Talk:Chilaquiles

Clarification
The article said, "(chiles contain the chemical capsicum, a potent and well documented pain reliever)." I believe capsicum is the Latin name for the chile itself. The chemical is called capsaicin. Rghollenbeck (talk) 20:31, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

Variations
Naïvely, I would have written:


 * Chilaquiles are a traditional Mexican breakfast dish consisting of left-over tortillas fried with eggs. They are often accompanied with cheese, salsa, or beans.

I don't have a good enough sense of the range of variation to write the article to properly include this along with the current definition. Are these regional variations?

&mdash; Pekinensis 16:44, 15 July 2005 (UTC)


 * Your version seems to downplay the sauce too much. Boiling the tortillas in the sauce is an integral part of the process, without which you just get -- well, fried tortilla chips and scrambled eggs, I suppose. I'd feel cheated if the cook considered the cheese optional, too, and chilaquiles with egg (either stirred in or served sunny-side-up on top) is a poor man's alternative to chilaquiles with chicken. Where is your version served? –Hajor 03:18, 16 July 2005 (UTC)

In my grandmother's house. She was born in Michoacan, but has absorbed many cultural influences from other places (notably Chihuahua), so I wouldn't count on her preserving canonical Michoacan style. I had never heard of putting liquid or chicken in chilaquiles before I read this article. &mdash; Pekinensis 03:57, 16 July 2005 (UTC)

I should clarify that I also had never seen the word in print or in fact had definite proof that the dish existed outside my family until I read this article, so I do not present myself as an expert on chilaquiles in the larger world. I hold onto only my one datapoint. &mdash; Pekinensis


 * Chilaquiles are a fairly common dish in Mexican restaurants here in the Long Beach/Los Angeles area. In the Mexican restaurants here I've ONLY seen the egg versions, almost always with the eggs stirred in. Every version that I've had has had beans, salsa, and cheese, although they are a small part of the dish compared to the amount of tortillas and eggs. I would assume if that is a regional version it is probably indicative of Northern Mexican cuisine. Blank Verse   &empty;  07:15, 16 July 2005 (UTC)

Michoacán... I think I remember seeing a breakfast menu there (Pátzcuaro?) that offered two styles of chilaquiles; can't for the life of me remember the distinction, but it definitely rings a bell. The beans and the salsa: are they stirred in / cooked in, or served alongside? Unless the tortillas are soaked in the sauce, it sounds like a very dry dish: is it? I'll try and remember to take my camera next time I go out for breakfast; perhaps one of you two could do the same? Hungrily, –Hajor 02:10, 21 July 2005 (UTC)

In our house, the beans, salsa, and cheese are served alongside. I don't think of it as a very dry dish. Perhaps there was a presoaking I never noticed? I don't think so, but I'll ask. &mdash; Pekinensis 04:15, 21 July 2005 (UTC)

It's usually a machaca burrito or juevos rancheros for me if I go for a Mexican breakfast. Besides, I'm still in the dark ages and haven't decided which digital camera I'm going to purchase. Blank Verse  &empty;  12:39, 21 July 2005 (UTC)


 * OK, I photographed my breakfast this Sunday and the pic has been placed in the article. Unfortunately, it's a bit of an extreme example -- those are (were) very soupy chilaquiles, even by my standards. How different are they from your version(s)? –Hajor 01:18, 27 July 2005 (UTC)

Completely different from my version, but I would very much like to have them. Were they good? &mdash; Pekinensis 01:23, 27 July 2005 (UTC)


 * Yeah, they were OK. It was early in the morning, so I suspect they hadn't had time to boil down to just the right soggy consistency without being too runny. (Free plug: when in Mexico City, Potzollcalli's by far the best place in town for Sunday breakfast -- fruit and juice and coffee and a pastry and a gelatina and your eggs, chilaquiles, enchiladas, etc. for around USD $5. I think the chilaquiles were MXN $55. With a fair amount of chicken.) –Hajor 02:18, 27 July 2005 (UTC)

I am just a gringo, that has never made chilaquiles before, which is why I came to this page in the first place. From what I have seen on several other websites, this page does not seem to reflect a general consensus of making chilaquiles at all. Most of the recipes that I have seen utilize stale corn tortillas, fried (the terminology tortilla chips makes me think of like pre fried corn chips you by in a bag), and is prepared completely by stove top, not broiled or grilled. After trying to prepare them along with talking to some Mexican friends I may edit the article, but I wanted to give someone else (who hopefully is more qualified than myself) the opportunity to examine this first. Any comments? Majakwe 17:16, 10 November 2007 (UTC)

Questions

 * 1) Can chilaquile be a singular word as well or is it always plural?
 * 2) What is the Spanish literal meaning of chilaquiles?

These things should be added to the article. Badagnani 03:37, 15 November 2006 (UTC)
 * 1. It is always plural. 2. I have only heard a probable folk etymology stating that it comes from chile + aquí. ·Maunus· tlahtōlli  11:05, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Correct etymology: The name chilaquiles is derived from the Nahuatl word chil-a-quilitl which means "herbs or greens in chile broth". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.185.14.72 (talk) 06:47, 29 November 2010 (UTC)
 * The IP is correct...at least in what I've heard, read, and been told. This needs to be supported with WP:RS, however. -- nsaum75 ¡שיחת! &lrm; 06:53, 29 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Rick Bayless translates it very similarly as "chiles and greens", so it is plural. Ref added to article.  107.77.202.54 (talk) 00:41, 26 September 2019 (UTC)

Inmates?
Checked out the citation, seems to be a personal account of a single person. May even be a work of fiction, but even if it is not, this one account does not justify such a strange statement. Apothecia (talk) 06:44, 30 March 2009 (UTC)

Assessment comment
Substituted at 11:29, 29 April 2016 (UTC)