I grew up eating tortillas, but my world was transformed when I discovered that you can add cheese to the tortilla dough. Cheese! Oh, and did I ever tell you that I love cheese? In high school my friends used to call me Steve Urkel. Here is one description of Steve Urkel that I found online:
Steve Urkel: A character in the sitcom Family Matters. He was a skinny, smart, annoying kid with a love for science, polka, and cheeeese!
But wait! There is more. You don’t have to stop at just cheese. You can add beans, chorizo, chicken…etc. You can be as creative as you want with your pupusa. Now you ask, what the heck are pupusas? Let’s ask Wiki….
A pupusa is a traditional Salvadoran dish made of a thick, handmade corn tortilla (made using masa de maíz, a maize flour dough used in Latin American cuisine) that is usually filled with a blend of the following:
- cheese (queso) (usually a soft cheese called Quesillo found in all Central America)
- cooked pork meat ground to a paste consistency (called chicharrón, not to be confused with fried pork rind, which is also known as chicharrón in some other countries)
- refried beans (frijoles refritos), or queso con loroco (loroco is a vine flower bud from Central America).
The two most common pupusas are the pupusa de queso (cheese) and more popular pupusa revuelta with mixed ingredients of cheese, beans, and chicharrón. Pupusas are typically served with curtido (lightly fermented cabbage slaw with red chilies and vinegar) and a watery tomato salsa.
I know they don’t look very appealing, but they are so good! I did forget to take a picture of the tomato salsa. My bad.
The best way to eat one is to pile the coleslaw on top of the pupusa and then you pour the salsa on the coleslaw and pupusa and watch the pupusa absorb some of the tomato salsa, then you take a fork and cut a piece off and watch the melted cheese ooze out. Can you picture it?
Try one! Or two…
Playing Chef 
I don’t know about lack of visual appeal. I’m willing to bet I could polish one off pretty easily by itself.
I should not be posting images of food that I do not have directly in front of me. I was so hungry afterwards and desperately wanting a pupusa. 🙂
YOU CAN ADD CHEESE TO IT?!?!?!?! consider mind blown. Do you have the recipe for it? 🙂
YES! You can add CHEESE! Woohoo! *Happy Dance!* 🙂 I scoured the net for a recipe that appeared to be the most “authentic.” I have actually never made them myself, but my family has. After reviewing the recipes, I am excited to make them too. Here is one recipe I found that seemed right for cheese pupusas….
INGREDIENTS
1.5 Cups of Masa Harina Flour
2.4 Cups of Water
4.3 Cups of Soft White Cheese
5.Light Vegetable oil (Olive oil can be substituted)
DIRECTIONS
1.Slowly mix together water and masa harina.
2.Let dough rest for 10 minutes.
3.Mix together refried beans or pork (if you choose to add an additional ingredient) with the cheese.
4.Divide dough into 25 or so pieces and roll them into balls.
5.Flatten the dough until it’s about 1/2 inch thick.
6.Make a pocket in the dough and add the mixture then cover the mixture and flatten the dough.
7.Heat a skillet over medium heat. Brush pupusas with oil and cook on each side. Pupusas should cook in about 3-5 minutes. Note: The outside should be firm and the cheese melted.
Enjoy!
Yaaaay! Thanks for this! Can’t wait! 😀
I’ve had pupusas in Toronto at Tacos al Asador (Koreatown) and at Emporio Latino (Kensington). While the ones at Emporio were better than Asador, the best I had was just over the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit into Mexican Town, at El Comal, a Columbian restaurant. The pulled pork filling was SO GOOD. Ridiculously so.
My favorite one’s are from Kensington Market. They are so affordable too! When in Kensington Market I buy the chorizo raw and in the morning I take the chorizo out of the casing and fry it with eggs. So good! 🙂
I wish I lived downtown, I would hang out at Kensington Market all day long. Love that area. Not sure I like Loblaws encroaching in on that area =(
I actually like Loblaws…but that is because is near my apartment and they have EVERYTHING! But I see what you mean. 🙂
I need to try out these pupusas sometime. They look and sound interesting and yummy.
I shall take you my dear. Let’s go the weekend before my vacation.