History of Chilaquiles — Julee Ho Media (2024)

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History of Chilaquiles — Julee Ho Media? ›

Now known as a staple in Mexican cuisine (as well as brunch culture in SoCal and Texas), Chilaquiles goes all the way back to the Aztecs. In fact, the word “chilaquiles” comes from the Nahuatl (Uto-Aztecan) language which means chile water.

The tradition of preparing chilaquiles has existed for hundreds of years. As such, they are a very common meal for many Mexican families. Chilaquiles are said to have been first brought to America in a cookbook by Encarnación Pinedo, “The Spanish Cook” in 1898.

The word chilaquiles comes from the Nahuatl word chile which means peppers and aquile which means submerged. When tortillas were old or too hard, they were placed in salsa and chilaquiles were made.

Chilaquiles is an authentic Mexican meal that originated in 1898 and is still a staple for many families today. In its most basic form, Chilaquiles consist of fried tortilla strips that are simmered in salsa or mole to soften them up. It is a very versatile dish but it is most commonly served for breakfast or brunch.

In honor of what Google called the first widely known chilaquiles recipe published — on May 23, 1962 — Google tapped California artist Chava Oropesa to create the "Google Doodle," which had a spotlight on the Google homepage in the U.S. and South America on Thursday.

This dish is found all throughout Mexico, and at its most basic, it consists of fried tortilla chips covered with a red or green salsa, which makes the chip soft. Chilaquiles are commonly served with a side of refried beans and are eaten quite regularly in most Mexican homes.

Oddly, in Texas migas and chilaquiles are frequently confused with each other, especially in South Texas, where Mexican menus use the names interchangeably. The mix-up lies in the two dishes' common denominator, crunchy tortillas.

The word chilaquiles comes from the Nahuatl language, meaning chilis and greens. A traditional dish served in Mexico, the recipe hit the United States in 1898 when featured in The Spanish Cookbook, by Encarnación Pinedo. At its most basic, chilaquiles consist of fried corn tortilla chips simmered in a brothy sauce.

By using lower-fat and calorie ingredients like baked tortilla chips, a light tomato-based sauce, and fresh cheese and eggs instead of heavy cream, chilaquiles can be a delicious and healthy option. They are perfect for sharing with friends as a tasty and satisfying snack or as an ideal brunch dish.

But the best chilaquiles perfectly straddle the line between soft and crunchy. The chips have had a moment to absorb some of the warm chile-packed sauce but still retain some of their bite.

Are chilaquiles from Mexico City? ›

Soft-chewy-crunchy chilaquiles are the Mexican breakfast you eat from a street food vendor out of a van in Mexico City on your way to work, on your birthday at a fancy restaurant or “divorciados” (half verdes, half rojos) the day after you get married, like I did, flying in the face of any superstitions.

In Mexican culture people usually have 3 big meals a day:

Desayuno (breakfast) is the most important one. It takes place first thing in the morning, anytime between 7am -10 am. A normal weekday breakfast is easy to find on the street or cooked regularly in traditional households.

Migas means "crumbs" in Spanish, and Pérez, co-owner of Las Manitas Avenue Cafe in Austin, Tex., says that the dish was invented by thrifty poor people, who rather than let stale corn tortillas go to waste would fry them up with eggs.

What Are Chilaquiles? Chilaquiles are basically corn tortilla pieces that are fried, cooked in salsa, and sprinkled with cheese. They are often served for breakfast with eggs and a side of beans or nopalitos.

The best chilaquiles (the kind we're after) aren't so much wet as moist, and aren't so much limp as "gently softened until the chips retain just a bit of crunch but dissolve in your mouth into a mix of comforting starch and hot salsa." But still, when it comes down to it, chilaquiles are essentially soggy nachos—an ...