Comida Costeña

The typical dish in Cartagena of fried fish, *patacones* (plantain), *arroz de coco* (coconut rice), and *ensalada de aguacate* (avocado salad)

Gastronomy is an extremely important part of culture and when I moved to Cartagena, I was thrilled about all the tropical fruits, seafood, and traditional foods I would get to eat there. When I first started teaching at the university a few of my students were super sweet and wrote me an entire list of foods, drinks, and sweets that they recommended I try in Cartagena, describing some and leaving others to be a surprise. With that I set out on a culinary journey of trying new foods at every opportunity I got, and each week my students were eager to hear about my experiences. After nearly a year trying a ton of dishes there, my totally biased opinion is that the food on the Caribbean Coast of Colombia is some of the best in the country. It’s truly unique because of the Indigenous, African, Spanish and Arab influences that come together to make a cuisine that is unlike that of any other region in Colombia. Today I’m going to share with you a few of the characteristic dishes of this region. I hope you enjoy, that I don’t make you too hungry, and that you’ll have the opportunity to give some of these foods a try one day!

Condiments/ingredients

Suero: THE condiment of the coast. A tangy, sour cream like sauce that people put on/eat with everything (rice, stews, eggs, tajadas, and much more).

Queso costeño: The regional cheese of the coast. It is a porous white cheese that comes in many forms; firm, soft, salty, less salty, and it is extraordinary in that it doesn’t melt- in fact people often sell artisanal queso costeño unrefrigerated from stands in the street (in the heat mind you!). You refrigerate it when you take it home though, and you wash it before you eat it. This cheese is mind-boggling, unique, and delicious. People will grate it to use in arepas de queso, or might sprinkle it over eggs or rice, or fry slices of it to eat with bread and many other foods.

*Queso costeño* on top of *huevos rancheros Colombianos*

Panela: Raw brown sugar that comes in a block or round. If a recipe calls for sugar this is what is used in most foods, drinks, and sweets on the Caribbean Coast.

Breakfasts/snacks

Dedito de queso: One of my all-time favorite snacks. A long, skinny piece of fried or baked dough with salty cheese in the middle. I would always buy these from the university cafeteria for my breakfast or for a snack in between classes.

In the university a lot of students sell things, and one time a man interrupted one of my tutoring sessions announcing that he was selling deditos. It was super comical how he just randomly walked in and interrupted my class AND how my students completely dropped the lesson to go check out the deditos, so I let it slide. I figured they deserved a break anyway. I went ahead and bought a dedito too and I was pleasantly suprised that it was one of the best I ever ate.

Fritos: Fried snacks that come in many different presentations and are very commonly eaten on the Caribbean Coast for breakfast with a cup of juice, or as a snack. Arepa de huevo falls under this category, as well as empanadas, carimañolas, papa rellena, buñuelos, patacones, quibbes and more. Fritos are usually sold from stands in the street, and sometimes fried-to-order right in front of you. A lot of stands will offer you a plastic chair to sit in as they prepare your frito, and when it's ready most people usually eat them right in front of the stand, spooning on the different salsas that they have available as you eat (suero, spicy suero, green salsa and more).

Arepa de huevo: This is THE characteristic frito de la costa. It's a deep fried, yellow corn arepa stuffed with an egg. My favorite arepa de huevo is called la trifásica and it has the egg, along with ground beef, and chicharron inside. I would always add green salsa too, and uufff it was riquísimo. Aprea de huevo also sometimes features the addition of shredded chicken. My favorite arepas trifásicas were from a stand in el Centro Histórico near el Éxito close to la Muralla (the wall) , and like I mentioned in my Parque Tayrona blog post, the best white corn arepa de huevo I ever ate was in Santa Marta.

Peto: A warm drink kind of like oatmeal, but made of white corn, milk, cinnamon, and panela. Peto is sold in the afternoons and evenings by vendors who go through the neighborhood pushing carts with huge pots of it, honking a horn and calling out “Peto! Peto!”.

