In my first year out of college, my good friend Edhy and her family who hail from Venezuela introduced me to the magical world of arepa. Arepas are quite possibly Central/Latin America’s finest solution to the fast food conundrum: a thick corn tortilla, sliced open and stuffed with cheesy goodness. They’re similar to pupusas and gorditas, in that they’re flat and stuffed, but the similarities end there.
Sorry, I just couldn't wait long enough to take pictures.
Pupusas and gorditas are typically made from the commonly available Maseca brand masa harina (in the US, at least): decent for making tortillas for wrapping tacos, etc., but something is lacking when it’s the focus of the meal. It’s the Pan – the brand of cornmeal used to make the arepa that makes them the golden standard of stuffed masa snacks.
In most of the nation, arepas are difficult to come by, but in Miami, I found arepas all over – at Don Pan, at the corner bodega, and even in the freezer section at Publix. I found them for breakfast, lunch and dinner, stuffed with scrambled eggs, beans, bbq pork, roast pork, sweet corn… while there are some traditional recipes, it seems that when it comes to arepas, you might be able to make anything work, so long as you have the right masa.
Random Facts:
Pan doesn’t undergo nixtamalization, the process used to produce most masa harina. To make most masa, corn kernels are cooked and soaked in an alkaline solution (like limewater). This helps to loosen the hull from the kernel and breaks down the bits of cell walls that we can’t digest to make the nutrients in the corn more available. The hull is discarded, and only the germ (the meat of the kernel) is used to produce masa. This is typically a good thing, since it increases the levels of niacin, calcium, iron, copper and zinc that our bodies can use, as well as killing off some of the bacteria and fungi that might be hanging out as well. However, those chemical reactions also change the kinds of proteins in the masa, and get rid of the hull too – changing the taste and texture of the masa.
Sadly, though, San Francisco is a largely arepa-less city: the sole vendor I’ve discovered in these parts is a tiny place called “Mr Pollo,” just south of the 24th St. BART station in the Mission. And while the arepas made on that greasy grill behind the counter are cheap and delicious, they only have arepas con queso… and their hours tend to be fairly unpredicatble.
So imagine my glee when on my first visit to the brand new Duc Loi Supermarket at 18th and Mission, I finally tracked down some Pan (aka P.A.N. Harina de Maiz), the flour by which Edhy’s mom swore when making her arepas. In the aisles of the I jumped up and down, then squealed and did a little giggly dance, much to the amusement of the friends with whom I was shopping for fixin’s for that afternoon’s tamale-making party.
So, after a fairly steady tamale diet of for the next several days, I was kind of masa-ed out… but when I rolled past the cheese selection at La Palma Mexi-catessen I knew that the time for my arepas had come, so I picked up a small 12-ouncer of some melty Oaxacan mozzarella and headed home.
Arepas, Venezuelan-style
Making the Arepas:
Once you’ve managed to source the right type of masa, it’s ridiculously simple to make the arepas.
Makes 3-4 medium arepas
Ingredients:
1 cup P.A.N. Harina de Maiz (aka masa)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter (for frying)
4 ounces melting cheese (I used Oaxacan mozzerella)
1 cup lukewarm water
Equipment:
skillet or griddle
spatula
paper towels
knife (the sharper the better)
Mix salt and water in a bowl, then slowly add the masa. Knead together with your hands until it reaches a nice smooth texture – it should behave like play-doh, but won’t be as resistant when you squeeze it together..
Break the masa into 3 or 4 evenly sized pieces, put a little water on your hands, and flatten out each piece until it’s the size and thickness you desire. They shouldn’t be nearly as thin as regular tortillas for tacos – 1/4″ to 1/3″ thick is probably ideal… remember, you’ll need to cut them open to stuff them.
Heat the butter in a skillet or on a griddle to medium/medium high heat, then plop the arepas down without crowding (if you’re using a skillet, you may need to do two batches).
Let them sit a few minutes, then check to see how the browning is coming along. Once you’ve reached a lovely golden brown on the first side, flip it over and cook on the other side.
While the second side is cooking, cut or tear break up the cheese into the flattest possible pieces – it’ll be a tight fit.
When the arepas are just a little underdone on the second side, remove from heat and place on a paper towel. The butter can burn your skin, so be careful when handling: I’d suggest holding the arepas with a clean dish cloth. Use the knife to open up a pocket for the filling. It’s ideal to create a pouch so that the filling doesn’t leak out, but the most important thing is to create as much surface area inside the arepa as possible – even if you have to slice it in half, make sure to go to the other side!
Try to evenly stuff the filling inside the pouch, then after making sure there’s still enough butter left to give it a nice sizzle, return to the heat and finish cooking the undercooked side.
Once the second side is done, flip it back over to re-crisp the first side, then remove from heat and place on a clean towel to absorb some of the excess butter. No matter how hard it might be, let it cool off for a few seconds before taking the first bite.
Note that this was my first attempt at arepa-making, and more are certainly to follow – same arepa-making time, same arepa-making channel.
San Francisco, CA94110
USA
San Francisco, CA 94110
USA
San Francisco, CA 94110
USA
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