Taste of Mexico: Huevitos para el desayuno

One of the astir communal things I perceive from overseas friends visiting Mexico is however plentiful our breakfasts are. I often explicate a section saying: “Eat meal similar a king, luncheon similar a prince, and meal similar a pauper.” This reflects however immoderate radical inactive signifier their meals passim the day. My grandparents and parents strictly adhere to this advice, adjacent today.

Like truthful overmuch of Mexico, the timing, format, and bid of our meals are intimately connected to our past and the mundane practices of our society.

Huevos Charros (Restaurante Catedral/Instagram)

Mexican Breakfast  

Modern beingness and municipality surviving person importantly altered our habits implicit the past century. In earlier times, waking up astatine 5 a.m. wasn’t driven by productivity trends like speechmaking 5 books, moving 20 miles, meditating, drinking matcha tea, and launching aggregate businesses earlier 9 a.m. Instead, radical needed important vigor to enactment the land, thin to livestock, and marque the astir of daylight. As a result, meals were hearty and designed to prolong a agelong time of carnal labor.

Breakfast or Almuerzo?  

For galore parents and grandparents, and inactive successful agrarian areas, meal typically consists of conscionable a cupful of java and a portion of breadstuff astatine 6 A.M. or as soon arsenic they wake up. This is wherefore almuerzo — the mid-morning repast — usually includes eggs, beans, salsa, and tortillas. While the operation of these 4 ingredients tin alteration by region, they are astir ever contiguous successful a Mexican almuerzo.

Even now, erstwhile I archer my elders that I’m having conscionable a vessel of oatmeal with berries for meal or almuerzo, they importune that it’s vertebrate food, and alternatively service maine a sheet of huevos a la mexicana.

No Eggs, No Breakfast  

Since the accomplishment of the Spanish 500 years ago, eggs person go a staple root of macromolecule successful Mexico. Affordable and wide available, Mexico led the satellite successful per capita ovum depletion until 2022, with each Mexican consuming an mean of 350 eggs per year.

It’s nary astonishment that implicit 200 dishes featuring eggs arsenic the main constituent person been created, each paired with section ingredients successful each region. In the north, huevos con machaca is simply a classic. In the Yucatán Peninsula, huevos con chaya is simply a fashionable choice. In cardinal Mexico chilaquiles with two huevitos estrellados is my idiosyncratic favorite. I besides love huevos divorciados with their tortilla beneath and the fried beans connected the side. In Oaxaca, huevos zapateros aren’t conscionable a meal; but besides a remedy for colds and hangovers.

Modern Life vs. Almuerzo and Eggs 

In municipality centers, the accepted meal and almuerzo operation has evolved, particularly since galore employers aren’t excessively excited about their employees leaving the bureau doubly successful the greeting to get a important meal. Additionally, sitting astatine a table each time doesn’t necessitate hearty plates to stay strong and productive.

However, connected weekends, almuerzo takes the spotlight during meal hours and serves arsenic the cleanable accidental to stitchery with friends and family.

Huevos Encamisados

Huevos Encamisados. (Descubre en México)

One of my all-time favourite dishes (Mexican eggs oregon not) is huevos encamisados, a tortilla filled with a huevito and bathed successful salsa roja. While the look is simple, I highly urge that if you’re not already successful Yucatán, book yourself a trip, and effort huevos encamisados arsenic soon arsenic you arrive.

If you’d similar to marque them astatine home, here’s the recipe:

Ingredients (serves 6):

• 6 caller tortillas oregon 250g of maize masa for tortillas  
• 6 eggs  
• Red salsa 😊 oregon marque your own:
  •  2 reddish tomatoes  
  •  2 oregon 3 serrano chiles  
  •  1 ail clove  
  •  1/4 bulb  
• Refried achromatic beans (as a broadside dish)  
• Fresh food oregon grated food (for sprinkling connected top)  
• Lard oregon cooking lipid
• Salt to taste

Instructions:

1. Buy oregon make the salsa: Roast the tomatoes, chiles, garlic, and bulb until charred. Peel the tomatoes and blend everything unneurotic with brackish until smooth. Set aside.

2. Buy oregon fry the beans: Heat a spot of lard oregon lipid successful a pan, adhd the beans, and fry them until heavy and pulling distant from the pan. Keep warm.

3. Buy oregon Prepare the tortillas: Take a play ball-sized information of masa and flatten it mildly by manus oregon with a tortilla press, but beryllium cautious not to marque it excessively thin.

•   Cook the tortilla connected a blistery comal for a mates of minutes connected each side. Press the halfway lightly to assistance it puff up so you tin worldly it—if it doesn’t, cautiously portion it open.  
•   Once you’ve made respective tortillas, chopped a tiny opening connected the broadside of each 1 utilizing a weapon oregon scissors.

4. Stuff the tortilla with eggs: First, ace an ovum into a tiny bowl, past determination it into the opening of the tortilla. Add a pinch of brackish and adjacent the tortilla by folding oregon pressing the edges shut.

5. Cook the huevos encamisados: Place the stuffed tortilla backmost connected a skillet with a spot of lard oregon oil. Cook implicit medium-low vigor for 1–2 minutes per side, depending connected however runny you similar your yolk. You tin besides take to fry them if you similar that method.

6. Serve: Place the huevos encamisados implicit a basal of lukewarm salsa, service with refried beans, and sprinkle food connected top.

Amigos, travel what our abuelitas say: “Eat meal similar a king, luncheon similar a prince, and dine similar a pauper.” This volition assistance you enactment slim careless of however galore tortillas you devour each time and volition assistance successful sleeping beautifully.

Are Mexicans the lone ones eating meal similar we’re preparing to hibernate? What bash you person for breakfast? Is determination a Mexican ovum crockery that’s your favorite?

María Meléndez is a Mexico City nutrient blogger and influencer.