Sope (food)

Asope(Spanish pronunciation:[ˈso.pe]) is a traditionalMexicandish consisting of a friedmasabase with savory toppings. Also known aspicadita(in Tierra Caliente, Guerrero), it originates in the central and southern parts of Mexico, where it was sometimes first known aspellizcadas. It is anantojito, which at first sight looks like an unusually thicktortillawithvegetablesandmeattoppings.
The masa base is fried with pinched sides and topped withrefried beans, crumbledcheese,lettuce,onions,redorgreensauce and sour cream. Sometimes other ingredients (mostly meat) are also added to create different tastes and styles.
Thesopehas spread throughout all Mexico's territory, and thousands of regional variants are made. Even thoughsopesare traditionally from Mexico, many Central American countries have adopted this dish into their cuisine, with slightly different ingredients, and very similar to Salvadoran enchiladas.
While the pinched sides of thesopeare its most distinctive characteristic,  flatsopesare made to resemble a thick tortilla or atostada. However, though bothtostadasandsopesare fried, thetostadais thin and fried until it becomes crunchy and fragile, while thesopeis much thicker and fried only until the exterior surface is cooked. Thesope, therefore, has a soft, slightly pliable texture. Thesope's thickness is meant to support its toppings, and the frying of its exterior surface adds resistance to the moisture of the ingredients.
The most common variation of thesopeinvolves simply adding chicken and is widely known as asope de pollo.Sopestopped with beef are also a common variation and are typically slightly larger thansopes de pollo.
In the northern regions of Mexico,sopesare often prepared without vegetables, substituting black beans, spicy salsa, andlonganizaorchorizoinstead.  InAcapulcoand Guerrero,sopesare unusually small in size, so they are calledsopecitosinstead, and are fried in the same oil used to fryseafood, which gives them a unique taste.Sopecitosare made of beans and salsa only; no other ingredients are added.
InOaxaca,sopessometimes are prepared usingchapulines(roastedgrasshoppers) as topping. Also, an extremely large dish similar to a giantsopeor a gianttostadais the traditional food of reference in Oaxaca known astlayuda.
Thesopehas been adopted and adapted to the local tastes of all Mexico's regions. This resulted in the creation of many traditional food specialties, which may appear to resemble thesope, but are considered a different dish.
The most common variation is thehuarache, which is prepared in almost the same manner. However, thehuarachenormally is two or three times as large as asopeand has a characteristic oblong shape.Huarachesare usually topped withrib,chicken, or beefsteak meat. The namehuaracheis derived from the shape of themasa, similar to the popularsandals. Toppings for thehuaracheinclude beans, cheese, lettuce, sour cream, ground beef, and salsa.
Thetlacoyois a completely different traditional Mexican dish which must not be confused with asope, but in some regions has started to be used in a similar way, as a base on top of which are placed the same ingredients used forsopes. Atlacoyois an oval fried or toasted cake made of masa, torpedo-shaped and much fatter, since it is filled with beans or cheese.
Since it is similar in shape to ahuarache(but smaller), and is made of the same corn as thesopeand is even thicker (so it has more resistance to humid foods), Mexicanstreet vendorsdecided to sell it adding toppings on it, as an alternative to thesope. However, the traditionaltlacoyois supposed to be consumed without any toppings on it, and this form is mostly found as street food.
Garnachasare small corn tortillas fried with shredded meat, crumbled dried cheese, and salsa. In many instances,garnachasmay only have chopped onion and salsa on top. Similar in appearance tosopes, they are a main specialty from Guatemala.
Oaxacanmemelasare a local name for the identicalsopesserved in other parts of Mexico, just made with different toppings.Memelasare cornmasacakes topped with beans, salsa, shreddedcabbage,molenegro,guacamole, and cheese.Memelashave been served at Oaxacan/Mexican restaurants in the United States since the 1990s. In Puebla, they are often served by topping the fried masa with sauce - red sauce on one side and green sauce on the other side which is calledestilo bandera.  Instead of meat,memelasin Puebla are served with sour cream, crumbled cheese, and diced onions on top of the red and green sauces.
Achalupais atostadaplatter inMexican cuisine, not asope, but its preparation method is quite similar. It is a specialty of south-central Mexico, such as the states ofPuebla,Guerrero, andOaxaca. It is made by pressing a thin layer of masa dough around the outside of a small mold and deep frying to produce a crisp, shallow corn cup. It is filled with various ingredients such as shredded chicken,pork, chopped onion,chipotle pepper, red salsa, andgreensalsa.
Thechalupais usually longer than asope, resembling thecanoe-like boat that is its namesake, although small versions (namedchalupitas) are available in other regions. An Americanized form is sold inTaco Bellrestaurants, filled withground meat,steak, or chicken (and even bacon has also been available in past limited offers), and topped with cheese, lettuce,sour cream, andsalsa(also comes in Baja style, replacing the sour cream with a Baja sauce), resembles an American taco inside, but is wrapped with deep-fried wheatflatbread.
Yucatecan food is very different from what is traditionally referred to as "Mexican" food, as the cuisine from this region includes the localMayan culturecombined with an unusual (for the rest of the country)European cuisineinfluence.
Salbutesandpanuchosare the Yucatecan variant of thesope.Salbutesare soft, cookedtortillaswithlettuce,tomato,turkey, andavocadoon top.Panuchosfeature tortillas partially fried as asopebase, but filled with black beans and topped with turkey or chicken, lettuce, avocado, andpickled onions.Habanerochiles accompany most dishes, either in solid or puréed form, along with freshlimesorlime juice.