The following highlights some of the popular Traditional Guatemalan Foods. If you manage to be in an Guatemalan restaurant or you are visiting Guatemala, I recommend the following:
1. Noodle Tostadas
The famous and powerful Guatemalan tostadas are a typical Guatemalan dish that is more than welcome at any moment, event or meal time. There are three types of tostadas; salsa tostada, guacamole tostada and bean tostada. The guacamole tostada is a mashed avocado with salt, lime and onion, although this last ingredient is optional. And the bean tostada is made of strained and previously fried beans. And to enjoy this dish, you can add chopped parsley, onion slices, dried cheese and spicy food if you like, according to your taste.
2. Guacamole
It is a mashed avocado with salt, lemon and onion, although this last ingredient is optional, of Mexican origin, it is a perfect accompaniment for main dishes, such as the famous and powerful Guatemalan tostadas, a typical Guatemalan dish that is more than welcome at any moment, event and meal time.
3. Elotes
Corn gives off a really lovely aroma that will make this recipe fly by. All you need is corn, chile cobanero (optional), salt and lime. Place the peeled corn on hot coals and let them brown and roast little by little on both sides. When they are roasted to taste, you can put it back on the corn husk to preserve more flavour and make it more attractive, add salt, lemon and cobanero chile to taste.
4. Chiles Relleno
The mighty chiles rellenos; usually Sunday is the best day to have a chile relleno for breakfast with a well toasted French toast. The ingredients of this dish are: ground beef, finely chopped vegetables, of course chilli bell pepper and egg. To prepare the meat, season it with black pepper, bay leaf and salt, cook it until it begins to take a brown colour, and pour the chopped vegetables to cook together. To enjoy it already served, you add sprinkled parsley and slices of raw onion.
5. Empanadas
Its base is corn dough and of course the loroco, whose aroma will drive you crazy. To prepare it, you only need to mix the dough with the loroco, previously crushed, and a medium amount of dry cheese and cream to give it more consistency. They are cooked in a frying pan with hot oil or on a griddle with a small amount of vegetable oil. To accompany them you can add tomato sauce and a sprinkling of dry zacapaneco cheese.
6. Hilachas
This typical Guatemalan meal requires a little care when preparing the sauce in which the beef that makes up the dish is smothered. The meat is cooked until it softens and can be shredded. Tomatoes, sweet chiles, guaque chiles, onion, tomatoes and garlic are cooked with the broth obtained. When everything is ready, it is blended and fried in hot oil. The meat in strips and cut potatoes are added to the sauté and left on the fire until they are soft. A little flour is added to the preparation to thicken the sauce, which is left to boil a little more. When it is removed from the fire, let it rest and when it is not so hot, serve it with white rice.
7. Kak’ik
It was named intangible cultural heritage of the nation. The origin of this dish is pre-Hispanic and its name is derived from the words q’eqchi’; its syllables kak and ik mean red, hot or very spicy, which are of Mayan origin. This dish is composed of chompipe, garlic, ground achiote, an ingredient that gives the broth its red colour, mint, onion and cilantro. To accompany it, it is served with white rice and corn tamales or white corn tortillas.
8. Pupusas
Pupusa is a thick corn tortilla. The ingredients vary according to the pupusa that is prepared. There are two types of dough, corn and rice. Having chosen what the dough will be made of, the filling can be cheese, beans, chicharrón, scrambled (cheese, beans and chicharrón), spinach, ayote, chicken, meat, mushrooms and/or fish.
9. Rellenitos
The rellenitos are mashed plantain with sweet beans in the middle. It is a dessert that is common to find in patron saints and national fairs in Guatemala. To make them you only need plantains, which are the best for this recipe; cinnamon, strained beans, flour, chocolate, sugar and oil for frying. Cut the plantains into slices and cook them with water, cinnamon and sugar; when they are ready, let them cool and mash them to a puree. In a frying pan, fry the strained beans with sugar, cinnamon powder and chocolate. This dish is totally sweet, besides not only the beans can be the filling, there are those who prepare them with mashed plantains, always delicious. When they are golden brown on both sides, take them out and sprinkle them with sugar.
10. Chicken Pepián
Pepián can be made with chicken, pork or beef. Also by combining pieces of the three animal sources. While the meat is cooking in water with vegetables, onions, tomatoes, tomato, miltomato, sesame seeds, pepitoria, chilli, garlic, cinnamon and banana peel are browned in a little oil. The preparation is boiled a little so that the meat and the vegetables integrate with the sauce and when this happens, the dish is ready to be served with white rice, freshly made corn tortillas and a piece of avocado.
If you found this list useful, here are some more Traditional Central American Foods to try out on my Pinterest channel.