Today we're heading on a culinary journey through Mexico—a country where every dish is saturated with history and temperament. We're making two legends of the national cuisine: tender corn tortillas in green sauce and rich slow-cooked meat in aromatic broth.
🌮 Enchiladas Verdes
Soft corn tortillas, filled with chicken and generously doused with tangy green tomatillo sauce, baked under a cheese crust. Juicy, tangy, with a light tartness—the calling card of Mexican home cooking.
Ingredients:
• Tomatillos (green tomatoes) — 500 g
• Chicken breast — 400 g
• Corn tortillas — 8 pieces
• White onion — 1 medium head
• Garlic — 3 cloves
• Jalapeño pepper (fresh or pickled) — 1-2 pieces
• Fresh cilantro — 1 bunch (30 g)
• Sour cream — 100 ml
• Mozzarella or cheddar cheese — 200 g
• Chicken broth — 150 ml
• Vegetable oil — 3 tbsp
• Ground cumin — 1 tsp
• Salt, black pepper — to taste
Preparation:
1. Preparing the chicken
Place the chicken breast in a pot, cover with cold water (2 cm above the meat surface), add half an onion and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to minimum and simmer covered for 20-25 minutes. The chicken is ready when the juice runs clear when pierced with a fork, without a pinkish tinge. Cool, shred by hand into fibers along the meat's texture—you'll get natural 'ribbons' 3-4 cm long.
2. Green salsa verde
Peel the tomatillos from their husks, rinse off the sticky coating, cut in half. Heat a pan without oil until a light haze appears, place tomatillos cut-side down along with the onion half, 2 garlic cloves (in their skins), and jalapeño. Roast for 8-10 minutes, turning every 2-3 minutes, until dark char marks appear and they soften—vegetables should pierce easily with a knife. Transfer to a blender, add cilantro (stems and leaves), peeled garlic, chicken broth, cumin, salt. Blend for 1-2 minutes until smooth—the sauce should be fluid but not watery, a rich grassy-green color.
3. Finishing the sauce
In a saucepan, heat 1 tbsp oil over medium heat. Pour in the sauce from the blender (careful—it'll splatter!), bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 7-8 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes. The sauce will thicken, become more concentrated, the tartness will mellow. Remove from heat, stir in sour cream until evenly light green. Taste, adjust salt.
4. Assembling the enchiladas
Preheat oven to 180°C. Warm tortillas one at a time on a dry skillet for 10-15 seconds per side—they should become soft and pliable, but not brittle. Place 2 tbsp chicken in the center of each, roll into a tight cylinder, place seam-side down in an oiled baking dish (20×30 cm). Tortillas should fit snugly against each other—this way they won't unroll.
5. Baking
Generously pour green sauce over the rolls—it should cover the entire surface and run between the enchiladas. Sprinkle with grated cheese in an even layer. Bake for 18-20 minutes on the middle rack—cheese should melt, develop golden spots, and the sauce edges should bubble slightly.
6. Serving
Let the dish rest for 3-4 minutes after the oven—the sauce will set, enchiladas will be easier to transfer to plates. Serve 2 pieces per portion, garnish with cilantro leaves, thin red onion rings, and a dollop of sour cream. Traditional sides—fluffy rice or refried beans.
💡 Fact: Enchiladas are one of Mexico's most ancient dishes: the Maya filled corn tortillas with small fish even before the Spanish arrived. The name comes from the verb 'enchilar'—'to season with chili,' though modern versions can be moderately spicy.
🍖 Birria de Res
A deep, rich meat soup-stew with beef, simmered until melt-in-your-mouth tender in thick red adobo sauce with smoky chili notes. Served in bowls with aromatic consommé broth, fresh herbs, and lime—the soul of Mexican celebrations.
Ingredients:
• Beef on the bone (ribs or shank) — 1.2 kg
• Large fresh tomatoes — 4 pieces (600 g)
• Dried ancho chili or smoked paprika — 3 tbsp
• Yellow onion — 2 medium heads
• Garlic — 6 cloves
• Apple cider vinegar — 3 tbsp
• Tomato paste — 2 tbsp
• Ground cumin — 2 tsp
• Dried oregano — 1.5 tsp
• Ground cinnamon — 0.5 tsp
• Ground cloves — pinch
• Bay leaves — 2 pieces
• Beef broth or water — 1.5 l
• Vegetable oil — 2 tbsp
• Salt, black pepper — to taste
• For serving: cilantro, lime, yellow onion, corn tortillas
Preparation:
1. Adobo marinade
Score the tomatoes crosswise at the base, drop into boiling water for 1 minute, transfer to ice water—the skin will peel off easily. Cut into large pieces. Cut one onion into 4 parts. In a blender, combine tomatoes, onion, peeled garlic, paprika (or ancho chili soaked in hot water for 15 minutes, seeds removed), vinegar, tomato paste, cumin, oregano, cinnamon, cloves, 1 tsp salt, 0.5 tsp pepper. Blend for 2-3 minutes until completely smooth—the paste should be thick, dark red, with a pronounced spicy aroma.
2. Marinating the meat
Cut the beef into portion-sized pieces 5×5 cm (if using ribs—leave on the bone). In a deep bowl, rub each piece with adobo marinade, working the paste into the fibers. Cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight. The meat should be completely infused with the spice aromas and tenderized by the vinegar's acidity.
3. Searing the meat
In a heavy-bottomed pot or dutch oven (5-6 l), heat oil over high heat until a light haze appears. Place meat pieces (don't shake off the marinade!) in batches without overlapping, sear for 3-4 minutes per side. A dark crust with caramelized marinade edges should form on the surface—this is the foundation of flavor depth. Don't flip too early: the meat will release from the bottom on its own when ready.
4. Braising
Return all meat pieces to the pot. Transfer remaining marinade from the bowl into the pot, add bay leaves, the second onion (cut into 4 parts). Pour in broth or water—liquid should barely cover the meat. Bring to a boil over high heat, skim off foam, cover with a tight lid, reduce heat to minimum. Braise for 3-3.5 hours, checking every hour—meat is ready when it pulls apart easily with a fork and the bone separates easily.
5. Final stage
Remove meat with a slotted spoon, separate from bones, coarsely shred into pieces (they'll fall apart on their own). Strain the broth through a sieve, discard onion and bay leaves. Return meat to the broth, bring to a boil, simmer another 10 minutes. Consistency should be thicker than soup but thinner than stew—rich, oily, with fat droplets floating on the surface.
6. Mexican-style serving
Ladle birria into deep bowls: 3-4 pieces of meat, a generous ladle of consommé broth. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro, finely diced white onion, serve lime wedges separately. Essential—hot corn tortillas for dipping in the broth. Traditionally eaten like this: tear off a piece of tortilla, place meat on it, dip in consommé and pop in your mouth.
7. Alternative serving—quesabirria
On a skillet, heat a tortilla, dip half of it in the top fatty layer of broth, place grated Oaxaca cheese (or mozzarella), birria meat, fold in half. Fry on both sides until crispy—2 minutes per side. Serve with a bowl of broth for dipping—this is the viral trend of recent years.
💡 Fact: Birria originates from Jalisco state, where it was traditionally made with goat for weddings and baptisms. The beef version appeared in the 20th century and conquered all of Mexico. In the 2020s the dish became a global phenomenon thanks to quesabirria tacos—crispy tacos with cheese that exploded on social media.