Recipe
Why Does Venezuelan Food Taste RIQUISIMA?
It's hard not to love everything about Venezuela. Venezuela is not only known for its beautiful landscapes and environmental diversity, but also for its delicious traditional food that celebrates and joins distinct flavors from differing areas of the world. Venezuelan cuisine is influenced by European, West African, and Native American traditions. The main ingredients in Venezuelan cuisine are corn, beans, yucca (tapioca), and plantains. The most well known Venezuelan food is the arepa, which is a thick disk-shaped cornmeal "sandwich" which can be either baked, fried, or made using an arepa maker, and filled with delicious thick slices of cheese, vegetables, egg, meat, avocado, plantains, or anything else you're craving. If you want an arepa around the Miami area, run to Holy Bagels, Doggi's Arepa Bar, or La Latina.
Coming from a Venezuelan family, I love Venezuelan food. My personal favorite part of Venezuelan cuisine is the fried, golden brown, and crispy tequeño! Tequeños are deep-fried cheese sticks wrapped in thick, flaky pastry dough. For Venezuelans, a party with tequeños is simply not a party! One tequeño has 295 calories, but it is totally worth it, because once you try a tequeño, you will never want an American mozarella stick ever again. Tequeños originated in the town of Los Teques, in Venezuela. They are served with tartar sauce, tomato sauce, pink sauce, or guacamole. In my opinion, the best tequeños in Miami can be found in Fresko.
So, why does Venezuelan food taste so good? After asking my Venezuelan family and friends, they told me it's because Venezuelan food is made with love, happiness, and warmth. Venezuelan cuisine is a mix of different cultures from around the world, and all Venezuelan dishes are made with rich spices, tropical flavors, and lavishing sweetness. Venezuelan snacks and chocolates are also out-of-this-world delicious! Some snacks and chocolate I recommend are Susy, Cocosette, Cricri, and Toronto. You can buy all of these snacks in the US in stores called Locatel.
The traditional Venezuelan national dish is pabellon, which is made of shredded meat, rice, black beans, plantains, and corn. There is currently a food shortage in Venezuelan, and that has caused Venezuelans to make simpler recipes of their dishes, however the food is still buenisma!
Arepas (By @dahealthyness)
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Servings: 2
Ingredients
- 2tbsp corn flour
- 2tbsp rolled oats
- 1tbsp flaxseeds
- Pinch salt
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Arepas can be grilled, fried, or baked and they are stuffed with cheese, avocado, egg, or anything else your heart desires.
Cachapas (By @dahealthyness)
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Servings: 3
Ingredients
- 1 egg+ 2 egg whites
- 1 1/2 cup corn
- 1/3 cup rolled oats
- 1tbsp flaxseeds
- Drizzle almond milk
- 1 tbsp stevia
- Pinch salt
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Cachapas are Venezuelan pancakes made from corn meal, like Arepas. Venezuelans love to put cheese, especially queso de mano, on top of their cachapa.
Conchitas de Platano (By @dahealthyness)
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Servings: 3
Ingredients
- 1 ripped plantain cooked in the microwave for 2 minutes with the skin
- 3 tbsp corn flour
- Warm water
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Conchitas de platano are fried ripe plantain slices and they are sometimes sprinkled with a pinch of sugar to give them a sweet taste.
Tequeños (By @co_cinero)
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 lb All Purpose Flour
- 1 cup butter
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Lukewarm water
- Hard white cheese cut into strips
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Tequeños are thick cheese sticks made with a super flaky dough, and the cheese inside melts and the sticks get all gooey and delicious! The best part of tequeños is definitely the melty, soft strips of white cheese in the inside.
Perico
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Servings: 5
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 tomatoes chopped
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 6 large eggs beaten
- Salt to taste
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Perico is usually eaten for breakfast and it is the Venezuelan version of scrambled eggs. Typically, Perico is made with egg, onions, and tomatoes.