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 Sopes with red salsa | |
| Alternative names | pellizcada, garnacha |
|---|---|
| Type | antojito |
| Place of origin |  Mexico |
| Main ingredients | corn dough, vegetables, meat,refried beans,cheese,lettuce,onions, red or green sauce (salsa) |
Asope (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈso.pe]) is a traditionalMexican dish consisting of a friedmasa base with savory toppings. Also known aspicadita (in Tierra Caliente, Guerrero)[1], it originates in the central and southern parts of Mexico, where it was sometimes first known aspellizcadas. It is anantojito and at first sight looks like an unusually thicktortilla withvegetables andmeat toppings.
The masa base is fried with pinched sides and topped withrefried beans, crumbledcheese,lettuce,onions,red orgreen sauce and sour cream. Sometimes other ingredients (mostly meat) are also added to create different tastes and styles.
Thesope has spread throughout all Mexico's territory, and thousands of regional variants are made. Even thoughsopes are traditionally from Mexico, many Central American countries have adopted this dish into their cuisine, with slightly different ingredients, and very similar to Salvadoran enchiladas.
While the pinched sides of thesope are its most distinctive characteristic, flatsopes are made to resemble a thick tortilla or atostada. However, though bothtostadas andsopes are fried, thetostada is thin and fried until it becomes crunchy and fragile, while thesope is much thicker and fried only until the exterior surface is cooked. Thesope, therefore, has a soft, slightly pliable texture. Thesope's thickness is meant to support its toppings, and the frying of its exterior surface adds resistance to the moisture of the ingredients.
The most common variation of thesope involves simply adding chicken and is widely known as asope de pollo.Sopes topped with beef are also a common variation and are typically slightly larger thansopes de pollo.
In the northern regions of Mexico,sopes are often prepared without vegetables, substituting black beans, spicy salsa, andlonganiza orchorizo instead. InAcapulco and Guerrero,sopes are unusually small in size, so they are calledsopecitos instead, and are fried in the same oil used to fryseafood, which gives them a unique taste.Sopecitos are made of beans and salsa only; no other ingredients are added.
InOaxaca,sopes sometimes are prepared usingchapulines (roastedgrasshoppers) as topping. Also, an extremely large dish similar to a giantsope or a gianttostada is the traditional food of reference in Oaxaca known astlayuda.
Thesope has been adopted and adapted to the local tastes of all Mexico's regions. This resulted in the creation of many traditional food specialties, which may appear to resemble thesope, but are considered a different dish.
The most common variation is thehuarache, which is prepared in almost the same manner. However, thehuarache normally is two or three times as large as asope and has a characteristic oblong shape.Huaraches are usually topped withrib,chicken, or beefsteak meat. The namehuarache is derived from the shape of themasa, similar to the popularsandals. Toppings for thehuarache include beans, cheese, lettuce, sour cream, ground beef, and salsa.[2]
Thetlacoyo is a completely different traditional Mexican dish which must not be confused with asope, but in some regions has started to be used in a similar way, as a base on top of which are placed the same ingredients used forsopes. Atlacoyo is an oval fried or toasted cake made of masa, torpedo-shaped and much fatter, since it is filled with beans or cheese.
Since it is similar in shape to a huarache (but smaller), and is made of the same corn as the sope and is even thicker (so it has more resistance to humid foods), Mexicanstreet vendors decided to sell it adding toppings on it, as an alternative to thesope. However, the traditionaltlacoyo is supposed to be consumed without any toppings on it, and this form is mostly found as street food.
Garnachas are small corn tortillas fried with shredded meat, crumbled dried cheese, and salsa. In many instances,garnachas may only have chopped onion and salsa on top. Similar in appearance tosopes, they are a main specialty from Guatemala.
Oaxacanmemelas are a local name for the identicalsopes served in other parts of Mexico, just made with different toppings.Memelas are cornmasa cakes topped with beans, salsa, shreddedcabbage,mole negro,guacamole, and cheese.Memelas have been served at Oaxacan/Mexican restaurants in the United States since the 1990s. In Puebla, they are often served by topping the fried masa with sauce—red sauce on one side and green sauce on the other side, calledestilo bandera. Instead of meat,memelas in Puebla are served with sour cream, crumbled cheese, and diced onions on top of the red and green sauces.
Achalupa is atostada platter inMexican cuisine, not asope, but its preparation method is quite similar. It is a specialty of south-central Mexico, such as the states ofPuebla,Guerrero, andOaxaca. It is made by pressing a thin layer of masa dough around the outside of a small mold and deep frying to produce a crisp, shallow corn cup. It is filled with various ingredients such as shredded chicken,pork, chopped onion,chipotle pepper, red salsa, andgreensalsa.
Thechalupa is usually longer than asope, resembling thecanoe-like boat that is its namesake, although small versions (namedchalupitas) are available in other regions. An Americanized form is sold inTaco Bell restaurants, filled withground meat,steak, or chicken, and topped with cheese, lettuce,sour cream, andsalsa, resembling an American taco inside, but wrapped with deep-fried wheatflatbread.
Yucatecan food is very different from what is traditionally referred to as "Mexican" food, as the cuisine from this region, primarily Belize, includes the localMayan culture combined with an unusual (for the rest of the country)European cuisine influence.
Salbutes are similar tosopes but are thinner, coloured and flavoured withrecado rojo (achiote), and fried until crispy. Fillings may include beans, tomato, lettuce, avocado, or a meat, topped with a salsa. The wordsalbute comes from Yucatec Mayasáal meaning "light", andbuut meaning "stuffed".
Panuchos feature tortillas partially fried as asope base, but filled with black beans and topped with turkey or chicken, lettuce, avocado, andpickled onions.Habanero chiles accompany most dishes, either in solid or puréed form, along with freshlimes orlime juice.
