Equipment
Ingredients
Produce
- 500 g cremini mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced
- 1 white onion, thinly sliced
- 3 garlic, minced
- 15 g fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
- 1 lime, cut into wedges
Pantry & Spices
- 30 ml olive oil
- 45 g chipotle chiles in adobo, finely chopped
- 3 g ground cumin
- 1 g dried oregano
- 5 g kosher salt
Tortillas
- 8 corn tortillas
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 117 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbohydrates
- 18 g
- Fat
- 5 g
- Fiber
- 3 g
- Sugar
- 2 g
- Sodium
- 326 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 1 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 3 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 1 g
- Potassium
- 398 mg
- Calcium
- 49 mg
- Iron
- 1.1 mg
- Magnesium
- 29 mg
- Phosphorus
- 167 mg
- Zinc
- 1.1 mg
- Vitamin A
- 9 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 9 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.1 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 0.8 mg
- Vitamin K
- 10 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.2 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.1 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.11 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.34 mg
- Niacin
- 2.9 mg
- Folate
- 23 mcg
- Water
- 100 g
Sources: USDA FoodData Central
Method
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sliced white onion and cook until softened and beginning to brown at the edges.
Add the sliced cremini mushrooms to the skillet. Spread them out evenly and let them cook undisturbed for 3 minutes to develop a crust. Toss and continue cooking until all released moisture has evaporated.
Stir the minced garlic, ground cumin, and dried oregano into the mushroom mixture. Cook continuously until highly fragrant.
Mix in the chopped chipotle chiles in adobo and kosher salt. Toss to coat the mushrooms completely, cooking until the adobo sauce thickens and glazes the vegetables.
In a separate dry skillet or directly over a gas flame, warm the corn tortillas for 30 seconds per side until pliable and slightly charred.
Divide the hot chipotle mushroom filling evenly among the warmed tortillas. Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro and serve immediately with lime wedges for squeezing.
Chef's Notes
- Temperature control is paramount for mushrooms. High heat is required to quickly evaporate their high water content and trigger the Maillard reaction.
- The adobo sauce provides a complex base of tomato, vinegar, garlic, and spices. If you prefer less heat but want the smoke, use just the sauce and omit the actual peppers.
- Always warm corn tortillas before serving. Cold corn tortillas are brittle and prone to breaking, while heating them gelatinizes the starches, making them soft and resilient.
Storage
Refrigerator: 3 days — Store mushroom filling in an airtight container separate from tortillas.
Freezer: 1 month — Mushrooms may release more moisture and change texture upon thawing.
Reheating: Reheat filling in a skillet over medium heat until warmed through. Warm tortillas separately just before serving.
Troubleshooting
Mushrooms are soggy and grayish instead of deeply browned.
Cause: Overcrowding the skillet or salting too early, which steams the mushrooms rather than searing them.
Fix: Increase the heat to high, stop stirring, and allow all the excess liquid to boil off until the mushrooms begin frying in the residual oil.
Prevention: Cook the mushrooms in batches if your skillet is small, and always wait to add salt until after the mushrooms have browned.
The filling is overwhelmingly spicy.
Cause: Too many chipotle peppers were used, or the seeds were left completely intact.
Fix: Serve the tacos with a cooling element like avocado slices, sour cream, or a vegan cashew crema to dilute the spice on the palate.
Prevention: Start with a smaller amount of chipotle pepper and taste before adding more. Rely more on the adobo sauce for smokiness with less heat.
Cultural Context
Tacos de hongos are a beloved staple in Central Mexican street food and taquerias, offering a robust, satisfying option for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike. The pairing of earthy fungi with native smoked jalapenos reflects the deep, complex flavor profiles that characterize traditional Mexican cooking techniques.
