What Makes it Unique?

Discovering the secrets of Tex-Mex Cuisine

There are a lot of misconceptions about Tex-Mex cuisine. Often we’ll talk about ‘going for some Mexican food’ which is very different from the Tex-Mex concept. And we assume that chilli con carne is the staple, and must have kidney beans in it!

Food historians tell us that Tex-Mex cuisine originated hundreds of years ago, when Spanish/Mexican recipes combined with Anglo fare. However, the dishes we recognise today are really a twentieth century phenomenon, with the term first appearing in print in the 1940s. And it wasn’t until the 1970s that the fad for this type of food really started taking off, appealing predominately to the younger generation. A combination of the words ‘Texan’ and ‘Mexican’, it refers to an adaptation of northern Mexican peasant food, and Texas farm and cowboy dishes prepared by Texan cooks. And it coincided with a large number of Mexican immigrants arriving in the USA around the 1950s. 

Probably the defining moment, in terms of differentiating between Mexican food and Tex-Mex, came in 1972 with the publication of The Cuisines of Mexico by influential food writer Diana Kennedy. She referred to Americanised Mexican food as Tex-Mex. At first, Texas-Mexican restaurant owners considered it an insult; however, it was actually the launch pad for its worldwide success. It evoked images of cantinas, cowboys and the Wild West, and soon dozens of themed restaurants were springing up in Europe’s capital cities. From there it was only a matter of time before you could find Tex-Mex restaurants in Buenos Aires, Brisbane and Bangkok. 

So what dishes are you most likely to find on the menu? A favourite is the Burrito; it combines ancient traditions (filled tortillas) with contemporary ingredients. It’s said to have been first sold at Los Angeles’s famed El Cholo Spanish Café during the 1930s. Its name translates from Spanish as ‘little donkey’, and if fried is known as a chimichanga. Chilli con carne (chilli with meat) is perhaps the most well-known dish of the genre, and while many restaurants and recipes use beans in the recipe, the original never did, and in Texas, still doesn’t. It’s believed to derive from poor farming communities in Mexico where they would add as many peppers as possible to the meagre pieces of meat they could find, or afford. Interestingly, at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, there was a ‘San Antonio Chili Stand’. It’s probable that the dish was invented in that city sometime after the American Civil War. And Frank X. Tolbert, one of the foremost authorities on the subject of chilli, indicates in his book – A Bowl of Red – his assurance that chilli con carne originated in San Antonio, Texas. 

Enchiladas are also popular, they’re tortillas stuffed with various fillings of meat, cheese, chilli sauce, spicy sausage and the like. Fajitas are a Tex-Mex dish made from marinated, grilled steak served in a tortilla. Its name derives from the Spanish faja for ‘strip’ and describes the cut of meat itself. Tortillas are round, thin unleavened breads made from ground maize; a basic food of Mesoamerica. It was the Conquistadores who first recorded the flat corn breads. Native Nahuatl Indians called them tlaxcalli and the Spanish gave them the name tortilla. 

Quesadillas are a favourite simple snack which are uncooked tortillas stuffed with different fillings and folded over to make a ‘turnover’. They’re then toasted on a hot griddle or fried until golden. Refried beans, is the misleading translation of a term very familiar in Spanish-speaking countries of Central and South America – frijoles refritos. This refers to beans which have first been cooked in water and are subsequently fried. There is no question of them being fried twice. Author Diane Kennedy explains, “Nobody I asked in Mexico seemed to know why when fried just once they are called refried. Then it dawned on me that Mexicans have a habit of qualifying a word to emphasize the meaning by adding the prefix re-. They will get the oil very hot (requemar), or something will be very good (retebien). Thus refrito beans are well-fried beans.” 

Salsa has origins dating back to the Aztecs, Mayans and Incans. It’s a combination of chillies, tomatoes and other spices, and is now a favourite dip with a host of non-Mexican orientated dishes. As is, of course, Guacamole, the avocado based dish which is rich in oils, has two or three times as much protein as other fruits, and many vitamins as well. 

None of the dishes that you’ll try will be too ‘hot’, however if you want to spice things up a bit you could try and source a Red Savina Habanero chilli, reputedly one of the hottest on the planet. But I wouldn’t recommend it. Even the hardiest of souls think the fiercest jalapeno is hot enough. And the fieriest Red Savina is about one hundred times hotter than that! 

Here on Samui, if you are looking for some of the dishes mentioned above, and a lot more besides, then your best bet is to head for Gringo’s Cantina in Chaweng, where you will also find some great margaritas! 

Tex-Mex cuisine is certainly different from any other and its popularity is only increasing. And while a burrito may have the bite of a ‘little donkey’, thankfully it won’t kick like a mule!