Pupusa - Variants and Cousins

Variants and Cousins

A popular variant of the pupusa in El Salvador is the pupusa de arroz. Rice flour is used to make the dough and they are usually stuffed with chopped pork, cheese, beans, zucchini, and other vegetables. They hail from the town of Olocuilta, located to the east of San Salvador, but are now readily available throughout the country. Another regional variation, found in Alegría, is the pupusa de banano, which calls for the addition of platano bananas to the pupusa.

Pupusas made in the United States are typically made with Maseca (brand) commercial corn flour-masa mix) instead of fresh masa harina. Some high-end pupuserías in the United States use rice flour and wheat flour versions.

In Santa Fe, New Mexico, variations using spinach, pepperoni and cheese, and the ubiquitous green chile, are popular.

A similar Mexican dish is called a gordita (literally, "little fatty"), but gorditas are usually open at one end. In Venezuela, they make arepas (where the dough is cooked first, and then sliced in half and stuffed somewhat like a hamburger). Colombia has its own recipe of arepas, but, unlike Venezuelan, Colombian arepas are usually eaten without filling, or the filling is placed inside the dough before cooking. Pupusas are also found in neighboring Central American countries. Honduran versions often use the local quesillo type of cheese for the filling. In Costa Rica, the pupusa variant consists of two fried tortillas with white cheese between them.

Taco Cabana, a Tex-Mex chain in Texas, created a dish called the pupusa that has no relation to the Salvadorian food.