Hallaca, Empanada and Arepa

I love meeting friends online! I have a Venezuelan friend, his name is Luis, and we were talking about - food! (Whatelse would I be interested in? XD) So every time I make friends with another person from a different country, I always ask: "What's the famous food there?". So here you go:

Hallaca (Hayaca)

Although it resembles our native suman, hallaca is not made of sticky rice. Instead, it is made with cornmeal dough. The traditional hallaca is made by extending a plantain leaf, greasing it with a spoonful of annatto-colored cooking oil and spreading on it a round portion of corn dough (roughly 30 cm), which is then sprinkled with various fillings. The filling is basically a mixture of various meats, raisin and olives then bound in strings withing plantain leaves then boiled. Hallaca dates back to history when Spanish colonizers throw leftover food during Christmas to slaves, then slaves collect them and reassembles them thus giving birth to this awesome delicacy. Which is also the reason why Venezuelans traditionally eat this at Christmas.

Empanada
I was baffled when I found out that in the list of Empanada making countries from wikipedia, the Philippines and Indonesia are the only Asian countries. The rest are Latin and Hispanic countries. Well anyway, Empanada ocame from Spain and since Spain colonized several other countries, a lot of variations were born.

Venezuelan empanadas, like the hallaca use corn flour based dough and are deep fried. The stuffing varies according to region; most common are the cheese and ground beef or chicken empanadas. Other types use fish, "caraotas" or black beans, oyster, clams and other types of seafood popular in the coastal areas, especially in Margarita Island.

Arepa

Arepa is another bread made from... guess what... thats right - corn! Corn is really a big thing in Venezuela. It can be grilled, baked or fried, can be eaten on its own or with various fillings. Making the dough requires a lot of hard work! The traditional, labor-intensive method requires the maize (mais) grains to be soaked, then peeled and ground in a large mortar known as a pilón. The pounding removes the pericarp and the seed germ, as only the cotyledons of the maize seed are used to make the dough. The resulting mixture, known as mortared maize, or maíz pilado, was normally sold as dry grain to be boiled and ground into dough. But we don't want to go through all that, won't we? Good thing pre-cooked cornmeal is available today!

Look on the bright side, flour- You're famous in Asia!

The arepa is split after cooking, and filled with ingredients such as cheese or deli meats. although the latter term is not commonly used today. An arepa can also be dressed with toppings such as cheese and eaten open-faced. Venezuelans prepare arepas depending on personal taste or preference and the region in which they are made.

Venezuelan food really interests me, they tell so much about the country's culture and history. This will definitely be in my to-try-before-I-die-list! Special thanks to Luis, my Venezuelan friend!

image sources:
buencomer.com.ve
www.panoramio.com/photo/6658605
http://fuentejuncal.org/
http://foodinhouston.blogspot.com/2009/08/venezuelan-empanadas.html
http://faerys-kitchen.blogspot.com/2009/04/venezuelan-empanadas.html
http://blog.cookingwithtraderjoes.com/2009/06/04/street-food-in-venezuela.aspx
http://www.latinmenu.com/tag/empanadas/
http://www.venezuelareport.com/?paged=2
http://epicurejenn.wordpress.com/2009/09/10/venezuelan-arepa-bar-caracas/
http://www.theyoungandhungry.com/1237478767/caracas-arepa-bar/