Hope you’re ready to spice up your meals to the taste of the most flavory salsas from Venezuela. And so you know, we’re not talking about that spicy Latin music we adore to dance, no; we’re here to tell you about something Venezuelans cannot live without whenever we go out and order some street food… the most perfect companions: The salsas!
That’s’ right people, at Venezuela we can’t seem to keep our hands off this bottles that contain pure magic. All those well-thought mixes that raise up our food’s taste. It doesn’t matter whether we order: empanadas, perros calientes, hamburguesas, club house, tequeños, bollitos and of course, our beloved arepas; they all match perfectly with every single one of the ricas y deliciosas salsas. It’s like a ritual: you get to the place, order what you like best, wait for it to be served, and automatically you start looking around all the salsa choices until you pick the ones that will add that extra something to the beauty that you’re holding in your hands, and then… comes the big bite! But that’s not all, after we eat every piece that got blesses with those salsas, we make sure to pour them again until we finish eating.
If you’re not used to getting into that kind of mess, you should really give it a try. We promise, you’ll never be more in love with food than with a few flavory salsas around your table. To give you a hint of what you’ve been missing, we’ll tell you about the most popular salsas in Venezuela, and what they’re made off. So hold on tight, because here we go:
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- Guasacaca: This very popular salsa is never missing from the menu; we could call her: the guacamole’s cousin. Is made out of crushed avocado, onion, garlic, cilantro and parsley, green pepper, salt and a splash of vinegar. Esta delicia is used to accompany arepas, meats, chicken, pastelitos, empanadas; it just goes well with everything.
- Mojo: It’s a crushed of different ingredients: cilantro, parsley, cheese, milk. It usually goes better with arepas, meats and almost every Venezuelan typical dish.
- Salsa criolla: Very similar to the Mexican “pico de gallo” because it’s made with tomato, onion and cilantro. Seasoned with oil and salt, but without the spicy chili, that’s what makes the difference.
- Salsa picante: This sauce incorporates sweet and spicy chili peppers, onion, chives, oregano, rosemary, bay leaf, parsley, thyme, vinegar and rum. There is also the version that is marinated all in milk; usually left to marinate in jars made out of glass and then refrigerated.
- Suero de leche: Is prepared from the discarded serum during the cheese preparation. There are three different types: sweet, sour and bitter; it will all depend on the cheese preparation method used. You can intensify its flavor by mixing it with a rico sofrito made with onion, garlic and chilli, plus chopped tomatoes and eggs. After it thickens, this salsa will turn out to be the perfect cover for dishes like cooked potatoes.
- Salsa tártara: Of course we couldn’t forget about the magical tartar sauce. Even though it has the same classic preparation known everywhere, she’s never missing from our table. Mayonnaise, gherkins, capers, parsley, salt, ground black pepper and it may, or may not, have grated hard-boiled egg.
- Salsa de ajo: just like the tartar sauce, this is one rica salsa that has the exact same preparation everywhere is known, but is a MUST in our street food adventures. Garlic, cilantro, mustard, egg, lemon, sweet chili, salt and pepper, and a splash of vegetable or olive oil. And there you have it!
Believe us, the list could keep going with salsas like: corn, cheese, bacon, BBQ … but we cannot wait to get in our truck and start preparing some of this magical salsas and get lost inside the most delicious and unique sabores caribeños. So, if your around Cardiff… come and start salsa with our queen!
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Special thanks to our recipes source: Revista El Conocedor