Lunches/Dinners

Arroces de coco: Arroz de coco frito is the signature rice of the Caribbean coast that is made with a coconut milk and panela reduction which gives it a warm brown color and sweet, coconut-y flavor. This type of rice is often served alongside fried fish, a combination that screams Cartagena. Arroz con coco titoté is a variation of the rice that also features the addition of uvas pasas (raisins). Arroz de coco normal is rice boiled in coconut milk rather than a reduction, so it is easier to make, is white in color and has a milder taste than arroz de coco frito. There is a variation of this rice that also contains beans, arroz con coco y frijoles, that is less common to find in restaurants, but people make it at home (I first tried this at my tutor’s house!), and it is soooo delicious.

*Arroz de coco frito con mojarra frita, patacones, y ensalada; un plato típico en Cartagena*

Bollo: A food that comes in many presentations; bollo limpio, made of white corn, de coco, coconut, de mazorca, yellow corn, de plátano, plantain, de yuca, yucca and is basically a steamed dumpling wrapped in a corn leaf. These are often sold in the afternoon by neighborhood street vendors, and they’re cut up and eaten as a side with eggs, chicharron, asados (grilled meats) and much more.

*Bollo* served alongside *chicharrones y chorizo*

Plátanos (plantains) on the coast are eaten both when they are verde (green and mild in flavor) and when they are maduro (yellow and sweet) and they are prepared in many different ways.

Patacones: flattened, twice-fried slices of green plantain often eaten as a side dish.

Tajadas: fried slices of yellow or green plantain, often eaten as a side or with suero.
Plátano en tentación: boiled plantain cooked in Kola Román, so it's sweet and bright pink!

Pescado frito, fried fish del rio (freshwater) or del mar (saltwater) is super common due to the proximity of the ocean. Cartagena specifically has some of the best seafood in the country, and there are many restaurants where the fish is fresh-caught and served the same day, as well as many neighborhood vendors who sell the catch of the day.

Mojarra: There is mojarra roja (red) and mojarra negra (black), and it's usually served whole. I like mojarra roja fried because of the golden color the fish takes on, and I like mojarra negra en zumo de coco, when it is cooked in a coconut and vegetable sauce.
Sierra: This is a very long fish, so it’s cut up rather than served whole, and you’ll usually be served in 2 or 3 sections from the belly. To me, Sierra is leaner and flakier than mojarra, and it’s also delicious fried.

*Sierra frita con patacones, arroz de coco frito y ensalada*

The plato típico in Cartagena is fried fish, usually mojarra negra, with arroz de coco frito, patacones, and ensalada de aguacate. I LOVED this meal and ate it often! There are many other types of fish like corvina, bocachico, pargo rojo that are delicious too and they also are usually served fried.

Mote de queso: A thick, savory, meatless stew made of ñame (yam) and chunks of queso costeño. If you don’t like cheese this is definitely not the dish for you, as the amount of cheese in this soup is truly impressive. It is delicious though, and it's often topped with suero and eaten with arroz and aguacate or banano on the side.

Sancocho: A soup that can be made de pollo (chicken), de pescado (fish), de gallina (hen), de costilla (ribs) and probably other meats too. Along with the meat, the soup contains a broth and vegetables like plantain, potatoes, yucca, yam, pumpkin, corn, cilantro, and spices. People often make a big sancocho to eat at family gatherings or parties and it's prepared in a huge pot. Despite the heat, people love their soups on the Caribbean coast, and I also became a huuuuge fan of soups. Aside from sancocho there are many other soups/broths that are super common like caldo or levanta muerto, “raiser of the dead” soup for recovering from colds or for curing hangovers!

*Lengua en salsa* with potatoes, rice, and fruit salad

Lengua en salsa: Traditional Colombian dish of beef tongue in salsa. Like I mentioned in my Almuerzo Corriente post, Colombia is a home-cooking country, so there are many dishes that are prepared more at home than outside in restaurants, and this is one of them. I got to try lengua at home at my host sister’s birthday party, and I thought the flavor was good, but I didn't like the texture too much. This is one of those foods that people either love or they hate!

Sopa de Mondongo: Traditional Colombian beef tripe (cow intestine) soup. My host mom and her friends made a huge batch of this soup that they cooked over a fire in our neighborhood once, and it was so interesting to watch the process. A lot of work went into cutting up and adding all the different vegetables, spices, mondongo, and pata de vaca (cow feet!). I thought the flavor of the broth was delicious, and I liked the yucca, corn, and other vegetables, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the texture of mondongo itself. We ate this soup with a squeeze of lime and rice on the side.

