Tortas ahogadas: a unique (weird) Mexican dish.

This is a torta ahogada, and there's nothing in the world similar to it.

More than a Mexican dish, it is a traditional dish from Guadalajara, the city where I live, and where Tequila originated.

I'm sure you've heard of tacos, burritos and similar world-famous Mexican recipes, but tortas ahogadas is a lesser-known, equaly delicious dish.

Torta ahogada means "drowned torta", and a torta is a sandwich made with bolillo, a typical Mexican bread roll.

First, you've to select what kind of meat you want in your torta, most options are pork, you may choose leg, tongue, or a couple other pork's parts, but you can also choose chicken or even shrimp (my personal favorite)

In this case I ordered a mixed torta, with a little bit of each kind of meat, and the guy was nice enough to give me an extra serving of chicharrón at the side.

Once you ask for the kind of meat you want, the cook will give you the torta, ready for you to add the rest of the important ingredients to your taste.

First and foremost, a ton of lime juice (I love adding lime and hot peppers to most of the things I eat, which I find is very uncommon around the world, but it is something I can't imagine myself not doing)

Then the salsas: beware! "picante" means spicy, this is the hot-pepper salsa, which might be really spicy, so only a little needs to be used (or even avoided if you can't handle spicy food), the other salsa is "dulce" which means sweet, and it refers to it not being hot, rather than tasting sweet. This salsa is made with tomatoes.

You should "drawn" your torta in this salsa, making it almost a soup, and then add the hot salsa to taste... Afterwards, you're ready for the extras.

You'll find liquefied beans, raw onion and onion and cilantro in red sauce, which could be a little spice, but all of these go great with your torta.

Finish adding your ingredients until you have something that looks like this:

Of course, a beer would be the best companion for this dish, specially on a Sunday morning after a fun Saturday night.

But remember, be careful with the amount of hot sauce you use, as even a spicy-food addict as myself always ends up crying and sweating eating this.

Finally, if you decide that tortas ahogadas is not your thing, you can also opt for the traditional crunchy bean tacos and add the same extra ingredients to them!

¡Buen provecho! And thanks for reading. Remember this dish if and when you come to Mexico, and be sure to try it out!