Pico de gallo

It is traditionally made from chopped tomato, onion, and serrano peppers (jalapeños or habaneros may be used as alternatives), with salt, lime juice, and cilantro.

The ingredients are tossed in lime juice and optionally with either hot sauce or chamoy, then sprinkled with a salty chili powder.

Many native residents of the Sonoran Mexico region explain that the salsa is thus named because the serrano pepper resembles a rooster's beak in shape.

[1] According to food writer Sharon Tyler Herbst,[2] pico de gallo ("rooster's beak") is named thus because originally people ate it by pinching pieces between the thumb and forefinger.

In their book Authentic Mexican: Regional Cooking from the Heart of Mexico, Rick Bayless and Deann Groen speculate that the name might allude to the bird-feed–like texture and appearance of the mince.