Mexican Cuisine
Written on Apr 12, 2026
Mexican cuisine shouldn't be confused with Tex-Mex cuisine, but most people in the United States and the Philippines call both of them "Mexican food". The difference is that Tex-Mex cuisine originated in the state of Texas in the United States.
I can't even tell you the names of all the Mexican dishes I've had over the years, or where. There are some I've eaten less than 10 times in my life, like tamales. There are others, of course, that I've eaten so many times I lost count years ago.
Burritos
A burrito is a bunch of pre-cooked ingredients wrapped in a flour tortilla. When someone deep fries a burrito, it's called a "chimichanga". If you look for burritos in grocery stores, some of the packages will say "chimichanga" on them.
Don't be fooled; they're burritos. Some companies will use both terms. Do they really think customers are that stupid? Probably, or they wouldn't market them both ways.
There's another invention called the breakfast burrito. Some fast food places sell breakfast burritos that are tiny and expensive. Josie, my wife, makes the best breakfast burritos I've ever eaten.
They're huge, with ingredients that can consist of scrambled eggs, shredded cheese, potatoes of some kind, and some kind of meat. Occasionally, she uses two or more types of meat. I like to dip them in salsa as I eat them, if I have any available.
Enchiladas
At Josie's last place of employment, which lasted 20 years, she had to work with a lot of Mexican-Americans who could barely speak English. In order to converse with them, she had to learn their Spanish dialects. One of the things she learned from them was how to make enchiladas.
Even though she knows how to make enchiladas with beef and other types of animal meat, she only makes them using chicken. I prefer white meat because it isn't as greasy as the dark meat.
We don't often eat enchiladas in the Philippines. They don't taste right without enchilada sauce. The enchilada sauce she's used every time she makes them comes from the United States. We can't find it in the Philippines.
Tacos
Some people think the tacos sold by various fast food franchises are authentically Mexican. I'm talking about places like Taco Bell and Del Taco. They are far from authentic, unless you call them authentically American.
A taco is simply a folded tortilla, with assorted ingredients. Usually, some form of animal meat is involved. Like plain bean burritos, I've seen plain bean tacos. A flat, stiff taco is called a tostada.
Tortillas can be made of either corn or flour. Corn tortillas shaped like tacos and flour tortillas shaped like bowls are American inventions. A taco salad, yet another American invention, comes with a tortilla shape that's supposed to represent a large bowl, yet fails miserably to do so.
Josie and I have tacos at home in the Philippines at least once a month. We tend to use flour tortillas, refried beans, ground beef, iceberg lettuce, shredded cheese, and salsa.
Finding Products and Ingredients in the Philippines
We can find most of the food items we're looking for, even if we have to travel more than an hour to the S&R warehouse store in the province of Pampanga. Even then, we can't find the best examples of those products.
I rarely buy frozen burritos. I dislike eating burritos that include beans, and I can't seem to find any other kind. As I already mentioned, we can't find enchilada sauce. It's supposed to be carried at the Puregold warehouse stores and at the SM supermarkets, but I haven't seen any yet.
I have to make it a point to look for specific things in every type of store that carries groceries, or I'll simply forget the next time I'm in one of those places. I now have an application on my phone that I use primarily for shopping lists.
There are no Mexican-style restaurants nearby in Olongapo City. Perhaps in metro Manila, but there's no way I'll go to Manila just to eat at a restaurant. I avoid Manila, except for when I need to go to the Bureau of Immigration, the airport, or the embassy.
Before I forget, nachos aren't Mexican either. I can't tell you about other Mexican dishes because I'm not familiar with them.