Gluten Free

Requesón is a salty, spreadable Mexican cheese that tastes like a creamier, more acidic version of ricotta. Making it from scratch is easy: You curdle milk with vinegar or another acid such as lime juice, and then warm it and watch the curds form. Most street vendors use it as a tlacoyo filling, but you can use requesón for all sorts of things—stirred into scrambled eggs and tomatoes, smeared into a corn tortilla with salsa, or spread onto a piece of toast with honey or mixed in a dip of fresh herbs and olive oil.

Avocado leaves are the aroma of Oaxaca, and they are the main flavor in this indispensable staple. So many things can be created out of this little bean paste flavored with anise-y avocado tree leaves. It is the base for memelas, tlayudas, molletes, enfrijoladas, and so much more. Growing up, we stopped at the market in Tlacolula—a small village located near Oaxaca City—just to buy the paste, already made, in little plastic bags. You buy some tasajo, you grill it, you get some fresh tlayudas, some salsa, and then you spread some of this paste all over your tortilla like it is a savory cake frosting.

Chances are, if you're not Oaxaqueño and grew up in this last generation in Mexico or the United States, you’ve probably been taught to think that pork fat like aciento—Oaxacan-style chicharrón paste—is not good for you, and that you should always cook and eat things made with a plant-based oil instead. It’s normal to think this way. That is, until you go to Oaxaca and see that aciento is a way of life and that a lot of elders live to be more than one hundred years old eating the stuff on a daily basis. You’ll also realize that it is amazingly flavorful and really completes a lot of masa-based Oaxacan dishes such as tlayudas, memelas, empanadas, and chochoyotes. Think of it as a Oaxacan brown butter. If you do it right, it should taste nutty and toasty, not like lard or like fat. I also understand that a lot of people may not have the time to properly render chicharrón into a paste, so this shortcut version using olive oil is much quicker and tastes almost as good. If you can’t find or don’t have access to fresh chicharrón, American-style pork rinds also work well.

The two imperatives are that the tomatoes must be truly ripe and sweet and that the sauce should be eaten at once. If you must, you can hold it for up to two hours refrigerated and tightly covered, but it loses its magic fast. For the right slightly coarse texture, the ingredients should be chopped separately by hand. The only thing I sometimes do with the food processor is the chiles. Try to find fresh ones—canned jalapeños will work, but aren't ideal in a sauce supposed to be sparkling fresh.

Make coconut sticky rice in the microwave for creamy, perfectly tender results in under 10 minutes. Serve it with shredded coconut, toasted sesame seeds, and of course, ripe mango slices.

Ripe nectarines roast until they're tender and caramelized before they’re placed on a bed of tangy Greek yogurt. Everything gets topped with a drizzle of olive oil and honey—and a sprinkle of nuts and herbs.

If Thai food were laid out as one of those nutritional pyramids they showed you in health class, green papaya salad would be at the bottom, right above rice. In other words: It is fundamental. 

This brothy soup feels like coastal Oaxaca in a bowl. It has tons of herbs, buttery shrimp, a light spicy-smoky broth—and chochoyotes, dumplings made from fresh masa or masa harina.

Sinuglaw is a combination of fish ceviche—in this case, vinegar-cured tuna—plus smoky grilled pork belly. The flavorful dish gets dressed with coconut milk, ginger, red onion, chiles, and tomato.

This blend gives my French Onion Breakfast Strata its distinctive flavor profile. Chives are my herb of choice, but oregano or thyme is also nice.

Marinating chicken wings in a base of tamarind purée, fish sauce, brown sugar, crushed red pepper flakes, and cumin gives optimal flavor and just-enough char.

You can store this all-purpose sweet-and-spicy vinegar in clean mason jars, but it is easier to keep it in repurposed glass bottles. Note that this recipe can be adjusted as you like—try using different chiles or other spices like bay leaf.

Add these seasoned peanuts to your som tum.

Originally from Yemen, this fiery condiment has a dense, round flavor that comes from a variety of fresh chiles, herbs, and spices.

In this recipe, pineapple makes a fantastic marinade that caramelizes on the grill to create a tasty crust on chicken breast.

The fleeting vibrance of spring vegetables is captured in this citrus-and-garlic-infused marinade, turning delicate produce into a versatile condiment.

In this riff on huaraches, grilled cactus paddles stand in for the traditional corn masa “sandal sole” that provides the base for velvety black beans, crumbled queso fresco, and chipotle salsa.

This recipe brings together the flavors of Mexico’s Gulf Coast with the anise-like flavor of Mexican avocado leaves and the tang of sour oranges.

Flavored with citrus, maple syrup, and cilantro, this slaw makes an excellent topper for tacos or huaraches.

A sophisticated take on the beloved children's snack of celery with peanut butter and raisins, this salad is a study in textures with chewy dates, crisp apple, and fresh herbs.