Egg Filled Arepas: the ultimate in Colombian street food

These egg filled arepas are the ultimate in Colombian street food, where the dough pockets are filled with a whole egg and then deep-fried in front of you.

Crisp on the outside, and filled with delicious egg, these arepas are better than fried egg sandwiches for messy eaters, because the egg yolk is contained in the dough pocket and can’t drip out onto your clothes!

They’re not the easiest of foods to prepare, as the raw egg must be tipped into the half-cooked dough pocket before placing back in the hot oil, but with a bit of practice you’ll get the hang of it.

Instructions

In a medium bowl, stir together masarepa and 1 tsp. salt. Add 2 ½ cups lukewarm water. Stir until combined.

Let sit for 5 minutes. Using wet hand, knead dough until smooth.

Divide dough into 9 portions. Form dough into 8 small balls, reserving remaining portion of dough to patch up any holes later.

Using a press, or palm of hands, flatten balls to ¼” thickness. You can also roll discs out between two sheets of plastic.

Fill a heavy pot with oil to depth of 1½”. Heat oil until it registers 325˚F on deep-fry thermometer. Add an arepa to the oil. It will sink and then float to the surface. When it floats, use a large spoon to carefully wash hot oil over the top of the arepa. This will help it puff up to put the egg inside. Cook for a couple of minutes, then transfer to paper-towel lined plates to cool off. As you get better at this step, you’ll be able to cook several arepas at a time.

Using a sharp knife, make 2” incision into one side of arepa to form a pocket.

Crack egg into a small jug or something with a spout. Carefully slip egg into pocket while holding the arepa with the split upright – the spout will help the egg go in without mess. Using reserved portion of raw dough, seal together split end.

Heat oil to 350˚Add egg-filled arepas to oil. Cook until light golden brown on all sides, about 5 minutes for soft-set yolks. transfer to paper towel-lined plates to drain. Season with remaining salt.

Tips

It can help if two of you do the egg filling of the arepa – one to hold the pocket open, and one to quickly pour the egg in.

To keep the cornmeal dough moist to stop the arepas cracking during cooking, cover with a clean, damp kitchen towel before frying.