Latin Markets in Manchester and Birmingham: An Ingredient Guide

Beyond London: Mexican Ingredients in the Midlands and North

If you live in Manchester or Birmingham and have tried to cook authentic Mexican food, you have almost certainly faced the ingredient problem. British supermarkets stock the basics - tinned kidney beans, Old El Paso taco kits, jalapeño slices from a jar - but finding proper dried chillies, masa harina, tomatillos, epazote, Mexican chocolate or achiote paste requires more effort. London has a reasonable network of Latin American shops, but what about Britain's second and third cities?

The good news is that both Manchester and Birmingham have growing Latin American communities and an increasing number of shops, market stalls and online options for sourcing authentic ingredients. This guide covers the best places to find what you need in both cities.

Manchester

Arndale Market and the Northern Quarter

Manchester's Arndale Market has long been one of the city's best sources for international ingredients. Several stalls stock Latin American products, including dried chillies, tinned goods (chipotle in adobo, black beans, hominy), hot sauces and tortillas. The surrounding Northern Quarter also has a cluster of independent food shops that increasingly stock Mexican ingredients.

Look for stalls run by Colombian, Mexican and Brazilian vendors - they tend to stock overlapping ingredients, and the Colombian and Brazilian shops often carry items useful for Mexican cooking, such as queso fresco, plantains, dried corn and various chilli products.

Rusholme and the Curry Mile

Rusholme's famous "Curry Mile" (Wilmslow Road) is primarily known for South Asian food, but the large supermarkets in this area - particularly the Asian and Middle Eastern grocers - are surprisingly useful for Mexican cooking. You can find fresh coriander in enormous bunches (far cheaper than supermarket packs), limes by the bag, dried spices (cumin, oregano, cinnamon), rice in bulk, and various chillies. Some of the larger shops also stock masa harina and corn tortillas.

Longsight Market

Longsight Market, a few minutes south of the city centre, has an excellent range of fresh produce from around the world. Look for fresh chillies (habanero, scotch bonnet, serrano and jalapeño are all commonly available), avocados, limes, mangoes, papayas and plantains. The prices are typically much lower than supermarket equivalents.

Online Ordering from Manchester

Several UK-based online retailers deliver Mexican ingredients nationwide, and Manchester's logistics connections mean next-day delivery is usually available. Key online sources include MexGrocer.co.uk, CoolChile.co.uk and SousChef.co.uk, all of which stock comprehensive ranges of dried chillies, masa harina, Mexican chocolate, achiote paste, mole paste, canned goods and Mexican kitchen equipment (tortilla presses, molcajetes, comals).

Birmingham

Bullring Markets and the Indoor Market

Birmingham's Bullring Markets - the largest covered market in Europe - are an outstanding resource for international ingredients. The indoor market has stalls selling fresh produce from around the world, including many items useful for Mexican cooking: fresh chillies, avocados, limes, coriander, plantains and tropical fruit. Several stalls specialise in Caribbean and Latin American products.

Digbeth and the South Side

Digbeth, Birmingham's creative quarter south of the city centre, has seen a growth in Latin American food businesses in recent years. Several taco shops, Mexican restaurants and food trucks operate in the area, and some sell ingredients alongside prepared food. The area's diverse food scene also includes East Asian supermarkets that stock dried shrimp, rice vinegar, sesame and other ingredients with crossover applications in Mexican cooking.

Smethwick and Sparkhill

These neighbouring areas have large South Asian communities and, consequently, supermarkets with excellent ranges of fresh produce, spices, lentils, rice and dairy products. The fresh herb and spice sections are particularly useful for Mexican cooking - fresh coriander, cumin seeds, dried chillies (including some varieties used in Mexican cooking, such as the Kashmiri chilli, which makes a reasonable substitute for guajillo), and fenugreek.

Wing Yip

Wing Yip, the enormous East Asian supermarket with branches in Birmingham (Nechells) and Manchester (Oldham Road), is an underappreciated resource for Mexican cooking ingredients. Here you can find: dried shrimp (for tortas de camarón), rice noodles (a reasonable substitute for sopa de fideo in a pinch), tamarind paste, star anise, dried mushrooms and a huge range of fresh vegetables. Wing Yip also stocks masa harina and corn tortillas from time to time.

Essential Mexican Ingredients and Where to Find Them

Dried Chillies

The backbone of Mexican cooking. You need at minimum: guajillo (mild, sweet, the workhorse of salsas), ancho (dried poblano, rich and fruity), chipotle (smoked jalapeño, intense and smoky), arbol (small, hot, for table salsas) and pasilla (dark, complex, for mole). These are difficult to find in standard supermarkets but are stocked by Latin American shops, online Mexican retailers and occasionally by Waitrose and Ocado.

Masa Harina

The nixtamalised corn flour used for tortillas, tamales, sopes and gorditas. The two main brands available in the UK are Maseca and Bob's Red Mill. Available at Latin American shops, health food shops and online. This is the single most important specialist ingredient for Mexican cooking.

Chipotles in Adobo

Smoked jalapeños in a tangy tomato-vinegar sauce. Available at most British supermarkets (Tesco, Sainsbury's, Waitrose) in the world food aisle. The La Costeña and La Morena brands are widely distributed.

Tomatillos

The small green husked tomato that is essential for salsa verde. Fresh tomatillos are extremely rare in British shops, but tinned tomatillos are available at Mexican shops and online. In desperation, green tomatoes with added lime juice can approximate the flavour, but the result is not the same.

Mexican Oregano

Mexican oregano (Lippia graveolens) is a different plant from Mediterranean oregano, with a more citrusy, peppery flavour. It is essential for authentic-tasting salsas, moles and stews. Available at Mexican shops and online - and worth seeking out, as the flavour difference is significant.

Epazote

A pungent herb used primarily in black beans and quesadillas. Very difficult to find fresh in the UK, but dried epazote is available online and at some Mexican shops. Alternatively, you can grow it from seed - it is a vigorous plant that grows well in British gardens and even in pots on a sunny windowsill.

Achiote Paste

The brick-red seasoning paste made from annatto seeds, spices and vinegar, essential for Yucatecan dishes like cochinita pibil and pollo pibil. Available at Mexican shops and online.

Supermarket Alternatives

When you cannot get to a specialist shop, here is what you can find at Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Asda and Waitrose:

• Corn tortillas: Available at most major supermarkets (check the world food aisle)
• Chipotles in adobo: Widely available
• Black beans (tinned): Available everywhere
• Fresh jalapeños: Available at most supermarkets
• Fresh coriander: Available everywhere (buy the living pots for better value)
• Limes: Available everywhere
• Avocados: Available everywhere
• Soured cream: Available everywhere (good substitute for crema)

Building Your Mexican Store Cupboard

If you are serious about Mexican cooking, invest in a one-time online order of the items that keep well: dried chillies (they last for months in an airtight container), masa harina, Mexican oregano, achiote paste, piloncillo (or use dark muscovado sugar), Mexican chocolate and a selection of canned goods (chipotles, tomatillos, hominy, black beans). With these in your cupboard, plus fresh produce from your local supermarket or market, you can make virtually any Mexican dish.

For a comprehensive list of Mexican and Latin American shops across the UK, including Manchester and Birmingham, check our shop directory. For recipes that use these ingredients, explore our recipe collection.