This Mexican Hack Will Take Your Cooking To The Next Level

The first time I arrived in Mexico, the biggest culture shock was not the friendly people or the charming noise in the city… but the food!

Even as a French chef, I was amazed at how good the street food was. I stayed several weeks in the country to explore the culinary culture. As a chef, I will share with you a Mexican technique that I learned during my stay in Mexico that can turn any simple dish into an extraordinary one.

Mexico intensifies the senses!

Once I landed in Mexico, the first thing I did was search for the iconic tacos. Curious and with an adventurous nature when it comes to a new food, I was ready to taste everything in sight. I was particularly on the lookout for spots where Mexicans were lining up to eat. The Mexican queue is the proof you’re looking for to tell if it will be a good meal or not.

Once I get to one of the taco lines, I prepare myself to order in my beginner-level Spanish. I order a taco with spicy pork, different condiments, and pineapple on top.

I received a plate wrapped in plastic, with the taco fillings and without condiments. I was free to add my own condiments. There were endless varieties of toppings; nopales, minced onions, jalapenos, salsas varieties, anything you could ask for!

In the past, I was never a huge fan of cilantro, but I let my curiosity tempt me. I pick up a miniature-sized lime wedge too. I grab the taco and take a bite.

It was the most sensational moment of the trip. I could feel each and every tastebud in my mouth, sensing an intensification I hadn’t had until this moment. I could feel the umami from the spicy pork and salsa, the sweetness of the pineapple and raw onion, the acidity of the lemon and pineapple, and the freshness of the onion and cilantro. The meat and salsa made the tacos so juicy that I unconsciously brought the plate up to my mouth to avoid spilling. I also recognized a textural interplay of nopales, meat, and raw condiments. And most importantly, it was extremely spicy. It was so spicy that I stuttered when I asked for the price after my meal. That’s a lot of words in one bite, but I felt compelled to share this unforgettable moment with you. All the senses were intensified; umami, sweetness, acidity, and spiciness.

When the senses are not balanced, it happens that one sense dominates the others, and the dish becomes unpleasant to the mouth. Yet the tacos I had eaten were intense but also balanced. No one sense predominated the other (except maybe the spiciness, which was overdone but made the dish even more addictive). The elements that were the biggest culture shock were the raw onion, cilantro, and lemon. There is no French dish that combines these three raw condiments. They added an intense and pleasant freshness to the mouth. Inspired by this shock, once I returned to my kitchen, I began experimenting.

The magic condiments that boost the flavor

The cooking hack of Mexican dishes is… the three condiments that I presented to you. Cilantro, raw onion, and lemon juice. If you are adventurous, add a reasonable amount of raw hot pepper. It enhances the taste, the freshness and also makes the dish addictive. One of the theories of this addiction is that you try to compensate for the spiciness in your mouth by eating more (it’s not well described, but it’s surprisingly pleasant, and you enjoy the sensation). And this condiment works anywhere! For example, try it on a simple dish like a steak with salt and pepper, try it on a fried egg, or even sashimi! These condiments refine the taste by controlling the fatty taste of the meat.

The lemon flavor intensifies the acidity flavor, and the onion complements the sweetness. Sometimes when we’re creating a dish, we can find that the sweetness of it is not well balanced. In this case, add any fruit to add some sweetness but also to add texture! What I suggest (thanks to my discoveries in Mexico) is pineapple, peach, or apples. What’s great is that I just keep finding out what works well the more I spend time in Mexico. I discover this by eating various Mexican dishes and asking the Mexican people what their secrets are.

Culture shock in the culinary world is always a nice surprise. I always find something to draw inspiration from. That’s one of the reasons I can’t get enough of it when I travel. I hope you enjoyed this cooking hack. If you want to learn other hacks, don’t hesitate to ask me in the comments! Also, feel free to share your own! I’d love to read them!

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