Salsa roja () is a type of spicy red

sauce In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi-solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French word t ...

in Mexican cuisine. It is made of

jitomate The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word , ...

(red tomato), ground with onion, garlic, chilli, salt and pepper to taste. This red sauce comes in subtypes: ''salsa cocida'' ("cooked sauce"), in which the ingredients are cooked (e.g. by

stewing A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. A stew needs to have raw ingredients added to the gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables and m ...

) and then ground; ''salsa asada'' ("roasted sauce"), in which the elements are roasted on a

comal COMAL (''Common Algorithmic Language'') is a computer programming language developed in Denmark by Børge R. Christensen and Benedict Løfstedt and originally released in 1975. COMAL was one of the few structured programming languages that was a ...

and then ground; ''

salsa cruda ''Pico de gallo'' (, ), also called ''salsa fresca'' ('fresh sauce'), ''salsa bandera'' ('flag sauce'), and ''salsa cruda'' ('raw sauce'), is a type of salsa (sauce), salsa commonly used in Mexican cuisine. It is traditionally made from chopp ...

'' ("raw sauce"), in which ingredients are ground raw, ready to eat; and a combination in which some elements are roasted and other cooked. A

molcajete A ''molcajete'' (; Mexican Spanish, from Nahuatl ''molcaxitl'') and ''tejolote'' are stone tools, the traditional Mexican version of the mortar and pestle, similar to the South American batan, used for grinding various food products. Descript ...

or a blender can be used for the grinding process. After the sauce is prepared, it can be cooked again in a pan with little oil. It is used to prepare traditional Mexican foods, in a mild spicy level for

enchiladas An enchilada (, ) is a Mexican dish consisting of a corn tortilla rolled around a filling and covered with a savory sauce. Enchiladas can be filled with various ingredients, including meats, cheese, beans, potatoes, vegetables, or combinations ...

and

huevos rancheros Huevos rancheros (, 'ranch-style eggs') is a breakfast dish consisting of eggs served in the style of the traditional large mid-morning fare on rural Mexican farms. Basic dish The basic dish consists of fried eggs served on lightly fried or cha ...

, or spicier for

antojitos Mexican street food, called ''antojitos'' (literally "little cravings"), is prepared by street vendors in Mexico City, street vendors and at small traditional markets in Mexico. Street foods include tacos, tamales, gorditas, quesadillas, Empalme ( ...

such as

tacos A taco (, , ) is a traditional Mexican food consisting of a small hand-sized corn- or wheat-based tortilla topped with a filling. The tortilla is then folded around the filling and eaten by hand. A taco can be made with a variety of filling ...

and

quesadillas A quesadilla (; ; Mexican diminutive of ''quesada'') is a Mexican dish consisting of a tortilla that is filled primarily with cheese, and sometimes meats, spices, and other fillings, and then cooked on a griddle or stove. Traditionally, a co ...

References

*Rick Bayless Mexico One Plate At A Time. (2000). *Muñoz Zurita, Ricardo. (2013) Pequeño Larousee de la Gastronomía Mexicana. {{portal bar, Mexico, Food Chili pepper dishes Sauces Mexican cuisine

See also

References