In Spanish, the word “tostadas” can be translated to “toasted”. True to its name and meaning, the tostadas are a Mexican delicacy, that is made out of toasted tortillas as a base, topped with fried beans, chicken, shredded cheese, salsa and many other kinds of toppings.
For tostadas, tortillas will usually be made out of corn tortillas, but at times, wheat tortillas can also be used.Tostadas are the perfect dish to make when there are leftover ingredients in the house to avoid wastage of food.
For a pleasant experience with Mexican cuisine, tostadas are paired with a wide variety of seafood and stews, such as pozole and birria. The tostadas can be eaten as a snack food or as appetisers, where the tortillas are broken into smaller pieces to be immersed into a wide array of dips such as salsa and guacamole.
The dish is rather versatile as it can be made based on personal preferences in flavours and tastes and the ingredients used can vary widely because of it.
What are tostadas?
The anatomy of the tostadas consists of a flat version of a taco, topped with fried beans, shredded cheese, chicken and other kinds of toppings. The various kinds of tacos can even crossover to tostadas. The tortillas are cooked by frying it to a golden colour and till the texture becomes rigid.
After the tortillas are toasted to perfection, the toppings will be evenly distributed all over the tortillas based on your own personal preferences. However, the first topping to be added atop the tortillas are fried beans, which acts as a spread for the dish.
The dish is easy to make as it does not require much cooking experience and ingredients to make it. The various toppings will fuse together to have a delectable taste, with the added crunch from the toasted tortillas.
History of Tostadas
The tostadas have a long history that stretches all the way back to 2000 years ago in Mexico. It was said that the tostadas were invented within the ruins of Monte Alban, but no specific person was attributed to its creation. The creation of the dish was to use up the remaining tortillas that were too stale to be used for tacos.
Type of Tostadas
There are different variations of the tostadas that are found throughout Mexico and other Latin American countries. The largest tostadas with the size of pizza are from Oaxaca state in Mexico, which are called the tlayuda. The tlayuda is made out of toasted tortillas as a base, with refried beans as spread, topped with meat, Oaxaca cheese, cabbage, asiento (pork lard) and salsa.
In Cuba, the tostadas are made with white bread, smeared with butter all over. The bread is then flattened and toasted to a golden colour. Cubans will consume this dish during breakfast, with hot coffee. The style of Puerto Rican tostadas are similar to that of the Cuban tostadas but they would use their local traditional bread called pan de agua. The traditional bread will be sliced and then mixed with eggs or milk before it is toasted.
For all of the vegetarians, the vegetable tostadas are perfect breakfast food to start the day. The vegetable tostadas consist of scallions, avocados, black beans, cheese on top of freshly cooked corn tortillas. Those that have a taste for the peculiar may indulge in the Tostadas de Pata de Res, which uses cooked cow’s feet as a topping, mixed with vinegar and Mexican oregano atop a corn tortilla.
Where to find Tostadas in Malaysia
Are you feeling famished and you want to try something new? Head on out to Chilli’s Grill and Bar (Selangor) to fill your tummy with some of the best tostadas.
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