Oaxaca Fast Food

We left Alaska yesterday at noon and arrived In Oaxaca today at 4 p.m. We came to the same place where we stayed last year, so it was great to see some familiar places and faces right away!

Around the corner there is a family who every evening beginning at 8 p.m. sell these tlayudas. A tlayuda is a tortilla about 12 inches diameter, and you can pick from about 8 fillings. Usually they are shredded chicken, shredded beef (both cooked with tasty spices), potatoes with chorizo (spicy sausage), chopped green beans with onions, mushrooms, and whatever else they might have ingredients for.

First they thinly spread some fat on the tortilla. This fat is like semi liquid lard, but not lard like you would use for pies or pastry. It is the drippings from making chicharron, which is taking the pork skins and rendering the fat from it. So it has a great flavor.

Then they spread on some sauce made from black beans. Then whatever fillings you want, then a little of their cheese, which is crumbly, white, and not aged. At this point it looks similar to a pizza. Then they fold it in half and cook it for a few minutes on a charcoal grill.

If you are taking this home to eat, they put some hot sauce and avocado sauce in the little plastic bags.

All this for 20 pesos, which is less than $2.