THE 5 MOST IMPORTANT TYPICAL FOODS OF TABASCO - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The typical foods of Tabasco, in Mexico, have different influences: European, African and also pre-Hispanic. It is one of the most traditional cuisines with a quite accentuated variety.

Tabasco culture is based on using the resources that nature provides. In Tabasco, a way of cooking that exploits healthy resources and good flavor was implemented.

Described as highly creative, this cuisine with diverse origins draws on plants, fish, shellfish and jungle animals to configure its most characteristic dishes.

You may also be interested in this list of typical Mexican foods.

The 5 main typical foods of Tabasco

1- Zucchini with pork and corn

This is a simple dish that comes from a combination of pork with vegetables such as corn, zucchini, tomato sauce. Chicken can also be an option.

It is made very quickly and this combination produces a very rich stew, both in flavors and nutritionally.

Formerly it was consumed mainly in summer, as it was a fairly mild stew and because not all the ingredients were available throughout the year. Currently its consumption is less seasonal.

2- Chip tamales

Tamales are very traditional in Mexican gastronomy in general. In Tabasco cuisine, the key ingredient in tamales is a special plant called chipilín.

This plant is added to the tamale dough and creates a change in both the appearance and the taste. To finish you just have to wrap them in corn husks.

3- Chirmol

This recipe has pre-Hispanic origins and is characterized by its simplicity, as well as its good taste. Chirmol is an essential sauce or accompaniment in many typical foods.

Its base ingredients are mulatto peppers, pumpkin seeds and corn tortillas. It is a very versatile sauce, since it can be used with meat or fish.

4- Roasted lizard peje

In Tabasco cuisine the pejelagarto is the type of fish most used in the preparation of recipes. This is due to the abundance of the species in the waters of the region.

The flavor of this fish is similar to that of the dogfish. It is usually accompanied with empanadas, whiting and with the aforementioned chirmol.

Sometimes tamales can also be filled with this preparation.

5- Pl

Stuffed plantains are a kind of ripe banana croquettes, cooked and mashed. They can be filled with minced pork and spices, or just with cream cheese.

When the filling is decided, you just need to fry the mixture in lard. They can be eaten at any time: in the morning for breakfast or with the afternoon coffee.

References

1. The Cuisine of Tabasco: Heartland of Pre-Hispanic Cooking at Mexconnect, from mexconnect.com
2. Lizardfish Soup from Tabasco in Mexican Food Journal, from mexicanfoodjournal.com
3. Top 10 Foods of the Maya World in National Geographic, from nationalgeographic.com
4. "Tabasco's Cuisine: A Deluge of Aromas, Colors and Flavors", by Jorge Priego. UNAM Mexico, from magazinescisan.unam.mx
5. Varieties in Mexican Cuisine: Tabasco & Veracruz in the Gulf of Mexico, from elgolfodemexicotx.com