Maria Tinoco makes Mexican tacos dorados

It was one of the first times Gregory, an Australian who taught English in the area, had cooked for her family.

She said they were so surprised to see a man cooking in the kitchen.

"I remember they just said 'oh well, he's from a different country, so it's alright'," Ms Tinoco laughed.

"My Dad had never ever stood in front of the stove, ever. And my brothers never cooked growing up. So they were very surprised."

Ms Tinoco said today in Mexico, the culture was slowly changing to be more accepting of men cooking, instead of just women.

A confessed "non-cook", she said she never really spent a lot of time cooking as a child.

"I could call my mum now and ask her how to cook something and she'd help, but she didn't really teach us to cook much.

"She wasn't the kind of person to say 'c'mon let's go to the kitchen', even though it was kind of expected.

"I think that's why I don't spend a lot of time cooking now, because I grew up with 'I have to do that just because I'm a woman'".

For this week's In My Kitchen, Ms Tinoco, who loves to share her Mexican culture in many other ways, made Mexican tacos dorados, also known as crunchy or golden tacos.

Despite referring to herself as "no good in the kitchen", the tacos boasted rich Mexican flavours, with as little or as much chili as one wanted.

Ms Tinoco said she chose to make tacos dorados because it was a classic dish commonly eaten on Grito de Dolores or Mexican Independence Day.

"It's celebrated every year on September 16, to remember when Mexico became independent from the Spaniards.

"There are always lots of people around in costumes and with tequila.

"Even though I don't cook much Mexican food, I like the social aspect of cooking.

"I like to cook food like this this and have people over to enjoy it."

Ms Tinoco was born in Mexico City but grew up in Veracruz state.

She said she felt "very lucky" to have grown up in Mexico and that she misses it a lot, having last visited in 2017.

In regards to the Mexican culture, Ms Tinoco referred to the recipe for tacos dorados as a simple one that "we're supposed to know".

It is a popular dish in many parts of the country.

She began with frying corn tortillas in hot oil on a frying pan, before placing them onto a plate and filling them with various ingredients.

"They can be made with anything, chicken, onion, potatoes. There are many different variations."

"Tacos dorados uses one of the main foods in Mexico which is tortillas made from corn.

"I think one family in Mexico consumes one to 1.5 kilograms of tortillas a day. For breakfast, lunch or dinner, soft or hard."

Once the filling had been placed, Ms Tinoco rolled the tacos up to keep the ingredients warm inside.

On top of the tacos, she placed a Mexican salad made with lettuce, tomato, onion, corn, radish and avocado.

She added a salt and lemon dressing for additional flavour.

Again, although not an avid cook, Ms Tinoco said it was important for her to pass on her cultural traditions of Mexican literature, art and language to her 18-year-old son, Angelo.

"He was born in Veracruz, but we moved to Australia when he was two," Ms Tinoco said.

"It's very important to me that he keeps the Mexican culture, so I speak in Spanish to him all the time.

"We like to cook very simple Mexican food together. You can just buy tortillas made from corn from Coles and warm them on the stove and put fillings in them. Angelo likes to make that."

To accompany the tacos dorados, Ms Tinoco had made a simple, Mexican bean and rice salad and salsa.

"I love chili, just like a lot of Mexicans," Ms Tinoco said.

"Chili is a big part of our culture. When Angelo was two years old, there were lollypops in Mexico with chili in them for everyone.

"At that age we would say give them a little bit and see what happens!"

Ms Tinoco said food in Mexico brought people together and was quite different to what Australians were perhaps used to.

She recalls a time when her Australian ex-husband, Gregory, whom she met in Mexico when he taught her English, was surprised at the amount of food she had made for Angelo's second birthday.

"I've had this discussion with my ex-husband, who is Australian, because Mexican celebrations take place around big amounts of food.

"I was getting ready for the birthday and Gregory had realised I was buying and making so much food, especially with chili.

"He said, why are you doing that? Don't people just come for a little bit of finger food and drink and that's it?

"I laughed and said no, we need to provide all the food."

Ms Tinoco has since remarried since she moved to Bunbury four years ago.

She said her husband, Carl Chopping, enjoys the Mexican cuisine she cooks on special occasions.

Mr Chopping also doesn't like chili.

Do you know a local who loves to cook?

Send an email to pip.waller@bunburymail.com.au.