Mexicans like a little spice in their food, from a subtle touch to a powerful, tantalizing kick. Fortunately, there is a wide range of chili peppers – in fact, more than 60 kinds of chili peppers grow in Mexico – many of which can easily find their way into your kitchen.
When it comes to fresh peppers like serrano or jalapeño, you can chop them and add them to dishes like ceviche and guacamole. You can also marinate, roast or smoke them before adding them to a dish. If your heat tolerance is high, look no further than habaneros. Round, orange and quite spicy, they are named after the city of Havana and are amazing in salsas, elevating tacos and tostadas to new levels. Jalapeños, native to Mexico, are excellent pickled and can work wonders to liven up the simplest dishes, like tortas or tostadas.
You can also stock up on dried chili peppers, which means the peppers are aged, dried and smoked, bringing extra depth to your dishes. Morita peppers, for example, are actually smoked jalapeños, and their rich flavor means they work great in sauces to accompany proteins like chicken or beef. Pasilla, a dried chilaca pepper, has a sweeter profile and is one of several ingredients that go into mole.
