Mexican Ingredients Online Australia

Sourcing authentic Mexican ingredients in Australia can sometimes be a little tricky. I put together this resource as a companion to my cookbook, "A Tex-Mex Fiesta."

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

After visiting Mexico and the US I craved the delicious food we had been eating on our holiday. I wanted to recreate the dishes we loved in my own kitchen. After arriving home the first thing I did was try to source the ingredients I would need to achieve authentic flavours. So I looked for websites stocking Mexican ingredients online and found suppliers such as The Spice Wagon.

Happily, all the ingredients I needed were readily available. I've even noticed that large supermarkets have extended their Mexican products to include some products I had been buying online such as Chipotle in Adobo Sauce.

A Taste For Mexico

Whenever we travel I like to attend cooking classes and collect recipes. This is how I have come to publish my book Tex-Mex Fiesta.  Of course, first I had to eat my body weight in BBQ meats, tortillas and salsa, (to make sure I had the flavours correct). Don't worry, it was a sacrifice I was happy to make. Then I converted my recipes for Thermomix to produce a Thermomix cookbook full of Mexican and Texan BBQ recipes.

Now that my book has been released I wanted to make sure it was easy for everyone to locate the ingredients to create their own fiesta. Most recipes in the book include normal, everyday ingredients that you can find in the supermarket. As I was developing the recipes I was careful to only use unusual ingredients when the dish depended on a particular authentic flavour.

This kept the list of speciality Mexican Ingredients to a minimum. Some of the authentic Mexican dishes in my book do have a few speciality ingredients so I wanted to give you an ingredient list and some links to the suppliers.

Mexican Ingredients

Dried Ancho Chilli

These are dark, sweet, fruity-flavoured chilli which I've used in most recipes in the book. The heat rating is only a 4/10 so they add flavour and heat to the dish. You will need this ingredient to get started making the Cowboy Dust which is in most of the recipes. Online  Dried Ancho Chilli

Coffs Harbour Dried Ancho Chile are available at Fresco Fresh.

Dried Gaujillon Chilli

Gaujillon Chilli is another common chilli which is used in Mexican cooking. It is a red colour and smaller than the Ancho Chilli. It is also sweet and has a 4/10 heat rating. You will only need this chilli if you make the Chili Con Cerdo Quesadilla. Please make the Quesadilla, they're one of the best recipes in the book!  Dried Gaujillon Chilli

Masa Lista Flour

Masa Lista flour is a naturally gluten-free flour used to make corn tortillas. I love making tortillas! They're so easy to make and taste 100% better than the commercially prepared corn tortilla.  When I was running my Mexican workshop I made these and they were always a HUGE hit! Masa Lista flour is only used in tortillas, it's usually available in whole food or bulk food stores.

In Coffs Harbour it is available locally at Affordable Wholefoods.

Lismore the flour is also available locally at Affordable Wholefoods.

Affordable wholefoods also provide a shop online option.

Cornmeal

Cornmeal flour is a naturally gluten-free flour used to make cornbread. There are many different grades of milling so sometimes it comes as a course grind such as polenta and other times it's finely mealed.  Regardless of the level of grinding the cornbread will still work it will just have a varied texture.  Cornmeal is usually available in whole food or bulk food stores.

Coffs Harbour the cornmeal is available locally at Affordable Wholefoods.

Lismore the cornmeal is available locally at Affordable Wholefoods.

Affordable wholefoods also provide a shop online option.

Achiote Paste

This paste is used a lot on the Yucatan Peninsula and is common in Mayan Mexican cuisine. The paste is made from ground annatto seeds which give the dish a vibrant orange, and red colour. The only dish which uses this ingredient in my book is the Pollo Pibli Skewers. Achiote Paste

Coffs Harbour Achiote Paste is available at Fresco Fresh.

Mexican Oregano

Mexican Oregano is stronger than Meditteranean oregano. It gives a much more robust flavour to dishes and is less sweet. You can substitute regular oregano but there will be a small flavour loss. Mexican Oregano 

Tomatillo

I love tomatillo! This green fruit looks like a green tomato and has a fresh, slightly tart flavour.  The ingredient is used in Tomatillo Salsa Verde and the Salsa Verde Enchilada. Every meal I ate in Mexico was served with Tomatillo Salsa Verde on the side. This is the taste of Mexico. Online the  Tomatillo is available here.

Coffs Harbour canned tomatillo is available at Fresco Fresh.

Mexican Cooking Equipment

Tortilla Press

Having a tortilla press makes forming tortilla's a cinch. The heavy cast iron circles squash the dough into a perfect tortilla every time. Make sure to only buy a cast iron tortilla press anything lighter than cast iron won't press the tortilla flat enough.

Coffs Harbour the tortilla press is available locally at Affordable Wholefoods.

Lismore the tortilla press is available locally at Affordable Wholefoods.

Affordable wholefoods also provide a shop online option.

Mexican Ingredients Available from Woolworths

Green Jalapeno

There is no reason to order pickled jalapeno's online. Old El Paso Green Jalapeno is a familiar brand and is all you need. I have used these jalapenos in my Double Stuffed Cheeseburger and my Jalapeno soup. Old El Paso Green Jalapeno

Chipotle in Adobo Sauce

I was so pleased to find La Costena Chipotle in Adobo Sauce at Woolworths. I use this brand in so many of my recipes. If your Woolworths doesn't stock it speak to the manager as it is a product line they can order. You will need Chipotle in Adobo Sauce in most of my Mexican recipes.

Dried Black Beans

These black beans are so cheap and nutritious! The beans are available at Woolworths for a couple of dollars. I've used the beans in the Black Bean Burgers and the Frijoles Refritos.

Franks Hot Sauce

This sauce has a cult following in America. It is literally the only sauce to use on Spicy Buffalo Wings. Luckily for us, it can be found in Woolworths. Take a look at the picture so you will know what it looks like. Franks Hot Sauce

I hope you enjoy my new book A Tex-Mex Fiesta! If you need any more information about Mexican ingredients or products I've used in the recipes please feel free to email me or ask in the comments section below.

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Goodbye From Mexico

I thought I would share a few pictures from Mexico as a way of saying goodbye, have you been to Mexico? Where was your favourite area?