La Pupusa: Fighting its way in tough markets

Pupusas: A favorite comfort food of El Salvadorians

Americans have the hamburger. Mexicans have the taco. But for El Salvadorians, the unofficial comfort food of choice is the pupusa. (Foto JOHANNA COYNE: Maria Elena Cristales, who owns El Salvador Restaurant and Pupuseria with husband Ricardo, makes pupusas by hand at 481 West Visalia Road in Farmersville.

The Central American favorite resembles a "gordita," or flatbread, and is stuffed with cheese, beans, chicken or other fillings. In Tulare County, fans get their pupusa fix at the El Salvador Restaurant and Pupuseria in Farmersville, operated by Ricardo Cristales and his wife, Maria Elena Cristales, both natives of El Salvador, for 11 years.

Ricardo Cristales said they started the restaurant at the urging of friends and family members who'd spent weekends having meals at the couple's home. Maria Elena Cristales, who was born in El Salvador's capital city of San Salvador, said the restaurant was needed in an area dominated by Mexican and American eateries.

"This is a way for people to know about our culture and our food," she said in Spanish.
A little history

The pupusa was a mainstay in El Salvador for thousands of years before the Spanish conquest. The Pipil tribe made pupusas, derived from the Pipil-Nahuatl word "pupushahua," during religious ceremonies, Ricardo Cristales said.

"It wasn't something the people ate every day," he said in Spanish. "It was considered a meal of the gods. It was a special kind of food."

Sometimes it was filled with chicharron and loroco, a green flower bud native to El Salvador.

Throughout the millennia the pupusa surged in popularity, eventually becoming the signature dish of El Salvador. November 13 is designated as National Pupusa Day.

While each cook has his or her own personal touch, a standard pupusa is usually palm-sized, about 4-5 inches in diameter. It's traditionally served with curtido — a side dish of sliced cabbage, carrots doused in vinegar with a hint of lemon. A tomato-based sauce also is served.
Pupusas to go

During the El Salvador's civil war in the 1980s, immigrants brought the pupusa north. Among them were the Cristales, who arrived in San Francisco in 1979 and lived in the Bay Area four years before coming to the Central Valley.

Starting up a family business featuring El Salvadorian cuisine was a challenge, Ricardo Cristales said.

"Business was slow at first," he said. "It was a lot of work to do so in a region filled with Americans, Mexicans and other cultures."

Little by little, he said, customers started coming around, sampling the pupusa and other El Salvadorian dishes.

"Over the 11 years, people have accepted it very well," he said. "For Anglos, it was like trying something new. The Mexicans here like it too."
One-of-a-kind taste

Don't confuse Mexican food with the El Salvadorian cuisine. Though both are tasty, each has its own distinct flavor, he said.

"Mexican food is generally spicy," he said. "Ours is not spicy at all and it carries a more natural flavor."

That flavor regularly prompts Araceli Romo to drive from Visalia to Farmersville. Romo had her first pupusa four years ago, when she lived with her aunt in Farmersville.

"I got hooked," she said in Spanish.

On a recent afternoon, she came to the restaurant with her husband, Jose Luis Romo, and their two children, Fernanda, 1, and Juan, 4.

"I never had one before," said Jose Luis Romo, who is of Mexican descent. "But I heard it's good."

In her restaurant's kitchen, Maria Elena Cristales makes the pupusa- making process look easy.

After carefully kneading the masa, she quickly forms a ball in the palm of her hand. Then she smashes the masa, making a "pat pat" sound and spinning into a circle in her palm.

Making the perfect pupusa takes a pair of skilled hands and patience.

"It's an art form," Ricardo Cristales said.

The couple receive help in the kitchen from their children, grandchildren and nieces. Jose Luis Cristales said his dream would be to expand the family business and open two more in Visalia and Tulare. Maria Elena Cristales said the economy hasn't affected the business too much, as the restaurant still receives a steady flow of customers, particularly on Sundays.

"God has been good to us, for giving us this place where we could do our job," she said. "As you know, it's not easy to do and it could be stressful, but we don't feel that way. We're doing something we love."

Source visaliatimesdelta.com 17/1/2009

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