The sad part is, i only thought of updating this cuz it's easter weekend and my 6 day long weekend is starting to feel like forever (hmm... im gonna regret i said that). But anyhoo, things are still the same... still trying to pass my classes, and still counting down the years till i finish school.
It's been...what, 7 years since i left Paraguay? and people still ask me if i miss it there. Hmmm... that's a hard question. Afterall, it is a 3rd world country... so dont expect me to go crazy and go on-and-on about how it's the best place in the world (i'm being honest here). But it's not as bad as people think it is. You really have to live there to understand. Even now when i ask my mom whether she prefers Taiwan or Paraguay... she'd always reply Paraguay. I miss a lot of things about Paraguay... the slow-paced lifestyle, friends and family, close-knit communities, big houses...etc. But most importantly, i miss the FOOD!
I think the only thing that would make me wanna fly back right NOW is ASADO! Bascially it's just a barbeque... with magical powers. hahahaha, no but seriously, no barbeque I have ever tasted has been as good as the ones in Paraguay.
If you ever decide to visit paraguay... I say, you can skip all the sightseeing... one meal of Paraguayan asado will make your trip worthwhile...SERIOUSLY!
Since I don't have a huge ass grill or access to super-duper-incredibly good Paraguayan meat, the next thing i could think about making were Empanadas. What are Empanadas? 簡單的說, it's a big, fried (or baked) 水餃. Empanadas aren't really from Paraguay... you see them in tons of spanish-influenced/latin american countries. They come in many different flavors... but my favorite were the beef, corn, and ham+cheese.I went to PP on thursday to stock up my fridge since everything would be closed during Easter. That place was packed! I was lucky to have found some ground beef lying around. So okay, like a normal 水餃, you have to make the dough + filling. Here you go:
Empanada Dough:
INGREDIENTS
- 2 C Flour
- 1/3 C Lard
- 2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- Salt
- Warm Water
DIRECTIONS
- Mix together the Flour + Salt + Baking Powder.
- Cut in the Lard and pinch it with your fingers until it resembles coarse crumbs (like making a pie).
- Add in warm water until it the dough comes together.
- Knead until it forms a smooth ball.
- Cut the dough into 12 pieces.
- Roll the individual pieces out and cut into 12cm circles.
- Make more with leftover dough.
Empanada de Carne (beef) Filling:
INGREDIENTS
- 0.5 kg Ground Beef
- 1 Onion
- 1 Green bell peper
- 2 cloves of Garlic
- Parsley
- Cumin
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- 2-3 Hard boiled Eggs
DIRECTIONS
- Cook meat with onions, green pepper, garlic.
- Add Parsley + Cumin (i use a lot of both...especially Cumin!)
- Season with Salt + Pepper.
- When done, chop the eggs up and gently mix it into the meat.
- Spoon the meat mixture onto the dough and fold it up.
- Deep fry until golden brown / bake them. (when baking, brush the top with eggs.)
Cumin & Parsley
Meat filling
Empanadas de Carne
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