Destination
Antigua
The story
Picositas are Guatemala's small, cheap, spicy street snacks: shredded raw cabbage tossed with sliced hot dog sausage, a tangy chirmol-style pickled sauce, a squeeze of lime and a dusting of salt and chilli. Traditionally served in a small clear plastic bag with a plastic fork stuck into the top, sold from carts and street vendors across Antigua, Chichicastenango and Guatemala City. Small enough to be a snack, big enough to be an early lunch. Sharp, crunchy, satisfying.
Method
Toss the shredded cabbage and sliced red onion in a large bowl with the salt and lime juice. Massage briefly with your hands to soften. Let sit 15 minutes; the cabbage will release liquid.
Combine the diced tomato, red onion, chilli, vinegar, oil, salt, sugar, coriander and lime juice in a small bowl. Toss well and let sit 15 minutes so the flavours marry.
Bring a small pot of water to a simmer. Add the sausages and warm through for 3 minutes. Drain and slice into rounds about 1cm thick.
Drain any excess liquid from the salted cabbage. Add the sliced sausage rounds and about three-quarters of the pickled sauce. Toss gently to combine.
Divide between 4 small plastic bags (if going for authenticity) or small cups. Spoon over the remaining sauce. Add an extra lime wedge and a small dish of chilli sauce alongside. Eat immediately with a plastic fork.
Tips
- Salt the cabbage first. Salting and lightly massaging softens the raw cabbage and takes away the aggressive edge. Fifteen minutes is the minimum; 30 minutes is better.
- The pickled sauce needs to rest. Freshly mixed chirmol tastes raw and harsh. 15 to 30 minutes at room temperature lets the vinegar and lime start to cure the vegetables into a proper pickled note.
- Vienna-style hot dogs are the correct sausage. Guatemalan picositas use small pink pre-cooked frankfurters. Any good pre-cooked hot dog works; smoked or grilled sausages change the character.
- Serve in a plastic bag if you're going all-in. It's genuinely how they're sold in Antigua, and the plastic bag lets the sauce pool at the bottom for the last few bites.
- Eat immediately. The cabbage softens further as it sits, and after an hour it's a wet salad rather than the crisp street snack you started with.
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