The sopaipillas, whether they are salted or also passed through chancaca, are highly appreciated by Chileans, who consumed them especially in the winter season, but currently they are eaten throughout the year. Generally consumed at tea time, on weekends, as a delicacy enjoyed with the family. They are also part of the meals that are easy to find on the streets of Santiago.
The sopaipillas They are the queens of the street in all of Chile. There they are available freshly prepared and warm to be consumed on the spot, at a low cost, which in addition to its flavor constitutes an attraction for it to be sold like hot cakes. The sopaipilleros on the street also sell them in packets, ready to take home and fry them there at the moment they are going to be eaten. There are already brands in Chile that sell packets of ready-to-fry sopaipillas.
La sopaipilla from Chile, is basically made with wheat flour, squash (pumpkin or pumpkin in other countries) and other seasonings that may vary according to each region of the country. Knead everything, let the dough light a little. Next, circles with a diameter of approximately 9 cm are formed with the dough, or also in the shape of triangles, squares or diamonds, of moderate thickness and finally fried.
They can be eaten prepared in the way described above and accompanied with a sauce called "pebre" made with cilantro, onion, garlic, and chili, among other ingredients. They can be accompanied with: cheese, avocado, butter, mustard or tomato sauce. Also, at sopaipillas they can be embedded or passed through hot chancaca, thus producing a highly appreciated dessert, especially on cold winter days and nights.
The preparation and the companions of the sopaipilla They vary in each region of the country, for example in the Chilé Archipelago the shape is diamond and they are commonly accompanied with honey or jam. In some places in the south of the country, instead of cooked and ground squash, cooked and ground potatoes are added.
History of Chilean sopaipillas
The chilean sopaipillas It is a dish of Arab origin, who called it sopaipa or bread soaked in oil. The dish entered Spain at the time when the Arabs colonized it and there it remained with the name of sopaipa. From Spain the sopaipa arrived in Chile through the Spanish conquistadors, it is stated that sopaipas began to be made in Chile since approximately 1726.
In Chile, the Araucanian natives give the dish the name of a bird called sopaipillan. With the passage of time in Chile they delete the last letter and keep the name of sopaipilla.
In addition to changing the name from sopaipa to sopaipilla, it is in Chile where the dish where the sopaipillas are soaked in hot chancaca, which is a sauce made with panela, cinnamon, and orange peels. The dish prepared in this way is called "past sopaipillas” which became popular and appreciated by all Chileans.
It is appropriate to clarify that when talking about panela in Chile, said product is not made with sugar cane as it is done in other countries. In Chile they are made with beet sugar and molasses, which are melted and solidify once cold.
Chilean Sopaipilla Recipe
Ingredients
2 Cups of wheat flour
250 grams of pumpkin previously cooked and ground
Half a cup of milk
3 tablespoons of butter
Salt to taste
Enough oil to fry
Preparation
- Cook the squash cut into small squares by boiling it in water or in the oven until it softens and then grinds it. Also melt the butter.
- Place the flour in the kneading place, making a depression in its center where you add the previously melted butter, milk, pumpkin puree and salt.
- Then everything is mixed and kneaded enough until the dough is smooth and smooth. Cover the dough obtained with a cloth or plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 5 min.
- Flour the place where you will spread the dough and proceed to do it with a rolling pin until you get approximately 5mm thick.
- The dough is cut in a triangular, circular or diamond shape, according to custom and with the desired size, which if the circular shape is chosen can be used with an approximate diameter of 9 cm. Poke them with a toothpick to prevent them from puffing up if you want them to.
- In a saucepan add the oil for frying and heat the oil over high heat until it reaches a temperature of approximately 360 °F or 190 ° Then fry the sopaipillas and remove them from the oil when they acquire a golden color and place them on a wire rack to drain the excess oil.
- Ready, to taste them alone or accompanied with soups, stews, or with your favorite dish.
Tips for making delicious sopaipillas
- The sopaipillas are fluffier if for every cup of flour you add a teaspoon of baking powder.
- Only in cases in which the person has restricted the consumption of fats for some reason, the sopaipillas they can be baked. Because no one doubts that sopaipillas are more delicious if they are fried.
- It is important not to overdo the kneading to prevent gluten from developing, which would make the sopaipillas hard.
Did you know ….?
To make the sauce called chancaca to imbibe the sopaipillas and thus obtain somepast sopaipillas"delicious, the following steps are followed: Place the sweet panela in two cups of water and dilute it, stirring occasionally until it is liquid. At that point, add a piece of cinnamon and a piece of orange peel (without exaggerating because too much orange peel can make the sauce very bitter) and let it boil for 5 minutes over low heat.
The wheat flour with which sopaipillas are made provides the body with an important nutritional value because it contains fiber which contributes to the proper functioning of digestion, proteins of vegetable origin, carbohydrates, which the body transforms into energy, It also provides vitamin B6, folic acid and the minerals zinc, magnesium and potassium.
