Quintana Roo cuisine: Maya dishes and what to eat

What is it?

Quintana Roo cuisine is the culinary tradition of the state of Quintana Roo, on the Caribbean coast of the Yucatán peninsula, made up of the local Maya heritage, Yucatecan cooking (shared with Yucatán and Campeche) and Caribbean influence owing to its proximity to Belize and the Antilles. Its emblematic dishes are pescado tikin xic (grouper or snapper in red recado and banana leaf), sopa de lima, panuchos and salbutes (inherited from Yucatán), cochinita pibil, frijoles con puerco, Caribbean lobster in butter, Caribbean ceviches, huachinango a la veracruzana on the northern border, the strained tamales of Bacalar and drinks such as balché and xtabentún. Cancún, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Cozumel and Bacalar are world-class tourist destinations where Maya cooking is presented both in traditional eateries and in internationally acclaimed restaurants.

Origin and history

Quintana Roo cuisine has deep roots in the Maya civilisation, which dominated the peninsula for more than 3,000 years with ceremonial centres such as Tulum, Cobá, Chichén Itzá and Mayapán. The region was the territory of the ancient Maya lordship of Ecab. The Spanish conquest was late and precarious: Quintana Roo remained a rebel territory during the Caste War (1847-1901), where the Yucatecan Maya created the independent stronghold of Chan Santa Cruz (today Felipe Carrillo Puerto). This preserved Maya culinary traditions with less colonial influence. Quintana Roo was a federal territory until 1974, when it became a state. Cancún, planned in 1970 by FONATUR as a tourist destination, transformed the northern zone economically and culturally; before, it was a fishing village with fewer than 100 inhabitants. Maya pibil cooking, the recados, ground pumpkin seed and cooking in a pib are the ancestral techniques that persist. According to Larousse Cocina, tikin xic (which means 'dry fish' in Maya) is an ancestral preparation of fish marinated in red recado and achiote, wrapped in banana leaf and cooked in a pib or oven. Bacalar, a Pueblo Mágico, preserves a border culinary tradition with Belize and Central America, including Afro-Caribbean cooking.

Characteristic ingredients

Pescado tikin xic is the emblematic dish: a whole fish (grouper, snapper or sea bass) marinated with red recado (achiote, cumin, pepper, garlic, sour orange), wrapped in banana leaf and cooked in a pib (buried oven) or on a covered comal. It has a citrus-smoky flavour and an intense orange colour. Caribbean lobster (Panulirus argus) is prepared in butter with garlic, au gratin, or in cocktails. The white fish of the Caribbean (grouper, snapper, sea bass) and seafood (prawn, squid, octopus, oysters) are stars. The most-used chillies are the peninsular habanero (with a designation of origin since 2010), the X-cat-ik chilli (yellow, spicy) and the sweet pepper. The recados are the same as in Yucatán: red, black (chilmole), white. Banana leaf wraps strained tamales, pibes and tikin xic. Maya chaya (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius), a nutritious local spinach, is used in eggs, soups and drinks. Balché is a ritual Maya drink fermented from the bark of the balché tree with stingless-bee honey. Xtabentún is a Yucatecan aniseed liqueur with stingless-bee honey, native to the region. Melipona bee honey (stingless), sacred to the Maya, has unique properties and is produced in Maya cooperatives. Pozol and Maya chicha are traditional drinks.

Cultural significance

Quintana Roo cuisine is a living Maya identity and a driver of international tourism. The Riviera Maya (Cancún, Playa del Carmen, Tulum) receives more than 15 million foreign tourists a year, many drawn by the gastronomic offering. Restaurants such as Hartwood in Tulum (world top 50), Le Chique in Cancún and Casa Sirena in Holbox have taken Maya cooking to the international level. Tulum, a Maya archaeological site facing the Caribbean, is a global cultural reference. Cozumel, one of the most visited islands, preserves island Maya cooking. The cuisine is part of the UNESCO dossier of traditional Mexican cuisine inscribed in 2010. The Epiphany in Felipe Carrillo Puerto, the patron-saint festivals in Maya villages such as Tihosuco and the living Maya rituals in communities of Yaxunah preserve ancestral ritual cooking. Bacalar, a Pueblo Mágico since 2006, has grown as a culinary destination thanks to its seven-colour lagoon and its border cooking with Belize. Maya cooks such as Rosalía Chay Chuc in Yokdzonot are ambassadors of the traditional Maya repertoire, and cooperatives of women melipona beekeepers sustain the production of sacred honey.

Frequently asked questions

What is tikin xic?

It is a pre-Hispanic Maya dish of the Yucatán peninsula, especially popular in Quintana Roo. It means 'dry fish' in Maya. It is made with a whole fish (grouper, snapper, sea bass) opened out and marinated with red recado (achiote, cumin, pepper, garlic, sour orange), wrapped in banana leaf and cooked in a pib (buried oven) or on a comal/grill. It has an intense citrus-smoky flavour and the orange colour of achiote.

Is Quintana Roo cooking the same as Yucatecan?

It shares much of the repertoire (cochinita pibil, panuchos, salbutes, recados, habanero chilli), because Quintana Roo was historically part of Yucatán until 1902. But it has its own features: greater Caribbean influence (lobster, seafood, coconut), independence-minded Maya traditions from the Caste War (1847-1901), and the modern international influence since the tourism boom of Cancún (1970-present).

What is balché?

It is a ritual Maya fermented drink made with the bark of the balché tree (Lonchocarpus violaceus), water and melipona bee honey. It has a low to medium alcohol content and is drunk in Maya religious ceremonies, especially in Hanal Pixán rituals (the Maya Day of the Dead). Its ritual use remains alive in Maya communities of Quintana Roo, Yucatán and Campeche, although it is limited to ceremonial contexts.

Where does Quintana Roo cuisine come from?

It originates in the state of Quintana Roo, on the Caribbean coast of the Yucatán peninsula. Its roots are peninsular Maya of more than 3,000 years, with pibil cooking, recados and nixtamalised maize. The Spanish conquest was late (sixteenth-seventeenth century), and the region remained in Maya rebellion during the Caste War (1847-1901), preserving traditions. It was a federal territory until 1974, when it became a state.