Arepa de Huevo from Colombia (gluten-free)

Guys, you won’t believe how proud I am for introducing  arepa de huevo to you. Finally. Think a fried corn flatbread that is filled with egg. Essentially it has only three ingredients: corn flour, egg, and oil (you can count water and salt as additional ingredients if you wish). It may sound simple, but boy, did I have difficulties making this snack. The first time I was fortunate enough of eating them was directly at the coast in Cartagena, Colombia. Arepa de huevo is famous in Cartagena and enjoyed throughout the country.  I will never forget when I ate arepa de huevo at a street stall in Cartagena. This women seemed to touch the oil with her bare hands. She didn’t seem to get burned. It all looked so effortless, she was at ease and was frying arepas by the second. They are super crunchy at the outside and this egg in the middle, yum. Below you will see a picture of me in Cartagena enjoying the food.

Me nine years ago happily eating all the food offered, arepa de huevo in the green box

I was so naive. When we returned back to Germany, I thought it would be simple to make arepa de huevo. But boy was I wrong. Either I got my fingers burned, the egg wouldn’t slide inside, somehow would manage to get out, would slip out during the frying process, it definitely was a pain. Believe you me, I had to try many, many times before I finally got it right. How did this woman make it look so easy? This was an art I needed to master. I also watched my mother-in-law whwn she made them, I tried myself again. And finally feel comfortable enough of sharing the recipe here. So that you get it right the first time. 

Left: the arepa puffs up, this is what we want; middle: fingers crossed the egg will enter; right: a ladle will help to first fry the area with the egg

Tips for perfect arepas de huevo

• The dough shouldn’t be sticky, you may have to add more water or work it a bit longer
• Let the dough rest for at least five minutes so that the pre-cooked flour can absorb all the water
• Use small eggs (size S or M)
• Be sure that your container has a beak so that the egg can slide inside better
• The temperature of the oil is important, it should have medium temperature, not too hot, but also not too cold
• To test the temperature, place a small ball inside, it should float within five seconds
• When you fry the arepas for the first time, be sure that they puff up, this is only possible with the right oil temperature
• Fry all of your arepas once so that they cool a little before you slith them open (I have burned myself doing that)
• When you fry them for a second time, be sure to use a ladle, this why you can manage better which parts should be fried first
• Just as with cooked eggs, you can try to make a runny yolk or have it cook through

Print Recipe

Arepa de Huevo from Colombia

Serves: 3 arepas

Prep Time: 15min – Cooking Time: 20min – Total Time: 35min

Arepa de huevo is a deep-fried corn flatbread that is filled with an egg from Colombia.

Ingredients

• 120 grams of pre-cooked yellow corn flour (I like to use the one from the brand PAN)
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• I used 1 teaspoon of "color" or annatto powder as I only had white corn flour
• 120-150 grams of water
• 3 very small eggs
• Neutral oil for frying (I had sunflower oil)

Instructions

1

Please read the tips above and check out this short video before you start. Combine corn flour, salt, and water in a bowl and knead into an elastic dough that does not stick. You may need to add a bit more water if it is too dry. Let rest covered for five minutes. Then roll into three balls. Press down each ball between parchment paper/a plastic bag or baking mat using a large wooden board. The circles should be about 12 cm in diameter.

2

Fry oil in a deep frying pan or a wider pot on medium heat. If you take a very small ball of dough and it floats in 5 seconds, you oil has the right temperature. Now place one arepa inside the oil, it should puff up within 30 seconds, fry on both sides for about a minute. Fry all arepas once and let them drain on paper towels. Let them cool, then slith an opening of about 3-4cm on one side, this will serve as the entrance for the egg. Let the egg slip inside. Using a ladle, carefully place the filled arepa back in the oil. Try to push the part down that contains the egg, after about 30 seconds you can take the ladle away and fry the arepa a second time from both sides for about 2-3 minutes each. If the egg white appears to be white and the egg yolk not runny anymore, the arepa is done. Serve warm. At the coast arepa de huevo is served with "suero costeño", which is a white dip similar to sour cream, which is seasoned with salt and lime juice.