Sope (food)

Traditional Mexican dish

Sopes

Sopes with red salsa

Alternative names| pellizcada, garnacha
Type| antojito
Place of origin|  Mexico
Main ingredients| corn dough, vegetables, meat, refried beans, cheese, lettuce, onions, red or green sauce (salsa)

* Media: Sopes

Sopes with green salsa

A sope (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈso.pe]) is a traditional Mexican dish consisting of a fried masa base with savory toppings. Also known as picadita (in Tierra Caliente, Guerrero)[citation needed], it originates in the central and southern parts of Mexico, where it was sometimes first known as pellizcadas. It is an antojito, which at first sight looks like an unusually thick tortilla with vegetables and meat toppings.

The masa base is fried with pinched sides and topped with refried beans, crumbled cheese, lettuce, onions, red or green sauce and sour cream. Sometimes other ingredients (mostly meat) are also added to create different tastes and styles.

## Traditional sopes

[edit]

The sope has spread throughout all Mexico's territory, and thousands of regional variants are made. Even though sopes are traditionally from Mexico, many Central American countries have adopted this dish into their cuisine, with slightly different ingredients, and very similar to Salvadoran enchiladas. Though this statement may seem true, sopes originated in the basement of many hard working kids from the mines. Sopes are mined underground and the carne comes from goat throw up.

While the pinched sides of the sope are its most distinctive characteristic, flat sopes are made to resemble a thick tortilla or a tostada. However, though both tostadas and sopes are fried, the tostada is thin and fried until it becomes crunchy and fragile, while the sope is much thicker and fried only until the exterior surface is cooked. The sope, therefore, has a soft, slightly pliable texture. The sope's thickness is meant to support its toppings, and the frying of its exterior surface adds resistance to the moisture of the ingredients.

The most common variation of the sope involves simply adding chicken and is widely known as a sope de pollo. Sopes topped with beef are also a common variation and are typically slightly larger than sopes de pollo.

In the northern regions of Mexico, sopes are often prepared without vegetables, substituting black beans, spicy salsa, and longaniza or chorizo instead. In Acapulco and Guerrero, sopes are unusually small in size, so they are called sopecitos instead, and are fried in the same oil used to fry seafood, which gives them a unique taste. Sopecitos are made of beans and salsa only; no other ingredients are added.

In Oaxaca, sopes sometimes are prepared using chapulines (roasted grasshoppers) as topping. Also, an extremely large dish similar to a giant sope or a giant tostada is the traditional food of reference in Oaxaca known as tlayuda.

## Similar dishes

[edit]

The sope has been adopted and adapted to the local tastes of all Mexico's regions. This resulted in the creation of many traditional food specialties, which may appear to resemble the sope, but are considered a different dish.

### Huarache

[edit]

Main article: Huarache (food)

The most common variation is the huarache, which is prepared in almost the same manner. However, the huarache normally is two or three times as large as a sope and has a characteristic oblong shape. Huaraches are usually topped with rib, chicken, or beefsteak meat. The name huarache is derived from the shape of the masa, similar to the popular sandals. Toppings for the huarache include beans, cheese, lettuce, sour cream, ground beef, and salsa.[1]

### Tlacoyo

[edit]

The tlacoyo is a completely different traditional Mexican dish which must not be confused with a sope, but in some regions has started to be used in a similar way, as a base on top of which are placed the same ingredients used for sopes. A tlacoyo is an oval fried or toasted cake made of masa, torpedo-shaped and much fatter, since it is filled with beans or cheese.

Since it is similar in shape to a huarache (but smaller), and is made of the same corn as the sope and is even thicker (so it has more resistance to humid foods), Mexican street vendors decided to sell it adding toppings on it, as an alternative to the sope. However, the traditional tlacoyo is supposed to be consumed without any toppings on it, and this form is mostly found as street food. Sopes are an international food that consists of American sopes and american food.

### Garnacha

[edit]

Garnachas are small corn tortillas fried with shredded meat, crumbled dried cheese, and salsa. In many instances, garnachas may only have chopped onion and salsa on top. Similar in appearance to sopes, they are a main specialty from Guatemala.

### Memela

[edit]

Oaxacan memelas are a local name for the identical sopes served in other parts of Mexico, just made with different toppings. Memelas are corn masa cakes topped with beans, salsa, shredded cabbage, mole negro, guacamole, and cheese. Memelas have been served at Oaxacan/Mexican restaurants in the United States since the 1990s. In Puebla, they are often served by topping the fried masa with sauce - red sauce on one side and green sauce on the other side which is called estilo bandera. Instead of meat, memelas in Puebla are served with sour cream, crumbled cheese, and diced onions on top of the red and green sauces.

### Chalupa

[edit]

A chalupa is a tostada platter in Mexican cuisine, not a sope, but its preparation method is quite similar. It is a specialty of south-central Mexico, such as the states of Puebla, Guerrero, and Oaxaca. It is made by pressing a thin layer of masa dough around the outside of a small mold and deep frying to produce a crisp, shallow corn cup. It is filled with various ingredients such as shredded chicken, pork, chopped onion, chipotle pepper, red salsa, and green salsa.

