Tatler Singapore looks at how tacos have gone from being a niche food obsession—previously confined within Mexico—to one of the most popular dishes on the island
Imagine a warm, fat-laden tortilla generously stuffed with umami shredded pork. Or smoky, tender lamb barbacoa tucked in a crisp hard shell. Or a perfectly charred corn tortilla with a deep, savoury richness that can’t quite be replicated. Or maybe a burrito dripping with salsa and succulent juices, whose piquant beefiness permeates the fresh flour tortilla. No matter what type of taco you desire, the beauty is that the variations are inexhaustible. Despite their simple nature and filling, tacos punch above their weight in the taste department.
From a low-key taco stand to the most ostentatious restaurant, the tortilla-bound meal is ubiquitous in Mexico and are usually sold from dawn till twilight. And the global taco scene is more vibrant than ever, thanks to a slew of glorious taco pictures flooding social media and trending hashtags like #TacoTuesday or #Tacosarelife. According to Super Loco Group’s executive head chef Randy Torres, tacos have become widely popular because of how adaptable, quick and unpretentious they are.
“The beauty of tacos is that they are so versatile, making the taco possibilities truly limitless”, he declares.
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The origins of the beloved taco can be traced back to the Mexican silver mines in the 18th century. According to eminent tacos expert and author Jeffrey M. Pilcher, the first type of taco was “taco de minero”. The word “taco” referred to the tiny pieces of paper that the miners would wrap around gunpowder and insert into holes in the rock face m when they were mining for ore.
During this period, California saw a huge influx of Mexican immigrants who started selling tacos to festival-goers and tourists. Then in 1952, Glen Bell started selling tacos from a stand he called Taco-Tia, which marked the beginning of a major taco revolution. Later in 1974, Raul Martinez converted an old ice cream truck into a mobile taco station, which he parked outside of a Los Angeles bar. Within six months, he hit pay dirt and opened a restaurant, King Taco. Taco trucks began to proliferate the streets of California and the southwestern US, marking the ascension of the humble dish.
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