Short answer: Salvadoran enchiladas are not the rolled, sauce-covered enchiladas of Mexico. They are flat, crisp-fried corn tortillas, closer to a tostada, piled with seasoned ground beef or refried beans, a layer of tomato sauce, tangy curtido, crumbled hard cheese, and a slice of hard-boiled egg. They are a street and party food in El Salvador, eaten with your hands, and the whole thing rides on the crunch of the tortilla against the cool, sharp curtido on top.
If you order enchiladas in San Salvador expecting a Mexican plate, you will be surprised, and then glad. The Salvadoran version is built up, not wrapped, and every bite is a stack of textures: shattering tortilla, savory meat, bright tomato, pickled cabbage, salty cheese, and egg.
What are Salvadoran enchiladas?
Enchiladas salvadoreñas are flat, fried corn tortillas (a kind of tostada) topped with seasoned ground beef or refried beans, tomato sauce, curtido, crumbled hard cheese, and sliced hard-boiled egg. Unlike Mexican enchiladas, nothing is rolled and there is no chile sauce poured over the top. They are assembled open-faced and eaten right away while the tortilla is still crisp.
Ingredients
- 8 corn tortillas (or masa to make your own)
- Oil for frying
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 onion and 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 teaspoon cumin and salt, for the meat
- 2 tomatoes plus 1/4 onion, blended, for the tomato sauce
- 2 cups curtido (cabbage, carrot, onion, oregano, vinegar)
- 3 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
- Crumbled queso duro or cotija
How to make it
- Make the curtido ahead. Toss shredded cabbage, carrot, and onion with oregano, salt, and vinegar and let it sit at least an hour, ideally a day. It should be cold and sharp.
- Cook the meat. Brown the ground beef with the onion and garlic, season with cumin and salt, and cook until done. Drain any excess fat.
- Make the tomato sauce. Blend the tomatoes and onion and simmer into a light, pourable sauce. Season with salt.
- Fry the tortillas. Fry each tortilla flat in hot oil until crisp and golden. Drain on paper.
- Assemble. On each crisp tortilla, spread meat (or beans), spoon over tomato sauce, pile on curtido, scatter crumbled cheese, and finish with a slice of egg.
- Serve at once. Eat right away, before the tortilla softens.
Tips
- Crisp tortillas are everything. Fry them until they are firm and golden so they hold the toppings without going soggy.
- Make the curtido first. It needs time to pickle. A day ahead is better than an hour.
- Beans or beef. Both are traditional. Use refried beans for a lighter, meatless version, or do half and half.
The curtido on top is the same one that crowns a pupusa; see the curtido recipe. More of the country’s table is in the El Salvador food guide, and the wider region is in the Maya World guide.
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Victoria Cast Iron Comal
The flat tortilla base for these enchiladas is crisped on a hot surface, and a cast iron comal is the traditional one.
KitchenAid Kitchen Tongs
Turning and lifting the crisp tortillas off the heat is cleaner with a sturdy pair of tongs.
Frequently asked questions
What are enchiladas salvadoreñas?
Flat, crisp-fried corn tortillas topped with seasoned ground beef or beans, tomato sauce, curtido, crumbled cheese, and sliced egg. They are a Salvadoran street and party food.
How are they different from Mexican enchiladas?
Mexican enchiladas are soft tortillas rolled around a filling and covered in chile sauce. Salvadoran enchiladas are flat, crisp tortillas built up with toppings, much closer to a tostada.
What is curtido?
A lightly fermented Salvadoran cabbage slaw with carrot, onion, oregano, and vinegar. It is the tangy, crunchy topping on enchiladas and pupusas alike.
What cheese goes on top?
A hard, dry, salty cheese: queso duro in El Salvador, or cotija or a dry feta as a stand-in. It is crumbled over the finished enchilada.
Can I make them vegetarian?
Yes. Use seasoned refried beans in place of the ground beef. The rest of the build, tomato sauce, curtido, cheese, and egg, stays the same.
Where do Salvadoran enchiladas come from?
They are a Salvadoran street and party food, part of the country’s antojitos tradition of crisp fried tortillas piled with toppings. The flat, built-up style is distinct from the rolled Mexican enchilada.
About Isela Post
Isela is a Belizean mother who has been cooking from memory and from markets her whole life. Her recipes carry the food of the Yucatec Maya tradition, the corner store ingredients of daily Belizean life, and the party table of every celebration she has ever fed people at. She writes for the Belize News Post.
