Destination
Bogota
The story
Arepa de huevo is Colombia's Caribbean coast breakfast, sold from stalls in the morning markets of Cartagena, Barranquilla and Santa Marta, and made in home kitchens across the region. A disc of yellow corn masa (masarepa amarilla, not the white Andean variety) is briefly fried until it puffs into a soft pocket, split open with a knife, filled with a whole raw egg (and a spoonful of seasoned shredded beef if you're making the loaded version, arepa de huevo y carne), pinched shut and fried again until deep gold. The egg cooks inside the pocket as the arepa finishes frying.
Method
Warm the oil in a wide pan over medium heat. Sweat the onion and pepper 5 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Add the beef, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper. Cook 6 to 8 minutes, breaking it up, until browned and any liquid has evaporated. Stir in the coriander. Cool completely.
In a large bowl, mix the salt with the warm water. Add the masarepa a little at a time, stirring, until it comes together into a soft, pliable dough. Add the tablespoon of oil and knead briefly. The dough should feel like clay: smooth, not sticky, and hold a shape without cracking. Rest 5 minutes.
Divide the dough into 6 equal balls. Place a ball between two sheets of baking paper (or inside a slit plastic bag) and press flat with the base of a heavy pan, into a disc about 12cm wide and 5mm thick. Repeat with the rest. The edges should be smooth, not cracked; wet fingertips can smooth any splits.
Heat the oil in a deep pot to 165°C (330°F). Fry the arepas one or two at a time for 2 to 3 minutes, spooning oil over the top. As they cook, they will puff up into a small pillow. Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain briefly on kitchen paper. They should be pale yellow, not browned.
With a small sharp knife, cut a small slit along one edge of each arepa (about 3cm wide) to open the pocket. Working over a small bowl, crack one egg into the pocket. Immediately add a heaped teaspoon of the beef mixture. Pinch the opening closed firmly, and press with wet fingers to seal.
Return the oil to 175°C (350°F). Slide the filled arepas back into the oil one at a time, seam-side down first. Fry 3 to 4 minutes total, turning gently once, until deep golden all over. The egg inside cooks as the arepa finishes.
Lift onto kitchen paper. Rest 1 minute (the egg finishes setting in residual heat). Serve immediately with ají picante and lime wedges.
Tips
- Yellow masarepa (masarepa amarilla), not white. Yellow pre-cooked corn flour is what gives Caribbean arepas their colour and slightly sweeter flavour. White masarepa (used for Andean arepas) will not puff the same way and looks pale on the plate.
- Two fries is the whole game. The first fry (lower heat) puffs the pocket without browning it, so you can fill without the outside cracking. The second fry (higher heat) crisps the outside and cooks the egg. Skipping the two-stage approach gives you an arepa that either doesn't puff or burns before the egg is cooked.
- Work fast at the filling stage. The arepa deflates a little as it cools; the sooner you get the egg in and the pocket sealed, the better the shape. Have a small bowl for cracking the eggs individually so you can spot a bad one before it goes in.
- Seal with wet fingers. A tiny amount of water on your fingertip smooths over the pinched seam and prevents the egg from leaking out during the second fry. A leaking arepa turns into a mess.
- Eat immediately. The magic is the runny-to-set egg inside a crisp shell. Ten minutes on a plate and the shell softens and the egg carries on cooking to hard. Straight from the pan is non-negotiable.
More recipes
View all
Fresh sweet corn ground into a soft paste, formed into thick discs and cooked on a griddle until deep golden. Split open, buttered and stuffed with white cheese.
Bijao-leaf-wrapped parcels of yellow corn masa, pork, chicken, chorizo, chickpea, potato, egg and hogao, steamed for hours over an open pot. Paisa Sunday breakfast at its most generous.
Pork belly slow-cooked in its own fat until the meat is tender and the skin has puffed to a crackling. The centrepiece of the Paisa bandeja and Medellín's proudest export.
A hot broth of milk and water with poached eggs, chopped spring onion and coriander, poured over torn bread. Bogotá's Muisca-inherited breakfast (and hangover cure).
Yellow corn dough wrapped around a filling of shredded chicken, potato and hogao, deep-fried until deep gold and crackly. Colombia's small crunchy street empanada.
Green plantain boiled and mashed with butter, hogao and crumbled cheese, topped with a fried egg. Santa Marta's Caribbean breakfast, cheap, filling and ancient.