Arepa Aguita de Sapo Recipe
The arepa aguita de sapo is a traditional dish from the city of Maracaibo in the state of Zulia, Venezuela. The arepa is made with corn flour, cooked on a griddle and then divided in two and fried in oil. It is filled with shredded pork leg meat and fried cheese. The resulting sandwich is covered with sauce from the pork leg and served on a plate.
Ingredients
To bake the pork leg
- 600 gr To bake the pork leg
- 1 unit Medium onion
- 3 unit Sprigs of chives
- 6 unit Garlic
- 50 gr Panela or papelón
- 2 tbsp Soy sauce
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 unit Pinch of different spices
- 2 tbsp Ginger sauce
- 1 tbsp Salt
For the arepa dough
- 3 cups Precooked corn flour
- 3 cups Warm water
- 1 unit Pinch of salt
For cheese
- 250 gr Semi-hard white cheese
Instructions
Preparing the pork leg
- All the ingredients we have to prepare the pernil sauce are placed in a blender with some water. Blend until it forms a thick mixture without lumps.Then add the Worcestershire sauce, papelón, soy sauce and ginger sauce. Then add the spices and integrate.
- Once the pork leg is selected, place it in a baking pan. Add salt to taste all over the pork leg.
- Now we bathe the penirl in the sauce, open holes in several parts of the pork leg for a better absorption of the mixture.Cover the pork leg completely with aluminum foil and place it in the oven at medium heat for approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes.
- Remove the pork leg from the oven and let it rest.
- Separate the sauce with a spoon and place it in another container to be used in the assembly of the arepas.Crumble the pork leg and place it in a container.
- The separated pork leg in the sauce and the shredded meat, ready to assemble the arepas.
Preparation of the arepa
- Place the three cups of water in a bowl, add a touch of salt and stir. Gradually add the corn flour, continue stirring to avoid lumps in the dough. Now we knead with our hands until we obtain a smooth consistency that does not stick.Divide into equal portions, make balls with them and then shape the arepas, flattening gently with both hands with circular movements and moistened hands.
- Place a griddle or budare over medium-high heat and cook on both sides for a few minutes. Once ready, let stand for a few minutes and then open the arepas completely, leaving it in two parts.
- Each part of the arepa will be a base and a top of the aguita de sapo.
- Now in abundant oil over medium-high heat we fry the arepa halves.
Preparing the cheese
- The cheese should be cut into square or circular pieces proportional to the size of the arepas. Its thickness should be at least half a centimeter.In the same oil of the arepas fry the pieces of cheese. It must be semi hard and not simple.
Assembling the Arepas Aguita de Sapo
- The first step is to place a base of the "aguita de sapo", juice or sauce from the pork leg on the plate where we are going to serve the arepas.
- Then we place a part of the arepa as the base of the assembly. We add more sauce.
- Add the pork leg to each base and then another little bit of sauce.
- Now it is the turn of the cheese which we place on top of the pork leg.
- Finally, cover with the other part of the arepa to cover the filling.
- Serve the arepas and eat and enjoy this delicacy.
