International Eats : El Salvador (Part 2)
Like I mentioned in my first post, I took a trip to El Salvador for Christmas to visit my fiance's family and ring in the New Year. We visited a couple scenic mountaintops, but we also went to a couple beaches for some fresh seafood. A country bordering the Pacific Ocean is bound to have delicious seafood, right?
We took two different day trips to visit the beaches at La Libertad and the Costa del Sol, with La Libertad being the closest to town and the first stop. For years, my fiance has been telling me that the coctel de conchas was a must-have when visiting the beaches in El Salvador. Christmas is usually celebrated late into the night on the 24th of December, and then the 25th is typically spent relaxing on a beach, enjoying a coctel de conchas or two. I knew that this would be the first thing to order once we got to the beach!
The first thing I learned about this dish is that the conchas - the conch - that is used for this Salvadorean style ceviche are not what I usually think of when imagining conch. Instead, the shellfish used for this dish is small (about 2" long), with a black shell and dark juices - this is what gives the dish its distinctive dark color. The shellfish is sliced and served in it's own juices, with tomato, onion, cilantro, lime, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce on the side. You are then able to mix in as much of the additions as you like to achieve a flavor that is personalized to you.
The dish tasted pretty similar to other ceviches that I have had before: there was a bright acidity from the fresh lime that helped tenderize the conchas and remove the bite from the raw onion. I chose to add a couple splashes of Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce too, which made the flavor a little more savory and earthy, with just a touch of spice.
For the main course while we were at La Libertad, I decided to order the camarrones al ajillo, otherwise known as garlic shrimp.
The flavor of the shrimp was excellent, with a nice strong garlic aroma. The light sauce that the shrimp was served in was flavorful as well, although a couple shrimp on my plate were overcooked. A little disappointing, but certainly not the worst shrimp dish I've been served.
While I chose to order the lightly sauteed shrimp with a side salad, my fiance decided to go all-in and order the giant bowl of mariscada, which is a creamy seafood soup.
This massive bowl of soup is seafood stock-based, and laden with fresh seafood. There were at least two crabs in the soup, two langoustine, multiple shrimp, and calamari. If you're a fisherman trying to catch shellfish at this beach, there's probably nothing left in the ocean after this restaurant finishes for the day!
Speaking of fisherman, La Libertad has a large pier that houses all the local fish stalls where you can go and pick up fresh seafood. We took a stroll through the market after our meal to see what the local fishermen had to offer.
There was quite a variety of fresh fish and shellfish to choose from in the market and although we weren't looking to purchase anything, one gentleman was proud to show off his daily catch:
On our way out, I learned that salted dry fish, similar to the Spanish bacalhau, is created right on the beach! I am not sure what type of fish is seen here, but the fish are filleted, gutted, and dusted with salt, then laid out on the rocky beach to dry in the sun.
Dried fish like this could be seen on small tarps all the way down the beach, no doubt to delineate which product belongs to which merchant.
On our final full day in El Salvador, we drove out to the Costa del Sol for some relaxation in the sun. Unfortunately our lunch was extremely overcooked (chicken, steak, everything was bad) so I won't spend any time describing that terrible food. What we did enjoy was walking through the beach-front food stalls that sold everything from more coctel de conchas to carne asada to coconuts.
As an afternoon treat, we each enjoyed a fresh bowl of minuta with our choice of toppings. Minuta is very similar to a sno-cone with two to three different flavored syrups, and it is commonly topped with fresh fruit. This bowl includes pineapple and grape syrup with a drizzle of sweetened condensed milk, and fresh banana and watermelon.
Although it sounds odd, the addition of the sweetened condensed milk takes this simple snack/dessert to a whole new level! The flavored syrups are sweet enough as it is, but the milk adds the perfect level of creaminess to the bowl and as everything starts to melt, the condensed milk mixes with the melted ice and creates a spoonful of sweet syrupy goodness. I personally decided to go without the fresh fruit, but there really are no bad choices here!
