EAT IN ASIA / Food destinations / Other food destinations / Central america - central american food / Guatemala - guatemalan food
Enjoy an Easter brunch in Guatemala
Spending Easter time in Guatemala is something really unique. That is an unforgettable experience that will stay in your memory for many years. It is completely different from all events and rituals in other Central and North American Spanish speaking countries like for example in Mexico or Costa Rica.
Local customs, local celebrations, wonderful food and perfect weather. Add to that lovely people, this special atmosphere that is a combination of spirituality, traditionality and modernity. Apart from that cheerful people spending their best time with their relatives, friends and gathering all together in many places.
Actually the Easter time is not just a day or two. Celebrations take place during the whole Semana Santa – Holy Week. Parties, street stalls with special food and many events take place during that time. Main streets in many villages and cities are covered with flower carpets and full of local sellers. Stalls and local vendors selling their products like toys, clothes, food, electronic gadgets and many more appear are all around. Food stalls dominate with sweets, candies, local alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, grilled dishes, tostadas and quick snacks.
This Holy Week is a special time for all Guatemalans. For vendors, restaurants, owners of hostels and guesthouses this time is the best time for their incomes. The amount of money they can earn during the Semana Santa exceeds multiple times what they get every day. People are crazy during that week. That is the best time of the year and everybody is enjoying it. Apart from businesses, Guatemalans celebrate these days in a special way. They save money for that exact week and try to enjoy it the most they can. That is the time when they can try something new, spend their time in a pleasant way, many times in a way they could not afford to do daily due to high costs comparing to their earnings. That is the moment when you can observe people that are really happy and that can, at least once a year, have a better life and try something unreachable for them on a daily basis.
What to eat during the Semana Santa in Guatemala?
Streets are full of food and drinks. Candies, snacks, nuts and tostadas dominate.
Candies and sweets
That is something that is sold on almost all streets. Stalls with small, colorful candies, jellies, lollipops and pastries are the one that crowded and surrounded not only by children but also by adults. Guatemalans love sweets in any form. No matter whether that are sweet drinks, cakes, candies or sweetened fruits, as long as they do contain sugar, they are great for them.
One of the favorite desserts are deep fried platans served with cream and sugar. They are prepared just in time and served warm or hot. Platans are slightly garnished with fresh cream and sprinkled with white sugar.
Local snacks and quick bites
Apart from sweets, in villages and towns appear stalls selling Guatemalan fast food like shucos, dobladas, elotes, grilled meat and deep fried stuffed platans.
All of them are either prepared at home or just on the stall. They are fresh and very natural as are all home-made products.
Grilled meat
Grilled meat is served with tortillas, some guacamole, red beans and sometimes with some pickles. Chicken, pork and beef parts are fried on charcoal. Different parts of the meat are available, however dominate chicken leg, chicken quarter and some kind of beef or pork steaks – mainly lomito. Apart from that, local sausages like chorizo are very popular. Meats are seasoned moderately. They are slightly spicy or just mild. However, thy are rarely excessively hot and full of chili.
Dobladas
Dobladas are fried savory pastries that are served on small plates or trays. They have an empanada shape and are stuffed either with potatoes or with meat. Sometimes, the filling might include some vegetables mixed with meat or with a red bean paste.
The serving usually consists of two of them and is garnished with a regular ingredients’ list. So it will most probably be topped with some guacamole, home-made tomato salsa and finally sprinkled with some dried cheese, white onion rings and with parsley.
Shucos
Shucos are more or less hot-dogs. Actually, that is not exactly that, but local people call them in this way. Although there are some similarities between shukos and regular hot-dogs, there are huge differences between two of them too. First of all shukos are filled with guacamole, what is hardly added to a traditional hot-dog. For me, the only common thing between two of them is the pan and sauces like ketchup, mayonnaise or mustard.
Guatemalan shukos are, apart from that guacamole, stuffed with some kind of meat – it does not have to be a sausage, with onion and cabbage. Sometimes a red beans’ paste is added too. The meat in shukos is commonly topped with a homemade tomato salsa or with some mayonnaise and ketchup. Apart from that, it can be sprinkled with a little bit of a dried cheese and topped with parsley.
Guatemalan Elote dulce and elote asado
Elotes are corn ears prepared in two ways. Either they are boiled, or they are grilled. These boiled one are called elotes dulces, while these grilled on charcoal are elotes asados.
The first one, elote dulce is a general term for the corn type. That can either be a regular yellow corn, or a white one. There is a slight difference in the taste between two of them. Yellow corn not only has bigger grains, but also has a more delicate taste. Is more aromatic and crunchy. The white one is more bland comparing to the yellow corn, has smaller grains and less sweet.
No matter which corn it is, it is served with different sauces and salsas. Boiled corns are enrolled in mayonnaise, garnished with some ketchup, mustard and optionally with a salsa picanta – a spicy green chili salsa.
Finally, it is sprinkled with some hard, grated cheese that adds an additional, characteristic flavor.
Read more about Guatemalan Elote dulce and elote asado in the post Elote dulce vs elote asado - boiled vs grilled sweet corn
Rellenitos
Rellenitos are deep fried small buns-like platan snacks. Rellenitos in Guatemala are stuffed with fried red beans mixed with sugar and cinnamon. That is a very common sweet snack that is mainly sold from trolleys or baskets. Usually the portion of rellenitos consists of two of them and is heartly sprinkled with white sugar. Optionally, they can be topped with cream.
Tostadas
You cannot miss them! So crunchy! So delicious! And with so many typical for Guatemala toppings! Guacamole, red beans, radish, beetroots, chicken, pork, meat pasta or with a Chinese style noodles. All of them are super delicious! Each tostada is served with some toppings like freshly chopped parsley, onion rings, some dried cheese and homemade tomato salsa. Given all above, it is not a surprise that tostadas are so loved not only by Guatemalans but also by many tourists.
As you can see, Semana Santa is a real fiesta not only from the religious point of view, but also from a social and culinary perspective. It is time for gathering with people, for partying and for enjoying life. That is also time for friends, relatives and for the closest family. Time for having the best of the life and for feeling as in another magical world.
Author: Beti – A passionate traveler and lover of Asian cuisine, especially Thai and Japanese dishes, Bernadeta brings her culinary and cultural experiences to life in her writing. Beyond her travels, she’s an avid technology enthusiast with a deep interest in data processing, merging her love for exploration with analytical insights.
Photographer: Adalbert – An aficionado of computers and photography, Adalbert captures the essence of diverse cuisines with a discerning eye. A connoisseur of rich flavors and particularly fond of meat-based dishes, he combines his technical skills with his passion for the culinary arts in every shot.
EAT IN ASIA / Food destinations / Other food destinations / Central america - central american food / Guatemala - guatemalan food
