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Soup season · Oaxaca, Mexico
The best bowl in Oaxaca: Stone soup
Fish and shrimp with tomato, onion, chile and epazote in a gourd bowl of water, brought to a boil in seconds by dropping in a red-hot river stone.
It's a pre-Hispanic dish of the Chinantec people, cooked by the men: no fire touches the bowl. A family from San Felipe Usila brought it to the edge of Oaxaca, and the stone still goes in in front of you.
Caldo de Piedra
Carretera Oaxaca–Tule Km 11.9, Tlalixtac de Cabrera, Oaxaca
Get: The caldo mixto (fish and shrimp), and watch them drop the stone
Un caldo mixto, por favor.A mixed stone soup (fish and shrimp), please.
The only place most people ever see it made: a red-hot river stone goes into your bowl and the broth boils in front of you. Run by a Chinantec family from Usila.
Lunch, roughly 9am to 6pm; 20 minutes by taxi from the center, on the way to El Tule.
Make it at home
Oaxacan stone soup without the stone (caldo de piedra)
At home you can't drop a red-hot river stone in a gourd, so the pot does the work. Keep it fast and bright: the fish poaches in minutes, and epazote gives the Oaxacan taste. Some cooks heat a clean, dry granite stone in the oven at 500°F for an hour and drop it in at the table; only do that with a stone that has never been in water and a bowl that can take it.
You need
- 1 lb (450 g) firm white fish (snapper, tilapia, mahi), in 2-inch pieces
- 12 large shrimp, shell on
- 4 ripe plum tomatoes, chopped
- 1/2 white onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1-2 fresh jalapeño or serrano chiles, chopped
- 1 large sprig epazote (or 1 small bunch cilantro)
- 5 cups (1.2 l) water or light fish stock
- 2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
- To serve: lime wedges, chopped cilantro, warm corn tortillas
How to make it
- Season the fish and shrimp with 1 tsp of the salt.
- In a wide pot, bring the water or stock to a hard boil with the remaining salt.
- Add the tomatoes, onion, garlic and chiles. Boil 5 minutes so the tomato breaks down and the broth turns pink.
- Add the epazote, then the fish and shrimp in one layer. Bring back to a boil and cook 3-4 minutes only, until the fish just flakes and the shrimp are pink.
- Taste the broth for salt. Lift out the epazote.
- Ladle into wide bowls (a gourd or clay bowl if you have one) and eat at once with lime, cilantro and tortillas.
Pans and tools
- Wide pot
- slotted spoon
Chef's tips
- Leave the shells on the shrimp: they flavor the broth.
- Don't stir once the fish is in, or it breaks up.
- Dried epazote works; use 1 tsp.
Four more bowls in Oaxaca
Squash vine soup
Squash vines, blossoms, baby squash and corn dumplings (chochoyotes) in a light broth with chepil.
Itanoni · Belisario Domínguez 513, Reforma, 68050 Oaxaca de Juárez
Get: Sopa de guías when it's on, then a tetela or memela
Una sopa de guías, por favor.A squash vine soup, please.
A tortillería and restaurant built to save native Oaxacan corn; guides name it for sopa de guías in season.
Rainy season, roughly June to October; breakfast and lunch only.
Make it at home: Sopa de guías
A summer soup from the squash patch. Look for squash vines and blossoms at Mexican markets; spinach and zucchini fill in.
You need
- 1 bunch squash vines (guías) with tendrils, tough strings peeled, or 4 oz (115 g) spinach
- 12 squash blossoms, stems trimmed
- 2 small zucchini, diced
- 1 ear of corn, kernels cut off
- 6 cups (1.4 l) chicken or vegetable broth
- 1/2 white onion and 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 handful chepil or epazote
- For the chochoyotes: 1 cup (120 g) masa harina, 3/4 cup (180 ml) warm water, 1 tbsp lard, 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp salt
- Lime and chile de agua or serrano, to serve
How to make it
- Mix the masa harina, water, lard and salt into a soft dough. Roll into marble-sized balls and press a dimple in each with your thumb.
- In the oil soften the onion and garlic 5 minutes, add the broth and bring to a simmer.
- Drop in the chochoyotes and corn and simmer 10 minutes.
- Add the zucchini and chopped guías and simmer 6 minutes, then the blossoms and chepil 2 minutes.
- Season and serve with lime and sliced chile.
Chef's tips
- The dimple helps the dumplings cook through and catch broth.
Market beef and vegetable soup
Beef, chickpeas and big pieces of vegetable in a tomato broth, the hearty market soup of Oaxaca (despite the name, no cat).