Comida Rapida

Perro caliente: Hot dogs, but costeño style! These come topped with little potato crisps, cheese, lettuce, ketchup, mayo, pineapple sauce, onions, chunks of meat and more depending on the style of perro that you order. These hot dogs have a ton of toppings and are HUGE, like close to a foot long. Perros calientes are a go-to late-night food, and theres one comida rápida stand in la Plaza de la Trinidad in Getsemaní downtown that makes them really well. There is always a huge crowd waiting as they prepare them and other fast foods like salchipapas, picadas, and hamburguesas.

Melting cheese for la comida rápida

Pincho de Butifarra: These are grilled skewers of sausages called butifarra, that often also come with chunks of beef, chicken, chorizo, bell pepper and potato. These are also a late-night street food that vendors often grill right in front of you once you order it. After grilling you get your choice of salsas; salsa de ajo (garlic), piña (pinapple), salsa picante (hot sauce), salsa de tomate (ketchup). I always went for the combination of salsa de ajo y salsa de tomate!

Drinks

Jugo de corozo: Juice (en agua) made from corozo, a tiny, dark red, circular fruit that is found on the Caribbean Coast of Colombia. The juice is tangy, similar in flavor to cranberry juice. When I think of breakfast in Cartagena, I think of fritos and jugo de corozo.

Costeñita: The signature, minature beers of the coast! These are mild, a little salty and are widely enjoyed on the Caribbean Coast, hence the name Costeñita.

Tinto: This is the piping hot coffee that vendors sell in the street all over Cartagena. You can get tintos from stands or from vendors who walk through the city with thermos containers that contain the black coffee pre-mixed with sugar. The coffee is served to you in a tiny, shot-size plastic cup for as little as 500 COP, and they are super convenient for a morning, midday, or late afternoon pick-me-up. And if thats not enough, there are vendors who sell tintos at night too!

Limonada de coco: The iconic coconut limeade of the coast that is frozen, frothy, creamy, and refreshing. Limodada de coco with a plate of pescado frito screams Cartagena! Curious sidenote: there are no yellow lemons in Cartagena!!! People refer to limes as limones, lemons, and they are used as such.

Agua de panela: A drink that is typically served with almuerzo corriente on the coast that is made of panela, water, and lime. It's served cold on the coast, but in other parts of Colombia it is served warm. Guarapo costeño is another name for agua de panela, but in some cases, it may also refer to a drink with the same ingredients but a slightly different method of preparation. Another curious sidenote: a lot of people and restaurants use little metal cups like the one in the photo above rather than plastic or glass cups in order to help keep drinks colder for longer in the heat!

Kola Román: This is a soda that was invented in Cartagena. It tastes kind of like a cream soda and is bright red in color. People drink it and cook with it to prepare things like plátano en tentación and bolis.

Sweets

Bolis: These are delicious, flavorful, plastic baggie bound popsicles that come in flavors like galleta (cookie), tamarindo (tamarind), aguacate (avacado), corozo, and more. The favorite of many of my students that I tried upon their recommendation is the flavor Kola con Leche. Kola con leche boli is made with Kola Román, the Cartagena based soda, and it is creamy, refreshing, and bright pink!

Bocadillo: A sweet solid block of guava paste made of guava pulp and panela. Bocadillo is sold in small slices wrapped in a dried leaf from the Bijao plant, and its often sliced into smaller pieces and eaten with queso costeño as a treat. This is just one example of the classic sweets plus cheese combination that is super common all over Colombia!

Natilla: This is a solid milk custard that is rich, creamy, and made with panela and other spices. People usually eat natilla at Christmas time, on a holiday called el Día de las Velitas, and my lovely host mom also made me a huge natilla for my despedida (going away party).

Cocadas: These are some of the typical sweets sold by Palenqueras, the women from San Basilio de Palenque who you will see selling sweets and fruits dressed in their signature colorful dresses in el Centro Histórico. Different variations of these sweets exist, but they are generally made of shredded coconut and panela, and they are delicious!

DISCLAIMER: This site (octaviachristopher.com) is not an official Fulbright Program site. The views expressed on this site are entirely those of its author and do not represent the views of the Fulbright Program, the U.S. Department of State or any of its partner organizations.

San Basilio de Palenque

Domicilios