Introduction

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The Salvadoran pupusa (from Pipil pupusawa) is a thick, hand-made corn tortilla (made using masa, a maize flour dough used in Latin American cuisine) that is stuffed with one or more of the following: cheese (queso) (usually a soft Salvadoran cheese called Quesillo), fried pork rind (chicharrón), chicken (pollo), refried beans (frijoles refritos), or queso con loroco (loroco is a vine flower bud from Central America). This type of filling tastes somewhat like that of the bean and cheese burrito. There is also the pupusa revuelta (with mixed ingredients of cheese, pork, and beans).

History

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Pupusas are from El Salvador, and were first eaten by the Natives there almost three millenia ago. Remains of the food were even found in the Joya de Cerén archeological site. Immigrants have brought the dish to Northern California (the San Francisco Bay Area), Central California, Southern California, Virginia, Washington D.C., and other locations, where there are now many pupuserías (a place where pupusas are sold). Pupusas are now usually served with curtido (a pickled cabbage relish)and tomato sauce or salsa.

Variants and Cousins

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A popular variant of the pupusa in El Salvador is the pupusa de arroz. Rice flour is used to make the masa, as the name indicates, and they are usually stuffed only with beans and cheese. They hail from the town of Olocuilta, located to the east of San Salvador, but are now readily available throughout the country. A Mexican dish that is similar to the pupusa is called a gordita (literally, "the little fat one"), but gorditas are usually open at one end. In Venezuela they make arepas (where the dough is cooked first, and then sliced in half and stuffed somewhat like a hamburger). Colombia has its own recipe of arepas, but, unlike Venezuelan, Colombian arepas are usually eaten without filling, or the filling is placed inside the dough before cooking. Pupusas are also found in neighboring Central American countries as far west as Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, and are also part of Honduran cuisine. They are not as traditional as in El Salvador, yet they are part of Honduran dishes. Some say they were brought from El Salvador by Salvadoreans migrating to Honduras, some were later forced out of Honduras, being this one of the causes for the famous Football War.

In El Salvador, an official holiday Dia Nacional de la Pupusa, "National Pupusa Day" is even celebrated on November 13th.

External links

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• Pupusa recipe
• Curtido recipe
• Recipes for several different types of pupusas + for curtidoPupusa pride

Latin American cuisine | Cuisine of El Salvador | Tortilla-based dishes

Pupusa | Pupusa