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There’s Nothing Better Than a Griddled Corn Cake Stuffed With all Your Favorite Toppings
As warm summer breezes turn into winter chills, we all start to crave comfort foods. You know, the ones that bring us back to our childhood and give us the energy we need to make it through those long, cold nights. Well, let us introduce you to the South American comfort food of choice: arepas. You can find them all over South America, and some of Central America as well, at food stalls, restaurants, and homes.
What are arepas made of?
Arepas are among the simplest things to make because there’s really only one main ingredient: precooked cornmeal, an ingredient known as masarepa. You can find this at any grocery store; the texture is finer than the cornmeal you might be used to for cornbread. It’s almost like a corn flour. All you need to do is mix together some salt, water, and cornmeal until you get a moldable paste. Form them into flat disks, cook them on a griddle, and voila! Arepas. Some people cut them open and stuff them with things like beans, cheese, or meat, as well.
What country are arepas from?
Arepas come from South America, but are common street food in Colombia or Venezuela. So you’re likely to wonder, are arepas Colombian or Venezuelan? Well, they’re actually both — and Panamanian. Back in pre-Columbian times, before Christopher Columbus “discovered” the Americas, Indigenous tribes in the northern part of South America and the lower part of Central America made them and cooked the dough on clay slabs called a budare. The cooking surface helped brown the outside of the arepa but left the inside moist. The dish persisted through history, and now locals to arepa regions eat about two per day. It’s similar to how North Americans have bread with each meal.
Is an arepa like a tortilla?
In a way, an arepa is like a tortilla — at least in that you can use it as a vehicle for other food. Tortillas are thin and made from either maize or flour; arepas are thicker. To stuff a tortilla, you put food on top of it and wrap the tortilla around it. With arepas, you cut it open and stuff the food inside. And it doesn’t have to be taco or burrito fillings, either! Try stuffing arepas with cheese and jalapenos, shredded meat and beans, or even strawberries and whipped cream for a sweeter version.
Are arepas and pupusas the same thing?
Pupusas and arepas are both griddle-cooked corn cakes, but they’re not the same thing. For one, pupusas originate in El Salvador, near the middle of Central America. The cornmeal used for pupusas is different as well. Arepas use masarepa (the precooked cornmeal) and pupusas use masa harina — cornmeal that has been treated in order to remove the hulls and germs of the corn. Both of the corn cakes are made on the same type of cooking surface, and both can be stuffed with other ingredients, but they’ll taste different. Pupusas are also typically larger than arepas.
Are arepas like tamales?
Yes and no. While both are made from corn, arepas use masarepa and tamales are made from masa harina, though with a coarser grind than you’d find with tortillas and pupusas. Tamales are also stuffed and closed up, rather than having the fillings visible from the outside. The cooking method is different, too — arepas are griddled, and tamales are steamed in either corn husks or banana leaves.
Are arepas healthier than bread?
Whether arepas or bread is healthier depends on your definition of “healthy.” If you’re going by calorie count alone, then bread is healthier. A typical slice contains around 80 calories, but an arepa has about 100. That being said, pupusas are naturally gluten free — so celiacs and people on low-gluten diets will find them to be healthier. It also depends what you put on the arepa or bread; either one covered in a pile of pulled pork and sauce is likely to be just as unhealthy as the other.
Want to try your own arepas? Goldbelly can deliver to your door a kit from Miami’s Doggi’s Arepa Bar — a spot that started as a food truck but has blossomed into a brick-and-mortar shop with four locations. If you’d rather stick to the bready delights you know well, shop America’s best breads instead, like challah, sourdough, or rye loaves.
