In many Mexican restaurants you will see queso cheese frequently listed as an ingredient in many signature dishes. You can also see queso dip for sides and appetizers. Queso, as many well know, is a Mexican style cheese that is packed full of flavor. Some other common ingredients on a number of traditional Mexican menus are baja sauce and red or green chili sauce. Eddie’s Mexican Restaurant would like to shine the spotlight on queso cheese, baja sauce, and red or green chili sauce as well as why many traditional Mexican dishes would not be complete without these tasty sauces.
Queso Cheese Ingredients
Queso or Queso Blanco is a white cheese that is made with a combination of cow’s milk and goat’s milk. Queso cheese has a great taste and can be easily made. Unlike other cheeses that can take 6 months or longer to make, queso cheese can be eaten the day it is made. Traditionally, locals would never buy queso cheese. Instead, they make their own at home as it can be made very quickly and easily. Queso cheese also tends to perish very quickly so locals make it to be eaten that week. Many traditional Mexican dishes will use a melted queso cheese that is poured over their food. Then you have queso dip which is melted queso cheese with jalapenos, habanero pepper, and tabasco sauce. However, there are a ton of queso dip recipes that use a wider variety of ingredients to spice up the cheese.
How is Baja Sauce Different from Chipotle?
Baja sauce was originally made to be used as a Mexican topping sauce for seafood and most commonly fish. Today there is a huge buzz about baja sauce with fish tacos. However, baja sauce is used on a large variety of Mexican dishes. Baja sauce is super tasty and is used for tacos, burritos and more. Today many people will consider baja sauce the same as chipotle sauce. However, any cook will tell you there is a big difference. Chipotle sauce, with its combined ingredients, create a spicy orange sauce. Baja sauce should be white and more creamy with some spices. A number of traditional Mexican dishes use baja sauce.
Red & Green Chili Sauce
One of the primary ingredients or toppings for many Mexican dishes is red or green chili sauce. Both red and green chili sauce is made from the same chili pepper. The major deference is time. Green chilis are younger and are immature and as a result they tend to be less spicy and even sweet. Red chili is the same pepper that was left alone until they turned red and is then picked. Due to the longer ripening period, red chili sauces are slightly more spicy and the taste has changed. The chilies are diced or blended into a paste with a few added ingredients. Red and green chili sauce is used as a topping or major component to many Mexican dishes.
Authentic Mexican Cuisine in Las Vegas, Nevada (Just Minutes from Summerlin, North LV, Paradise, Lone Mountain & Henderson, NV
When eating at a Mexican restaurant you cannot avoid any one of these three major toppings or ingredients. Queso cheese, baja sauce, and red or green chili help brings out the flavor of any Mexican dish. When you have a major craving for your favorite Mexican dishes, come on down to Eddie’s Mexican Restaurant or order to go today!