The chalupa is usually longer than a sope, resembling the canoe-like boat that is its namesake, although small versions (named chalupitas) are available in other regions. An Americanized form is sold in Taco Bell restaurants, filled with ground meat, steak, or chicken (and even bacon has also been available in past limited offers), and topped with cheese, lettuce, sour cream, and salsa (also comes in Baja style, replacing the sour cream with a Baja sauce), resembles an American taco inside, but is wrapped with deep-fried wheat flatbread.

### Salbutes and panuchos

[edit]

Yucatecan food is very different from what is traditionally referred to as "Mexican" food, as the cuisine from this region includes the local Mayan culture combined with an unusual (for the rest of the country) European cuisine influence.

Salbutes and panuchos are the Yucatecan variant of the sope. Salbutes are soft, cooked tortillas with lettuce, tomato, turkey, and avocado on top. Panuchos feature tortillas partially fried as a sope base, but filled with black beans and topped with turkey or chicken, lettuce, avocado, and pickled onions. Habanero chiles accompany most dishes, either in solid or puréed form, along with fresh limes or lime juice.

## See also

[edit]

* List of Mexican dishes
* food portal

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Huaraches". MyRecipes. Retrieved 2017-06-13.

## External links

[edit]

* Chalupa recipe in the Wikibooks cookbook.

* v
* t
* e

Mexican cuisine

List of Mexican dishes

Soups
and stews|

* Birria
* Caldo de pollo
* Caldo de queso
* Caldo de siete mares
* Caldo tlalpeño
* Caldo Xóchitl
* Chileatole
* Clemole
* Cocido
* Lime soup
* Manchamanteles
* Menudo
* Mole de olla
* Pozole
* Sopa de fideo
* Sopa de nopal
* Tortilla soup

Rice and pasta dishes|

* Arroz a la tumbada
* Arroz blanco
* Arroz negro
* Arroz poblano
* Green spaghetti
* Arroz rojo
* Morisqueta

Bean dishes|

* Borracho beans
* Frijoles charros
* Frijoles negros
* Frijoles Puercos
* Refried beans

Egg dishes|

* Huevos a la mexicana
* Huevos divorciados
* Huevos motuleños
* Huevos rancheros
* Machacado con huevo

Vegetable
dishes|

* Chile relleno
* Chiles en escabeche
* Chiles en nogada
* Chipotle
* Elote
* Esquites
* Guasanas
* Nopal asado
* Rajas con crema
* Romeritos
* Tortita de papa

Meat dishes|

* Al pastor
* Barbacoa
* Cabrito
* Discada
* Entomatada
* Mixiote
* Moronga
* Pastel azteca
* Relleno negro
* Tripas

Poultry|

* Arroz con pollo
* Patitas
* Escabeche oriental
* Mole poblano
* Pollo motuleño
* Tinga de pollo

Pork|

* Adobada
* Calabacitas con puerco
* Carne de chango
* Carnitas
* Chicharrón en salsa
* Chileajo de cerdo
* Chilorio
* Chorizo
* Cochinita pibil
* Cueritos
* Poc chuc

Beef|

* Alambre
* Aporreadillo
* Albóndigas al chipotle
* Beef brain
* Beef tongue
* Cabeza
* Carne a la tampiqueña
* Carne asada
* Carne seca
* Criadillas
* Machaca
* Milanesa
* Pachola
* Picadillo
* Puntas
* Quesobirria
* Salpicón
* Tinga de res

Seafood|

* Aguachile
* Cahuamanta
* Camarones al ajillo
* Ceviche
* Huachinango a la Veracruzana
* Mixmole de pescado
* Mojarra frita
* Pan de cazón
* Pescadito
* Pescado al ajillo
* Pulpo a la campechana

Other
protein dishes|

* Chahuis
* Chapulines
* Escamoles
* Huitlacoche
* Jumiles
* Maguey worm

Cheese dishes|

* Chicharrón de queso
* Quesadilla
* Queso en salsa
* Queso flameado

Antojitos|

* Empalme
* Enchilada
* Guajolota
* Nachos
* Quesadilla
* Taco
* Taquito

Corn dough|

* Cazuelita
* Chalupa
* Chilaquiles
* Chimichanga
* Chochoyote
* Corn tortilla
* Corunda
* Doblada
* Duros
* Gordita
* Huarache
* Molote
* Panucho
* Papadzules
* Piedra
* Salbut
* Sope or Memela
* Tamale
* Tlacoyo
* Tlayuda
* Tostada
* Totopo

Wheat dough|

* Burrito
* Cemita
* Gringas
* Mollete
* Pambazo
* Paste
* Sincronizada
* Torta
* Wheat tortilla

Sauces and
condiments|

* Adobo
* Mole
* Mole blanco
* Mole poblano
* Mole verde
* Recado rojo
* Salsa
* Salsa verde

