Dining in Cancun: Delicious Yucatecan Dishes

True Mexican cuisine is not known for it's spiciness but more for its unique way of combining flavors — sweet and hot, chocolate and chiles.

Below are some of the most flavorful and traditional Mexican dishes popular in the Yucatan region.

Pescado tikik-chik

This Mexican-Caribbean dish is fish marinated in a sauce of Worcestershire, lime juice, sour-orange juice, mild red-pepper paste, and achiote — annatto seed paste. The fish is then sandwiched between two palm fronds and cooked slowly over a wood fire. Yum!

Pibil

Pibil is a thick, rich sauce used to prepare either pork or chicken. The traditional cooking method calls for the meat to be first marinated in this sauce made from achiote (annatto seed paste) plus a mixture of bitter orange juice, onions, tomatoes, habanero peppers, and the herb epazote. The meat is then wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in an underground pit.

Cochinita Pibil is shredded pork in pibil sauce, traditionally served in tacos.

Tamales

Tamales served in the Yucatan area are quite different from the ones found in the United States. In the Yucatan, they are wrapped in banana leaves rather than the corn husks that are used in the other regions of Mexico. They come with a variety of fillings, usually pork or chicken.

Other tamales are baked rather than steamed; these types are called chachaquas. Colados are tamales where the dough is cooked by simmering it in chicken broth and then wrapped in banana leaves and steamed.

Panuchos

The panucho is a pan-fried corn tortilla, which puffs up and is slit and then filled with refried beans and shredded pork or chicken. The tortilla is then topped with lettuce and accompanied by pickled onions.

Salbutes

Salbutes are served as an appetizer. A Maya version of an enchilada, they're made from a corn tortilla dipped in a pumpkin seed puree, stuffed with hard-boiled eggs, topped with more puree, and served warm with a mild tomato sauce.

Huevos Motulenos

This layered dish consists of refried beans spread on a plate topped by a pan-fried corn tortilla, topped by a fried egg, followed by a lightly spiced tomato sauce, another fried tortilla, and then more sauce. The whole creation is finished off with chopped ham, peas, and fried plantain slices.

Ceviche

Ceviche is made of fish or other seafood. The meat is marinated in lime and vinegar and mixed with chopped tomatoes, onions, and sometimes cucumbers and carrots. The lime and vinegar effectively "cook" the fish or seafood.

Puchero

The traditional Sunday dish in the Yucatan, puchero is a tasty three-meat (chicken, pork, and beef) stew with mashed vegetables and cooked plantains.

Liquados

Not quite a meal, yet more than a beverage, liquados are blended drinks of fresh fruit, ice, and either water or milk. Popular flavors include mango, banana, pineapple, and watermelon.