Spicy Fried Arepas

⏱ 53 mins 🍽 20-24 arepas, 5-10 serving(s) 🏷 Snack

These arepas feature a light, crispy cornmeal shell encasing a flavourful and spicy meat filling. The recipe is straightforward to prepare and can be made in advance, making it a versatile and economical choice for any meal. The dough comes together easily before being filled, sealed, and fried to a perfect golden brown. You can expect the process to take around 53 minutes from start to finish.

Spicy Fried Arepas

Ingredients

  • 4 cups yellow cornmeal (refined)
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 ounce margarine
  • 1 ounce shortening
  • 4 -5 cups water (use enough water to make a soft pliable dough)
  • 2 lbs ground beef (or a mixture of beef and pork)
  • 5 garlic cloves
  • 3 sprigs thyme
  • 1 medium onion
  • 20 leaves culantro
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
  • 2 chives
  • 2 pimientos
  • 1 hot pepper
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • salt and pepper, if needed
  • 1 1/2 cups water, to cook
  • 2 cups vegetable oil (for frying)

Method

  1. Put the water into a medium pot and place it over moderate heat. Add the meat, seasonings, and hot pepper, stirring to mix everything well.
  2. Let this cook for 10 mins, then stir in the soy sauce, black pepper, sugar, and salt if required. Add more water if needed for the meat to cook through completely.
  3. Continue cooking until all the liquid has been absorbed. Take the filling off the heat and leave it to cool while you prepare the dough.
  4. For the dough, sift the cornmeal, flour, salt, and baking powder into a medium bowl and combine them.
  5. Mix in the sugar, then add the margarine and shortening. Use a fork or pastry blender to work the fat into the dry mixture until it resembles breadcrumbs.
  6. Gradually add the water, half a cup at a time, kneading until you have a soft, pliable dough. The exact amount of water may vary depending on your cornmeal.
  7. Separate the dough into balls roughly the size of an egg. On a non-stick surface or a greased plastic bag, press each ball out into a round disc about 1/8 inch thick. A tortilla press works well for this.
  8. Place one tablespoon of the cooled filling onto one half of each disc. Moisten the edges of the other half, then fold it over the filling and press the edges together firmly to seal.
  9. Set the filled arepas aside until you are ready to fry them.
  10. Heat the 2 cups of vegetable oil in a suitable pan. Fry the arepas until they turn a golden brown, flipping them after about the first 4 mins.
  11. Once fried, remove the arepas and let them drain on sheets of brown paper bag or kitchen towels. Transfer them to a second set of paper towels and keep them covered if not serving straight away.
  12. Note that uncooked arepas can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and fried directly from the fridge without thawing.

Nutrition (per serving)

Sodium1697100 mg

Recipe details

CategorySnack
Authorkimfa.eveningtea