I hope you've gotten at least a little taste of what Salvadorean food is like through these posts, and I wish I could write about more! The food that the country is most known for is the pupusa, and unfortunately I ate them all too quickly to get photos for a post. I guess that means I have to plan a return trip sometime soon! Please leave any questions or curiosities in the comments!
The first thing I learned about this dish is that the conchas - the conch - that is used for this Salvadorean style ceviche are not what I usually think of when imagining conch. Instead, the shellfish used for this dish is small (about 2" long), with a black shell and dark juices - this is what gives the dish its distinctive dark color. The shellfish is sliced and served in it's own juices, with tomato, onion, cilantro, lime, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce on the side. You are then able to mix in as much of the additions as you like to achieve a flavor that is personalized to you.
The dish tasted pretty similar to other ceviches that I have had before: there was a bright acidity from the fresh lime that helped tenderize the conchas and remove the bite from the raw onion. I chose to add a couple splashes of Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce too, which made the flavor a little more savory and earthy, with just a touch of spice.
For the main course while we were at La Libertad, I decided to order the camarrones al ajillo, otherwise known as garlic shrimp.
The flavor of the shrimp was excellent, with a nice strong garlic aroma. The light sauce that the shrimp was served in was flavorful as well, although a couple shrimp on my plate were overcooked. A little disappointing, but certainly not the worst shrimp dish I've been served.
While I chose to order the lightly sauteed shrimp with a side salad, my fiance decided to go all-in and order the giant bowl of mariscada, which is a creamy seafood soup.
This massive bowl of soup is seafood stock-based, and laden with fresh seafood. There were at least two crabs in the soup, two langoustine, multiple shrimp, and calamari. If you're a fisherman trying to catch shellfish at this beach, there's probably nothing left in the ocean after this restaurant finishes for the day!
Speaking of fisherman, La Libertad has a large pier that houses all the local fish stalls where you can go and pick up fresh seafood. We took a stroll through the market after our meal to see what the local fishermen had to offer.
There was quite a variety of fresh fish and shellfish to choose from in the market and although we weren't looking to purchase anything, one gentleman was proud to show off his daily catch:
On our way out, I learned that salted dry fish, similar to the Spanish bacalhau, is created right on the beach! I am not sure what type of fish is seen here, but the fish are filleted, gutted, and dusted with salt, then laid out on the rocky beach to dry in the sun.
Dried fish like this could be seen on small tarps all the way down the beach, no doubt to delineate which product belongs to which merchant.
On our final full day in El Salvador, we drove out to the Costa del Sol for some relaxation in the sun. Unfortunately our lunch was extremely overcooked (chicken, steak, everything was bad) so I won't spend any time describing that terrible food. What we did enjoy was walking through the beach-front food stalls that sold everything from more coctel de conchas to carne asada to coconuts.
As an afternoon treat, we each enjoyed a fresh bowl of minuta with our choice of toppings. Minuta is very similar to a sno-cone with two to three different flavored syrups, and it is commonly topped with fresh fruit. This bowl includes pineapple and grape syrup with a drizzle of sweetened condensed milk, and fresh banana and watermelon.
Although it sounds odd, the addition of the sweetened condensed milk takes this simple snack/dessert to a whole new level! The flavored syrups are sweet enough as it is, but the milk adds the perfect level of creaminess to the bowl and as everything starts to melt, the condensed milk mixes with the melted ice and creates a spoonful of sweet syrupy goodness. I personally decided to go without the fresh fruit, but there really are no bad choices here!
I hope you've gotten at least a little taste of what Salvadorean food is like through these posts, and I wish I could write about more! The food that the country is most known for is the pupusa, and unfortunately I ate them all too quickly to get photos for a post. I guess that means I have to plan a return trip sometime soon! Please leave any questions or curiosities in the comments!
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