Street Food in Venezuela
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Tags: street food arepas venezuela empanadas
Hola from Venezuela! I'm visiting my childhood town of Cumana, where my parents have been living for 33 years. Unlike the capital city of Caracas, which is so modernized it could pass for a large city in the USA, Cumana is still rather rural. Here is a view down the street where we're staying, close to the city center, and the colors are unmistakably Venezuelan. It's common to paint each house a different bright color, which makes for a very colorful view down otherwise drab streets.
Days start early here, while the heat is still bearable. School starts at 7 a.m., so by the crack of dawn, the streets are humming with activity. People huddle around food carts to catch a quick bite on their way to work or school. The most popular portable breakfast is the empanada, pictured here. It's fascinating to watch empanadas being made - in a mere 10 seconds or so, nimble hands have flattened the cornmeal dough to paper thin consistency, plo
pped on filling such as cheese, chicken, beef, or fish, folded it over to make the moon-shaped empanada, and placed the empanada into a cast-iron pan for a quick fry. We could not stop eating these. My favorite is the cheese empanada. The dough is crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside, and my kids loved taking a bite and pulling the melted cheese into long strings.
At lunchtime, arepas are the meal of choice. Arepas are the equivalent of sandwiches or hamburgers in the US. The dough is the same cornmeal dough used for empanadas — made of stone ground maize or corn. Experienced hands can make arepas in just a few seconds. In fact, it took me a few tries to catch one being made. By the time I had focused my camera lens (okay, so maybe next time I should just use the auto-focus!) she had already moved onto the next arepa. After a few failed attempts, I asked the lady to make one in slow motion for me, which got many chuckles from those standing by. The arepas are grilled on an open flame, giving them a wonderful smoky flavor and crunchy shell.
Here you can see the arepas being grilled next to a variety of meats and sausages. Split the arepa open, and fill with any type of filling. Grilled meats are shown here, but there are countless varieties of arepas. You can fill with scrambled eggs, chicken salad with avocados, clams, fish, vegetables, ham & cheese, literally just about anything! In addition to the street arepas I visited, there are restaurants (areperas) that sell arepas only, with over 30 types of arepas on the menu. A friend in New York tells me there is an arepas bar there. I'd be delighted if someone opened one near me in San Francisco!
By lunchtime, the sun is so unbearable that the siesta (or nap) is an absolute necessity. Banks, the post office, and most stores close for the siesta. Streets that were hustling with activity in the morning, become desolate as everyone turns in for an escape from the heat. I could get used to this lifestyle!
What a nice surprise to see pictures of Cumana (and arepas, and empanadas) in your blog! I'm a Venezuelan living in LA and I spent so many summers visiting relatives in Cumana. Is there still the chicha stand in front of the CADA supermarket? The best chicha I ever tasted!! Have fun.
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I'm sad to report that the CADA supermarket I used to go to at La Perimetral is closed. After reading your comment, I tried to make it out to the CADA at Gran Mariscal, in case that was your chica vendor's location, but ran out of time. However, I took the kids to Parque Ayacucho, which is a short walk from where we're staying, and we found a chicha stand there. For those of you who haven't tried it, chicha is a drink made of rice, milk, sugar, and chopped ice. It has a thick consistency, kinda like a rice smoothie. The chicha guy sprinkled some cinnamon in ours, and topped it with swirls of condensed milk. DELICIOSO!!
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That sounds a lot like a horchata drink they sell in Mexican restaurants. It is interesting to see different spins to the empanadas. So far I had the Puerto Rican version, Cuban version, and the Mexican version. I will try to sniff out a Venezuelan version of this in my city.
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mmm! looks yummie. i wish i had family somewhere cool to visit...
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Wonderful post! I envy you your visit in Venezuela. Any chance of getting a recipe for the arepas dough???
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The traditional and labor-intensive way of making arepa dough was to soak dried corn kernels overnight in water and lime to remove the skins, then cook, drain, and grind into dough. Nowadays, pre-cooked arepa flour is available at most Latin markets. The brand I know is called Harina Pan, made in Venezuela. It comes in a bright yellow bag and has a cartoon of a lady wearing a red bandana on her head. To make the dough, mix the following (adjust quantities depending on how many arepas you want):
2 cups Harina Pan flour
2 cups warm water
1 Tbsp oil
pinch of salt
1. Preheat skillet over medium-low flame. A cast-iron skillet works well.
2. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. The mixture will be quite watery initially but will thicken quickly. Let the dough sit for a minute or two. If the dough is too hard, add more water, a spoonful at a time, until it is easy to handle. It should be pliable like the consistency of Play-Doh.
3. Shape into round patties, about the size of a small hamburger bun. They should be about 1/2 inch thick.
4. Lightly grease skillet and cook arepas for several minutes on each side, until they are browned on both sides. You can also finish cooking arepas in the oven, directly on the rack.
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I would really love to try one of those arepas.
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Looking at this makes me hungry. It looks a bit like shoarma!
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Love me some arepas! Living a hop, skip, and jump from NYC affords me some of the best I've ever had!
http://foodnmore.wordpress.com/
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Wona: Those arepas are exactly like the ones made in Colombia. Usually they're flat for breakfast with a hot chocolate or coffee. For lunch or dinner they're made small and round -- about the size of a ping-pong ball. In the states, my mom makes them with the Harina Pan! They have arepas at most Colombian restaurants -- including ones we've visited in NYC, , Elizabeth - NJ, Tampa and even Dayton, OH! Many latin markets carry frozen arepas and sometime those come with cheese in the dough. A yummy alternative to a bagel for sure!
~Carolina
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Thanyou for listing recipe for Arepas, I haven;t found any, this one sounds real good, I made them yesterday and they were perfect.... there is a Venezuelan restaurant in Napa , California,,, PICAPICA , is excellent,,, I am from Caracas, lived here in vAllejo a long time,,, Dulce
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this makes me homesick - thanks for a great piece and a great blog!
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The article is very interesting, indeed. I like to learn more about people from different countries. Especially when it is a glimpse from inside. I like to read books and watch amateur films about different countries. You know in such a way a lot of ideas appear which you can implement in your native place.
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excellent post, thank you for sharing
i love reading your blog
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Usually I do not post on blogs, but I would like to say that this blog really forced me to do so! Thanks, really nice post.
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