Chef Lupita

Chef Lupita

Chiapas & Tabasco Side Dishes

Updated May 30, 2026

What sits beside the cochito and the pejelagarto. Frijoles negros perfumed with chipilín, plátano macho fried both verde and maduro, arroz blanco crowned with plátano, chaya guisada with tomate y cebolla, yuca frita y al rescoldo, plátanos asados al rescoldo on Chontal embers, calabaza criolla roasted at the Tzotzil milpa table, pastel de plátano horneado, and the picadillo de relleno navideño that fills the Chiapas Christmas turkey. Saber cocinar es saber vivir.

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Chiapas Refried Black Beans (Frijoles Refritos Chiapanecos) - Chef Lupita

Chef Lupita

Chiapas Refried Black Beans (Frijoles Refritos Chiapanecos)

Chiapas' everyday black beans, cooked with epazote and refried in manteca de cerdo until glossy, dense, and ready for cochito horneado, thick corn tortillas, and a table that knows the value of fat.

Plátanos Machos Fritos Tabasqueños - Chef Lupita

Chef Lupita

Plátanos Machos Fritos Tabasqueños

Tabasco's ripe plantain side, sliced thick and fried in manteca de cerdo until the edges caramelize dark, made to sit beside frijol negro, rice, and any salty guisado from the lowlands.

Black Beans with Chipilin (Frijoles con Chipilin) - Chef Lupita

Chef Lupita

Black Beans with Chipilin (Frijoles con Chipilin)

Chiapas black beans finished with fresh chipilin, onion, garlic, and manteca de cerdo, a budget pot with green fragrance in the broth and the plain authority of a southern home kitchen.

Arroz Blanco Tabasqueno con Platano - Chef Lupita

Chef Lupita

Arroz Blanco Tabasqueno con Platano

Tabasco's everyday white rice, cooked loose and clean with onion and garlic, then crowned with sweet fried ripe plantain from the lowland kitchen.

Chiapas Milpa Roasted Squash (Calabaza Asada) - Chef Lupita

Chef Lupita

Chiapas Milpa Roasted Squash (Calabaza Asada)

From the Tzotzil highlands of Chiapas, a whole milpa squash roasted in rescoldo embers, split open, glossed with chile Simojovel manteca, and finished with epazote and toasted pepita.

Frijoles Negros de Tabasco - Chef Lupita

Chef Lupita

Frijoles Negros de Tabasco

Tabasco's everyday black bean pot, loose and brothy, scented with epazote and finished at the table with radish, cilantro, lime, and the tiny green bite of chile amashito.

Yuca Frita Tabasqueña - Chef Lupita

Chef Lupita

Yuca Frita Tabasqueña

Tabasco's lowland cassava, boiled until creamy, dried on a tray, then fried in manteca de cerdo until the edges crackle, with chile amashito and lime doing the sharp work at the table.

Tabasco Chaya with Eggs and Tomato (Chaya Guisada) - Chef Lupita

Chef Lupita

Tabasco Chaya with Eggs and Tomato (Chaya Guisada)

Tabasco's daily Chontal green, chaya leaves boiled, chopped, then guisada in manteca with tomato, onion, and eggs until the pan smells like a lowland kitchen at breakfast.

Yuca al Rescoldo Tabasqueña - Chef Lupita

Chef Lupita

Yuca al Rescoldo Tabasqueña

Tabasco's Chontal lowland yuca, buried in clean wood ash and embers until the skin chars, the flesh opens creamy, and the table needs only chile amashito, lime, and salt.

Tabasco Green Plantain Tostones - Chef Lupita

Chef Lupita

Tabasco Green Plantain Tostones

Tabasco's lowland plantain side, twice-fried in manteca until the edges turn crisp, then served with black beans, lime, and chile amashito from the market.

Calabacitas con Elote Chiapaneca - Chef Lupita

Chef Lupita

Calabacitas con Elote Chiapaneca

Los Altos de Chiapas gives you tender calabacita, sweet elote, tomato, epazote, and a little chile Simojovel, cooked softly in manteca until the milpa tastes like itself.

Tabasco Baked Stuffed Chayote (Chayotes Rellenos) - Chef Lupita

Chef Lupita

Tabasco Baked Stuffed Chayote (Chayotes Rellenos)

Tabasco's lowland chayote halves, filled with their own tender flesh, sweet elote, chipilín, crema, and queso de poro, baked in clay until the edges turn gold.

Tabasco Black Beans with Salt Pork (Frijol con Puerco) - Chef Lupita

Chef Lupita

Tabasco Black Beans with Salt Pork (Frijol con Puerco)

Tabasco's lowland pot of black beans, salt pork, chicharron, epazote, and chile amashito, cooked until thick and dark enough to stain the spoon.

Tabasco Plantains Roasted in Embers (Al Rescoldo) - Chef Lupita

Chef Lupita

Tabasco Plantains Roasted in Embers (Al Rescoldo)

Tabasco's Chontal lowland plantains, roasted whole in embers until the peel goes black and the flesh turns sweet, dense, and spoon-soft, with chile amashito salt at the table.

Chiapas Wild Mushrooms with Hoja Santa - Chef Lupita

Chef Lupita

Chiapas Wild Mushrooms with Hoja Santa

Los Altos de Chiapas in a clay cazuela: rain-season mushrooms, hoja santa called momo, epazote, tomato, and chile simojovel cooked quickly in lard until the forest smell comes forward.

Pastel de Platano Macho Tabasqueno - Chef Lupita

Chef Lupita

Pastel de Platano Macho Tabasqueno

Tabasco's ripe plantain casserole, layered with pork and beef picadillo, fried jitomate salsa, chile amashito, and queso de poro, baked in a cazuela until the top blisters gold.

Arroz Rojo Tabasqueño - Chef Lupita

Chef Lupita

Arroz Rojo Tabasqueño

Tabasco's everyday red rice, long-grain grains fried in manteca, stained with tomato, and simmered in chicken broth until each grain stands separate.

Arroz con Azafrán Comiteco - Chef Lupita

Chef Lupita

Arroz con Azafrán Comiteco

Comitán's golden rice from the Chiapas highlands, gently fried first, then steamed with saffron threads, chicken broth, onion, and garlic until each grain stays separate.

Picadillo Navideño Chiapaneco - Chef Lupita

Chef Lupita

Picadillo Navideño Chiapaneco

Chiapas Christmas picadillo stuffing, built in lard with pork, chile ancho, raisins, almonds, aceitunas, plátano macho, apple, and pan molido, the sweet-savory filling that makes holiday turkey taste like the south.

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