"Seasoned Corn Chips, Was That Snack This One?... From Corporate Flavor to a Nation's Culture [Delicious Story]"

⑭Doriloco: Mexico's Beloved Street Food
A Dish Made by Adding Toppings to Doritos
Mexico's Tradition of Blending Cultures from Around the World

Editor's NoteThe first snacks are believed to have been discovered in the ancient Mesopotamian civilization. In other words, snacks have accompanied every moment of human history. From biscuits and chocolate to ice cream, we bring you delicious stories behind the snacks we have loved.

Doritos is a nacho brand produced by the American snack giant Frito-Lay. These are corn chips coated with various seasonings, and they are commonly found in Korea as well. However, the place where Doritos receives the most special treatment is not its home country, the United States, but Mexico. In Mexico, Doritos is regarded not just as a snack, but as a legitimate ingredient, and it has now become a symbol of Mexican culture, distinct from that of the United States.

Mexican Street Food That Uses Snacks as Ingredients

Doriloco made by putting beans, taco sauce, jelly, etc. inside a snack bag. Screenshot from the online community 'Reddit'

'Doriloco,' made with Doritos, is a signature Mexican street food. 'Loco' means 'crazy' in Spanish, so the dish can be interpreted as 'crazy food made with Doritos.'

As the name suggests, the method of making Doriloco is quite bold. First, you buy a bag of Doritos in your preferred flavor, open it, and add as many different toppings as you like inside the bag. Typically, it includes meats such as chicken, lamb, or pork, along with corn, finely chopped tomatoes, lettuce, guacamole, and cheese. Finally, it is finished with salsa sauce to complete the Doriloco. Many street vendors in Mexico prepare bags of Doritos and pots filled with cooked toppings to sell Doriloco.

Doriloco is a 'modern food' with a relatively short history. Local Mexican food researchers estimate that the Doriloco craze began among young people sometime between the 1990s and the early 2000s.

Mexican Culture of Mixing Foods from Other Countries

At one time, there was a widely circulated theory that Doriloco originated from a recipe spread through local marketing by Frito-Lay. According to this theory, Frito-Lay developed this way of eating Doritos to appeal to Mexicans who were already accustomed to eating nachos dipped in sauce or topped with various ingredients.

Making Doriloco at a Mexican street food stall. YouTube capture

However, Gustavo Arellano, an American researcher of Mexican culture and investigative journalist, argued in a 2012 New York Times op-ed that Doriloco is a culinary creation that originated independently among Mexicans, and that Frito-Lay's marketing only began after Doriloco had already become popular locally. He explained that Doriloco started in the bustling streets of Tijuana, and was created by local street vendors who were adept at turning whatever ingredients were at hand into new fusion dishes.

Arellano explains that 'improvised fusion dishes' like Doriloco are very common in Mexico. He said, "Mexico has a food culture of mixing ingredients brought from other countries to create new dishes," and added, "Doritos itself is an Americanized version of the traditional Mexican food nachos. Doriloco is a process of bringing Doritos back into 'real Mexican culture.'"

According to a 1986 report by Ed Patzel, a historian specializing in Central and South America, there was already a mysterious snack called 'Frito Pie' being consumed in Mexico at the time, which involved pouring tomato or bean soup directly into a bag of Frito-Lay chips and eating it with a spoon.

Mexican Melting Pot Spawns a Global Phenomenon

Mexico is famous for being a melting pot culture on par with the United States. This is due to the blending of indigenous Central and South American traditions, European influences introduced during the Spanish colonial era, and the cultural exchange with the United States in modern times. The flexibility to use imported snacks as meal ingredients without hesitation also stems from this historical background.

The daring and fusion-oriented nature of Mexican food culture, which pays little heed even to tradition, is now spreading as a global phenomenon. Doriloco gained worldwide attention after it was featured in the 2019 Netflix food documentary "Taco Chronicles," and in 2022, it sparked a craze on social networking services (SNS). Recently, more bars in Korea have begun offering 'K-Doriloco,' which features Korean-style toppings.