Adventures in Arepas...brand name counts.

I love arepas. Many of my friends and family ask me, "What are arepas?" I usually respond with, "Really? You don't know what an arepa is?" It is just that they are so delicious, I can't believe people don't know what they are. An arepa, made popular in Colombia (it is possible I learned about these from my freshmen year college roommate who was from Colombia, so I can't blame my friends who don't know about them), is a patty of fried or cooked corn flour. In Colombia they usually use yellow corn flour (Areparina) and in Venezuela they usually use white (Harina PAN).

In New York, you might know arepas from the street fairs where they usually have yellow arepas with cheese. I have never eaten them because of the cheese and butter I know are mixed in. But, in New York, you can also get the most amazingly delicious arepa I have ever had at a Venezuelan restaurant in the East Village called Caracas. I found this restaurant while seeking out food with my vegan, gluten free friend. We were in a gluten free bakery, hungry for non-bakery food and the woman who worked there recommended this place. It has become an absolute favorite. They stuff their arepas with all kinds of things. And they will substitute tofu at no extra charge. My favorite is the one stuffed with sweet plantains, tofu and avocado. I also like the one stuffed with tofu and guacamole. Here is an arepa from Caracas although the lighting is a little dark:

They use the white corn flour at Caracas and this one has the tofu, plantains and avocado. Delicious. So I thought I would try my hand at making my own arepas. After some online research I found that it actually looked pretty easy. Make a dough from the corn flour, water, and salt. Then fry it in a pan. So I did just that. Here is where my experiment went wrong....not a disaster, just not quite right. On every website it was recommended to get the brand name corn flour Harina P.A.N. I could not find this so I used regular yellow corn flour. The arepa came out OK but I think the flour does make a different. It just was not a light and fluffy as those in the restaurant (granted, it could also be my technique as I am not one of the Venezuelans who work in the restaurant and make these every single day). 

Now, I knew they would be different because I used yellow flour instead of white, that was expected. But they did come out more coarse and crispy than those Colombian style ones I have had in the past. Again, it wasn't horrible, just not quite right. I made some beans (sauteed them with onion, garlic, and a little cayenne pepper), put in avocado slices, and squirted some lime on top. Not too bad. 

I tried one more time but I was using the same flour. I made them more like a patty which is how I usually eat the Colombian ones. And I put a TON of beans and guacamole on top. It was yummy but still not quite right. 

So if anyone sees Harina P.A.N. or Areparina in a store, let me know! Everything I read said that, in this case, brand name counts.