Around the World in 80 Dishes

In our ongoing video series, Chef Sergio Remolina of The Culinary Institute of America demonstrates how to make Pupusas, stuffed masa cakes from El Salvador

I n this episode of Around the World in 80 Dishes, Chef Sergio Remolina demonstrates how to make his version of pupusas. These stuffed masa cakes are so popular in their native El Salvador that the government has declared the second Sunday of every November "National Pupusa Day."

Pupusas have their roots in the cooking of the indigenous tribes of the Americas, who created masa by treating corn kernels with ash to remove the tough outer husks, producing a nutritious cornmeal. Pupusas followed Salvadoran immigrants to the United States and can now be found in most major U.S. cities, from Washington, D.C., where afficionados trade tips on the best pupusa trucks, to Los Angeles, where pupuserías, restaurants specializing in the crispy snacks, have spread from predominantly Salvadoran neighborhoods to other areas of the city.

If you own a tortilla press, you might find Chef Remolina's instructions for forming the pupusas a bit easier than the method described in the recipe; his approach is much like making empañadas. Remolina presses the masa dough into a circle on the press, then sandwiches it around the filling, creating a half moon–shaped cake. If you don't own a press, or want to try the traditional method, shape the dough into a round in your hand, wrap it around the ball of filling, and then press it between two hands to flatten it into a disk. Chef Remolina also chooses to deep-fry the cakes, which produces a light, crispy coating; you can use his method or cook them on a griddle as in the recipe.

The traditional accompaniment for pupusas is a lightly pickled cabbage slaw called encurtido de repollo, or curtido for short. Our Salvadoran Coleslaw recipe is easy to put together and is delicious in any dish that calls for coleslaw.

Text by Sarah Kagan, illustrations by Matthew Brennan, photo by CIA/Keith Ferris
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