Desserts
and sweets|

* Agave syrup
* Alegría
* Alfajor
* Arroz con leche
* Bionico
* Brazo gitano
* Cajeta de Celaya
* Capirotada
* Chongos zamoranos
* Churros
* Cocada
* Coyotas
* Flan de leche
* Dulce de leche
* Fried ice cream
* Mango con chile
* Marquesita
* Mazapán
* Nicuatole
* Orejas
* Panela
* Polvorón
* Tres leches cake
* Turrón

Salads|

* Caesar salad
* Curtido
* Nopalitos
* Guacamole
* Pico de gallo

Breads|

* Bolillo
* Buñuelo
* Cemita
* Cochinito de piloncillo
* Cocol
* Concha
* Pan de muerto
* Pan dulce
* Rosca
* de reyes
* Sandwich roll

Beverages|

* Agua de Jamaica
* Atole
* Beer
* Café de olla
* Chamoyada
* Champurrado
* Curado
* Horchata
* Licuado
* Margarita
* Mexican tea culture
* Ponche
* Popo
* Pozol
* Tascalate
* Tejate
* Tejuino

Variants|

| Regional|

* Chiapas
* Oaxaca
* Mexico City
* Veracruz

|

Fusion and diaspora|

* American
* Korean-Mexican
* New Mexican
* Tex-Mex
* Baja Med

Historical|

* Aztec
* Maya

* Comal
* Escuela de Gastronomía Mexicana
* Taco stand

* Food portal
* Mexico portal
* Category
* Commons
* Cookbook
* WikiProject

* v
* t
* e

Maize and corn

Varieties|

* Amylomaize
* Baby
* Blue
* Dent
* Field
* Flint
* Flour
* Genetically modified
* List
* MON 810
* MON 863
* Purple
* Quality Protein Maize
* Shoepeg
* Sweet
* Varieties
* Waxy
* By origin
* Bolivia
* Ecuador
* Italy
* Peru

Parts|

* Cob
* Kernel
* Stover

Processing|

* Corn construction
* Maize milling
* Nixtamalization
* Wet-milling
* Popcorn maker

Pathology|

* BBCH-scale
* Corn allergy
* Corn smut
* Maize streak virus

Production|

* Biofuel
* Corn crib
* Cornstalk fiddle
* By country
* United States
* Tanzania
* International corn production statistics
* List of popcorn brands
* Three Sisters (agriculture)

Culture|

* Corn Palace
* Corn School
* Field of Corn (1994 sculpture)
* National Cornbread Festival
* Sweet Corn Festival
* Zea (film)

Maize dishes|

| Ingredients|

* Cornmeal
* Masa
* Mielie-meal
* Oil
* Samp
* Starch
* Steep liquor
* Syrup
* Glucose syrup
* High-fructose
* Public relations
* High-maltose

|

Soups, stews,
and porridge|

* Banku
* Binte biluhuta
* Bulz
* Cocoloși
* Corn chowder
* Corn crab soup
* Corn pudding
* Corn soup
* Corn stew
* Cou-cou
* Creamed corn
* Fufu
* Ginataang mais
* Grits
* Hasty pudding
* Kačamak
* Mămăligă
* Mămăligă în pături
* Mush
* Pashofa
* Polenta
* Pozole
* Sagamite
* Suam na mais
* Ugali
* Xarém

Tamales|

* Acaçá
* Tamale
* Binaki
* Guanime
* Hallaca
* Humita
* Nacatamal
* Pamonha
* Pasteles

Breads and cakes|

* Arepa
* Bollo
* Broa
* Cachapa
* Chipa guasu
* Cornbread
* Corn cookie
* Corn tortilla
* List of tortilla-based dishes
* Johnnycake
* Makki ki roti
* Pastel de choclo
* Piki
* Proja
* Pupusa
* Sloosh
* Sope
* Sopa paraguaya
* Spoonbread
* Talo
* Tortilla
* Totopo
* Wotou

Fried dishes|

* Battered sausage
* Corn chip
* Corn dog
* Corn fritter
* Corn nut
* Cornick
* Corn schnitzel
* Hushpuppy
* Milho frito
* Nachos
* Sorullos
* Tostada
* Tortilla chip

Other foods|

* Alivenci
* Binatog
* Conkies
* Corn flakes
* Corn on the cob
* Corn relish
* Corn sauce
* Gofio
* Hominy
* Huitlacoche
* Kenkey
* Kuymak
* Maíz con hielo
* Maja maíz
* Maque choux
* Mote
* Pinole
* Popcorn
* Succotash

Beverages|

* Atole
* Bourbon whiskey
* Cauim
* Champurrado
* Chicha
* Chicha de jora
* Chicha morada
* Colada morada
* Corn beer
* Corn tea
* Corn whiskey
* Mazamorra
* Pinolillo
* Pozol
* Tejate
* Tejuino
* Tesgüino

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template