Mexican Cooking 101: Terms and Substitutions
Mexican Made Easy's Marcela Valladolid shares her dictionary for making Mexican cooking a breeze.
From achiote to tomatillos, here are some of the most common Mexican specialty food items and suggested substitutions in case you can't find them at your market.
Achiote paste: Rust-colored flavorful paste made from the flowering seed of the annatto shrub. It can be found in the ethnic section of the grocery store. Use achiote paste in Achiote Potato Croquettes.
Substitute: Achiote oil may be available. Turmeric powder, just enough to color the dish (1 to 2 tablespoons per recipe) should do. (Too much can make the dish bitter.)
Queso fresco: Fresh Mexican cheese with a crumbly texture and slightly acidic flavor. Use queso fresco to make Jalapeno Buttered Corn.
Substitute: feta cheese
Dried California/New Mexico chile: Dark burgundy chile with a mild to medium-hot flavor. Use these potent peppers in Marcela's easy Spicy Surf-n-Turf Trio.
Substitute: ancho chile pepper, a more commonly found dried chile
Panela cheese: Fresh Mexican cheese made from whole unpasteurized milk curds. Make Panela with Chipotle Cream for your next party.
Substitute: Monterey Jack or mozzarella
Mexican chorizo: Spicy pork sausage. Use Mexican chorizo in Marcela's 'Mexican Made Easy' Sauteed Potatoes with Chorizo recipe.
Substitute: Hot Italian sausage or make your own with ground pork, garlic, cumin and paprika.
Purple bougainvillea: South American edible flower
Substitute: hibiscus
Chile de arbol: Small, bright red, fairly hot dried Mexican chile. Marcela's Easy Chile Salsa recipe uses this chile.
Substitute: chile powder
Tamarind pods: Tropical fruit both sweet and sour in taste
Substitute: lemon juice, lime juice or cider vinegar with a little sugar added
Teri Lyn Fisher
Maggi sauce: Hydrolyzed vegetable, protein-based sauce used as a flavor enhancer in Latin and Asian cuisines. It can be found in the ethnic section of the grocery store. Use Maggi sauce to make Warm Picnic Burritos.
Substitute: equal part mixture of Worcestershire sauce and dark soy sauce
Dried corn husk: Dried outer sheath that surrounds an ear of corn. Try this recipe for Salmon in Corn Husks.
Substitute: plastic wrap or foil
Masa harina: Popular Mexican flour made from treated corn. Use it to make Marcela's Easy Corn Tamales.
Substitute: finely ground corn meal
Tomatillo: Mexican relative to the gooseberry with a tart flavor. Use tomatillos in Chilaquiles with Roasted Tomatillo Salsa.
Substitute: green tomato and lime juice
For more recipes from Marcela, head back to her show page.
