Foods of Oaxaca

In addition to ornate clothing, Pacific beaches, and scenic mountains, Oaxaca is touted throughout Mexico as a premier food destination. During our two days in the city, Andrew and I made sure to check out the local delicacies.

Piedrazo- 

Hardened bread dipped into pickled cabbage and carrots and then placed into a baggy with cheese, chiles, and potatoes for easy transport

Piedrazo is a common street food in Oaxaca. Andrew and I split a bag during the heat of the day and sweated out the spicy dish. We concluded that the mix of sour, spicy, and crunchy was balanced well but better suited for sitting at a table than carrying around the city streets.

Atole-

A warm ground corn and chocolate drink

Atole is on sale all over the markets of Oaxaca and specially suited for cool mountain nights. Its flavor is mild, but my tongue couldn't quite get used to the texture of corn (a starchy cornmeal grit) with the flavor of chocolate.

Grasshoppers-

Grasshoppers seemingly hit with a splash of vinegar and a dash of salt and chiles

Probably the most famous of the Oaxaca foods, I was being goaded into eating Oaxaca grasshoppers as soon as I crossed the Texas border. They were crunchy and salty and a fine snack once you got over the fact that you were eating an insect. If there is any problem it may be that they are too salty, but I'll give a free pass. I assume the generous portion of salt hides the grasshopper's true flavor.

Mole-

A sauce composed of chocolate, butter or lard, chiles, slow cooked tomatoes and chicken broth served over chicken.

I was very excited for this dish since I always suspected Mexican restaurants in the US weren't getting mole sauce completely right. Oaxaca offered two varieties, red and black. The black proved too chocolatey for me, but the red was exquisite. The chiles and chocolate balanced well and the tomatoes and chicken broth kept the sauce light. I'll be bringing home a bunch of the chocolate in an attempt to recreate.

Stone Soup-

A seafood and fish soup cooked by adding near red hot stones to individual servings of stew. The broth is flavored by lime, cilantro, and fresh oregano. 

The stone soup had a novel cooking process and a fantastic flavor. Bone-in fish and head-on shrimp helped develop an irresistible broth. Anyone who has seen me cook knows my obsession with citrus, so the lime and cilantro played to my palate. My only complaint was that the cooking process made it hard to control how well done the seafood got. Here's a video of the chef at work.