Pupusa facts for kids
A pupusa is a yummy, thick flatbread from El Salvador. It's a very traditional food there. Pupusas are usually made with corn flour, but sometimes with rice flour. They can have many different fillings inside! Popular fillings include beans, cheese, or chicharrón (which is cooked pork). People often eat pupusas for breakfast or dinner. They are usually served with a special tomato sauce and curtido, which is like a pickled cabbage salad.
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History of Pupusas
Pupusas were first made by the Pipil tribes in El Salvador a very long time ago. People have found cooking tools for pupusas in an ancient town called Joya de Cerén. This place is sometimes called "El Salvador’s Pompeii" because it was buried by volcano ash almost 2,000 years ago. This ash helped to keep food and tools preserved, showing us how people cooked back then. Tools for making pupusas have also been found at other old sites in El Salvador.
Different Kinds of Pupusas
You can find many different types of pupusas, depending on where you are in El Salvador. If you visit the coast, you might find pupusas filled with shrimp or fish! Pupusas can also be filled with various flowers, like "flor de Izote" (El Salvador's national flower) or loroco. Other fillings include chipilín, chicken, or even papelillo.
Pupusas Around the World
There are many kinds of pupusas just within El Salvador. Each town or "pupuseria" (a place that makes pupusas) might have its own special way of making the dough, cooking them, or choosing fillings. For example, a "pupusa de arroz" is a popular type made from rice flour instead of corn flour.
Pupusas are also found in other parts of the world, but they might have different names. In Mexico, for instance, a similar dish is called a gordita. While they are very much alike, the taste can change depending on the type of flour used. Pupusas made with special Salvadoran masa harina (a type of dried cornmeal flour) might taste a bit different from those made with regular commercial corn or rice flour.
Images for kids
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Making pupusas in Las Chinamas, El Salvador
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Traditional pupusas in El Salvador are cooked over wood fire, using a pottery griddle (called a comal).
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Pupusas revueltas stuffed with meat, beans and cheese
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Pupusas and tomato sauce
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Pupusas for carryout, in El Salvador, are wrapped in plastic and then in paper. (Here the paper is unwrapped to show the pupusas)
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A pupusería in Santiago Texacuangos, El Salvador. Note the various pupusas advertised on the wall: chicken, jalapeño, chipilín, and avocado
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A pupusería in Olocuilta.
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An outdoor pupusería in El Salvador at night
See also
In Spanish: Pupusa para niños
