Spend a little time in El Salvador and I am sure you will come face to face with a thing called a pupusa. No, it isn’t an innuendo, no it isn’t a type of rodent or insect, and finally, no it isn’t a form of transportation.
It’s actually a REALLY popular dish in El Salvador and throughout other countries in Central America.
I recently made my way through the backpacker trail of Guatemala and Nicaragua. A common stopping point that I heard about time and time again between the two countries was El Tunco, a sleepy surf town, in El Salvador. Once I figured out that the trip from Antigua, Guatemala to Leon, Nicaragua would require a stop over in El Salvador anyways, I decided El Tunco and a couple days at the beach was a perfect stopping point.
Even before setting off for El Tunco, I started hearing about the elusive pupusa. This is probably because street food is rare in Central America and even more rare was GOOD street food. Food often was my biggest expense during my time in Central which was quite the shock to my system after spending ample time in Southeast Asia with $1 USD street noodle bowls, and $.50 street meat kebobs.
As the shuttle dropped us off in El Tunco, I was excited to try out this street food everyone couldn’t stop talking about. I did a little research ahead of time to make sure it was something I could eat because I couldn’t eat gluten or eggs due to food allergies. Luckily, it seemed to be a safe food so I was free to indulge.
Indulge, I did.
In its most simple form, a pupusa is a savory cornmeal pancake of sorts. It’s made with masa harina (cornmeal flour), salt, and water. The mixture is hand kneaded and fried on a hot skillet or griddle. It resembles its close cousins the arepa and the gordita; the fillings, however, are completely encased within the papusa instead of spilling over the top like the arepa and gordita.
Fillings include cheese, beans, pork, chicken, garlic or even loroco, a Salvadorian edible flower. They tend to be rich and very cheesy. Because of this they are usually topped with a pickled cabbage, radish and carrot mixture. In addition to the pickled veggies they often topped with freshly made mild salsas that aren’t too spicy.
The best part of pupusas? You can eat them for breakfast, lunch AND dinner! Pupuserias in El Tunco ranged from little stalls in the markets to a stand next to a church that were manned by nuns to full on restaurants with menus and matching chairs. The favorite of the travel crowd? The pupusas served up by the nuns at the church of course! They were a good price at $0.50 to $0.75 depending on the filling. The fillings were a little more creative than the typical cheese, beans and pork. And they were served by nuns.
Depending on your hunger level, 2 was usually enough, sometimes 3 made their way onto my plate somehow. At the very maximum that was $3 USD for a meal, thus solidifying its place as the cheapest meal I had during my two months in Central America.
Pupusas also became a way to bond with fellow travelers. I don’t know how, but sometimes travelers would show up in town having never heard of pupusas, the nerve. I’d take these unknowing individuals under my wing and ease them into a stool at the closest pupuseria. I’d show them the toppings and talk them through the fillings. By the end of the experience, I made them a pupusa lover and a friend.
Everyone had his or her pupusa breaking point though. Still to this day, I crave them. I don’t think I have a breaking point. But I watched many travelers get to the point where they were literally dry heaving or tearing up at the thought of another pupusa. My word of advice: keep pupusa meals to once a day, it’s easy to overdo it.
If you’re in a major city in the US like DC or LA or NYC, look for pupuserias in the area! I’d give you a recipe for you to try at home but the texture is wicked difficult to replicate so just try one in a restaurant first. Then maybe we can talk about a recipe. Maybe.
I loved this post! I am a Salvadoran living in Texas and I do miss my pupusas. I’m so glad you got to visit El Salvador, el Tunco is a fun place! I am subscribing to your blog to keep up with your adventures. Thank you!
very good , That sounds delicious!
El Salvador is certainly one of the most beautiful places I have ever met, I hope to return very soon to eat the delicious Pupusas.
These pupusas of El Salvador are delicious. I can not wait to travel again to El Salvador to eat pupusas again.
My wife and I have been to El Salvador twice and we have had the pleasure of enjoying this delicious dish called pupusa which is divine.
wow, for sure this place is where everyone wants to be, wonderful, I hope one day I can get there
Pupusas are the best I live in guatemala so el salvador is not so far a way
You may be able to find them in Guatemala! Good luck!
Girl, you are speaking my language!
My husband and I recently traveled through Mexico & CA for a year and a half and one of our best experiences was our stay in El Tunco and eating the pupusas! Beautiful beach, cool crowds, and bringing our misil de cerveza to the pupuseria was the life!
The salsa they use is actually just regular tomato sauce.. no spices.. no nothing.. probably straight out of a can! 🙂
I actually love bean & cheese pupusas so much that I made them for my family when we all got together for this past Thanksgiving. They were a hit! And, with plenty of practice, they actually turned out almost like you would find them in El Tunco 😉
Thanks for a good read and trip down memory lane. I am going to subscribe to your blog right now just because of this one post! But, I look forward to stalking a few of your other posts and seeing what you come up with in the future as well!
Ha, thanks Francesca! Gosh, I love grub! Pupusas and beer go hand in hand obviously! I’d love to get your recipe! I’ve tried googling it, and everyone says it’s next to impossible to get the consistency right. Looking forward to hearing more from you here and on ForksAndFootprints.com!
That sounds delicious! Off to see if we have a good pupuseria here in Pittsburgh!
Good luck not getting hooked if you find one… 😉
Pupusas are my favorite! A couple years after visiting El Salvador during my semester abroad in Costa Rica, we even found a local cash-only pupuseria in a small town in North Carolina near our college. It’s ridiculously cheap and delicious, takes me back every time 🙂
Oh that;s fantastic! I need to look around near my hometown! I better be able to find one!