = sandwich on a fluffy, seeded egg roll
•  Chalupa - fried soft corn tortilla, stuffed with various
•  Chicharrones - deep fried pork rinds
•  Chilaquiles - Fried tortillas, topped with salsa or mole and cheese. typically a breakfast item
•  Chilorio - tender pork fried for a long time in chile sauce.
•  Chimichanga-Deep fried meat burrito
•  Chipotle-Ripe jalepeno, smoked and dried. Can be canned in Adobo sauce.
•  Chivo - goat
•  Chorizo-Spicy sausage
•  Choriqueso = chorizo with cheese
•  Chuletas Asadas - broiled pork chop
•  Cochinita Pibil - slow-roasted pork stew.
•  Cubana - type of torta, typically with veal milanesa, ham, sometimes chorizo and eggs
•  Curtido - pickled vegetables, typically cabbage, carrots. similar to cole slaw
•  Crema-A thickened cream similar to sour cream, but not as tangy.
•  Elote-Corn
•  Ensalada-Salad
•  Entomatada - tortilla in tomato sauce with onions, chiles and filling
•  Fideos - noodles
•  Fresa - strawberry
•  Galletas-Cookies
•  Gordito - a taco with a thick-shelled tortilla
•  Gringas - a quesadilla, typically with al pastor
•  Guisada - meat in thick, tomato and cumin sauce
•  Habanero-Extremely hot pepper
•  Helado-Ice cream
•  Hoja santa - spicy, plate-sized leaf
•  Hongos - mushroom
•  Horchata-Rice beverage
•  Huaraches - corn torilla, stuffed with black beans, hoja santa (spicy leaf), salsa, cheese, meat
•  Huevos-Eggs
•  Huevos Divorciados - Two eggs, one covered in green salsa, one in red, with tortillas in between
•  Huevos Motulenos = eggs with black beans, cheese, often ham, peas, plantains and picante
•  Jamaica - Hibiscus (the flavoring of red zinger tea)
•  Jamon - Ham
•  Leche-Milk
•  Lengua - beef tongue
•  Limon - lemon/lime
•  Machaca - dried beef, with eggs, onions, peppers
•  Maize-Corn
•  Mancha Manteles - stew with turkey, chorizo, pork, pineapple, apple, chiles cinnamon, lard, tomatoes
•  Mariscos -Shellfish
•  menudo - spicy tripe soup
•  Milanesa - breaded meat, commonly beef
•  Naranja - Orange
•  Nopales-Cactus
•  Ostiones - mussels
•  Pambazo - special bread  dipped in guajillo pepper sauce, filled with meats and beans
•  Pan-Bread
•  Pan Dulce-Sweet Bread
•  Papas - potatoes
•  Pata - pickled veal
•  Pepitas - roasted pumpkin seeds
•  Pescado - fish
•  Picaditas - thick tortilla topped with various
•  Picante-Spicy hot
•  Pierna - pork leg
•  Pimienta-Black pepper
•  Platano - banana
•  Pollo-Chicken
•  Pollo Asada - chicken marinated in citrus or vinegar
•  Pollo motuleños - chicken cooked in OJ, achiote, plantains
•  Pozole - soup or stew with hominy, pork, chile, vegetables
•  Puerco-Pork
•  Pulpo - Octopus
•  Pupusa - round, thin bread stuffed with various
•  Queso-Cheese
•  Rajas con crema - poblanos with creme, common party food
•  Relleno-Stuffed chiles
•  Res - beef
•  Romeritos - patties of dried shrimp, sprigs of rosemary, potatos and mole sauce. typical for xmas and lent
•  Sal-Salt
•  Salchicha - sausage
•  Sincronizada - similar to a quesadilla, usually made with masa
•  Sopa-Soup

•  Sopa de pancita - beef tripe in tomato,guajillo broth

•  Suadero - flank steak
•  Tinga - shredded meat, often spicy
•  Tlacoyo - toasted masa cakes stuffed with various items, similar to papusas
•  Tlayuda - crunchy tortilla covered with beans, pork lard, cabbage, shredded meat, cheese, salsa. Snack food
•  Tripa - pork intestines
•  Torta-Sandwich, typically meat, sauce, avocado, tomato
  
•  Vetabel - beet
•  Zanahoria - carrot