What You Should Eat This Cinco De Mayo (Hint: It's Not Tacos)

On Cinco de Mayo in the United States, you can usually find the margaritas flowing and the party raging. But while the holiday is often used in the U.S. as a reason to drink and have fun, its cultural roots and true meaning for celebration can be forgotten. Cinco de Mayo, while frequently misconstrued as Mexico's Independence Day, is actually a holiday marking the victory of the Mexican army over the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862.  

This Cinco de Mayo, save the tacos for your next taco Tuesday and try your hand at making a different Mexican dish instead. One traditional Mexican food that will take your tastebuds on a scintillating adventure is chalupas. A traditional Mexican street food, chalupas are perfect for entertaining a crowd if you're hosting a party, as the small tortillas make for the perfect handheld snack, or "antojito," as it's referred to in Mexico. Chalupas are similar to tostadas, with a crispy fried crunchy tortilla as the vessel for a topping of creamy, melty cheese and savory shredded meats. You can even customize your chalupas with different salsas.  

The region of Puebla, Mexico is home to the most popular Cinco de Mayo celebrations, due to the region being the site of the aforementioned victory in 1862. While no Cinco de Mayo in Puebla is complete without mole poblano, chalupas are a close second as a treasured traditional Mexican dish for the holiday. The crispy tortillas are traditionally canoe-shaped, though Americanized versions of chalupas have often transformed their shape to look more similar to tacos. 

If you can't get your hands on masa harina (a kind of corn flour) you can do your best to make a chalupa imitation from store-bought corn tortillas. But if you can find it, corn masa is an ingredient worth getting your hands on to make traditional corn masa chalupas. Some of the essential ingredients for chalupas besides corn masa include oil, salt, and warm water to create the dough. You can customize your chalupas by topping with chopped onions, salsa verde, salsa roja, and various shredded meats and cheeses. Queso fresco or cotija cheese would be great traditional choices, as these crumbly cheeses make for the perfect salty touch on the savory chalupas.

There are plenty of Mexican food misconceptions in the U.S., so take the time to educate yourself on the cuisine of the country you're celebrating. This can help ensure you're respectfully enjoying the holiday and the delicious food. If you're interested in serving other antojitos, or traditional Mexican street food snacks, you can't go wrong with elote. Elotes are grilled cobs of corn typically coated in a mayo-based sauce and topped with spicy, salty, and savory ingredients. 

You can use the same crumbled queso fresco or cotija cheese for the chalupas as with the elote. Don't forget chile, chopped fresh cilantro, and a squeeze of lime juice. Elote is a great party-friendly choice, as guests can munch on cobs of corn by hand, but it can be a little messy. (So make sure to provide plenty of napkins!) Whether you can make the effort to create chalupas from scratch or are lucky enough to find traditional Mexican cuisine where you live, you surely won't regret seeking it out this Cinco de Mayo.