The fondas of Mercado 20 de Noviembre
Get: A bowl of caldo with tortillas, at whichever fonda has a crowd
Un caldo de gato, por favor.A beef and vegetable soup, please.
The market's comedores cook Oaxaca's everyday soups from morning on; it's where the city eats lunch.
Breakfast and lunch.
Make it at home: Caldo de gato
Called 'cat soup' as a joke: it was what you could afford when you couldn't afford better. It's beef, and very good.
You need
- 1 1/2 lb (680 g) beef shank, in slices
- 1 lb (450 g) beef short ribs
- 3 quarts (2.8 l) water
- 1/2 onion, 4 garlic cloves
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 can (15 oz / 425 g) chickpeas, drained
- 2 carrots, in large pieces
- 2 chayotes or zucchini, in chunks
- 1 cup (100 g) green beans
- 1/4 cabbage, in wedges
- 2 ears of corn, in thirds
- 1 sprig mint or hierbabuena
- 2 tsp salt
- Lime, onion, chile and tortillas, to serve
How to make it
- Simmer the beef with the onion, garlic and salt in the water 1 1/2 hours, skimming.
- Blend the tomatoes with a ladle of broth and add to the pot.
- Add the carrots, corn and chickpeas and simmer 15 minutes.
- Add the chayote, green beans, cabbage and mint and simmer 15 minutes more.
- Season and serve with lime, onion, chile and hot tortillas.
Chef's tips
- Sliced shank keeps the marrow in the broth.
Beef and vegetable mole broth
A brick-red broth of guajillo and pasilla with beef, corn, squash and green beans, served with lime and onion.
La Catedral · García Vigil 105, Centro, 68000 Oaxaca de Juárez
Get: Ask for the day's caldo, then mole negro
¿Qué caldo tienen hoy?What soup do you have today?
One of the city's oldest restaurants (since 1976), around a quiet courtyard, with a menu of Oaxacan classics.
Ask; the caldos change.
Make it at home: Mole de olla
Not a thick mole but a chile soup. The epazote and a squeeze of lime at the end make it.
You need
- 2 lb (900 g) beef shank and short ribs
- 3 quarts (2.8 l) water
- 1/2 onion, 3 garlic cloves
- 3 guajillo and 2 pasilla chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 2 tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp cumin, 2 cloves
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2 ears of corn, in thirds
- 2 zucchini, in chunks
- 1 cup (100 g) green beans
- 2 potatoes, in chunks
- 1 sprig epazote
- 2 tsp salt
- Lime, chopped onion, tortillas
How to make it
- Simmer the beef with the onion, garlic and salt in the water 1 1/2 hours.
- Toast and soak the chiles; blend with the tomatoes, spices and a ladle of broth.
- Fry the chile purée in the oil 5 minutes, then strain it into the pot.
- Add the corn and potatoes and simmer 15 minutes, then the zucchini, beans and epazote 10 minutes.
- Season and serve with lime, onion and tortillas.
Chef's tips
- Straining the purée keeps the broth silky.
Fiesta egg and chicken broth
Eggs set into a chicken and tomato broth with shredded chicken and giblets, the Oaxacan breakfast for the morning of a fiesta.
The fondas of Mercado de la Merced
Get: Higaditos with tortillas and a hot chocolate
Unos higaditos, por favor.Higaditos, please.
A neighborhood market known for its breakfasts, where fonda cooks make the dishes from Oaxaca's wedding mornings.
Mostly weekend mornings; ask.
Make it at home: Higaditos
Made in huge pots for fiestas in the Valley of Oaxaca. The eggs set into the broth like a soft, savory custard.
You need
- 1 lb (450 g) chicken thighs
- 1/4 lb (115 g) chicken livers and gizzards, cleaned (optional)
- 5 cups (1.2 l) water
- 1/2 onion, 2 garlic cloves
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 chile de agua or jalapeño
- 1 tbsp lard or oil
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 8 eggs, beaten
- 1 tsp salt
- Chopped onion, chile and tortillas
How to make it
- Simmer the chicken and giblets in the water with the onion, garlic and salt 30 minutes. Shred the chicken and chop the giblets; keep the broth.
- Blend the tomatoes and chile with a little broth and fry in the lard 5 minutes with the cumin.
- Add 3 cups (720 ml) broth and the chicken and bring to a simmer in a wide pan.
- Pour in the beaten eggs, cover and cook on low 10 minutes without stirring, until just set.
- Spoon into bowls with plenty of broth; serve with onion, chile and tortillas.
Chef's tips
- Don't stir; the eggs should set in soft curds.
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No. 1 checked October 28, 2026; the other four picked the same day from local guides and menus. Places change; if one has, tell us at hello@chefamazing.com.
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