Nuegados Salvadoreños de Yuca (Salvadoran cassava fritters with brown sugar syrup)

Indulge in a sweet Salvadoran treat that only requires 7 ingredients

This recipe is not for those who don’t consume sugar. If that’s you—abort!

Now, if it’s just us—the ones who indulge in something sweet once in a while—let me tell you about this recipe. Nuegados Salvadoreños de yuca or cassava is one of my two favorite Salvadoran desserts (the second is empanadas de plátano). My mom and my tías have made these for as long as I can remember, and they’re best served freshly fried and topped with a brown sugar syrup.

You only need six ingredients, four of which are very common—you probably already have them in your kitchen.

What does cassava taste like?

If you’ve never had yuca, you’re in for a treat. I often compare it to a potato. It’s incredibly versatile—you can make endless dishes, snacks, and sweets with it.

This recipe calls for the yuca to be finely processed so that, when it’s fried, it melts together and creates a texture kind of like... melted cold cheese?

The most common recipe in El Salvador includes Salvadoran hard cheese (queso duro), flour, and eggs. However, growing up, my mom only used two things for nuegados: fresh yuca and salt. I’ve tried versions with the extra ingredients, but I’m not the biggest fan of the cheese flavor—so I stick to the simple recipe my family has always made.

I’m not going to lie to you—the syrup is what makes the nuegado and ties all the flavors together. If you gave me a nuegado by itself, I’d eat it, but I wouldn’t be nearly as excited. So please—don’t skip the syrup if you’re going to try this!

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Ingredients

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• Fresh yuca: It's a root and you should be able to find in your local grocery store. It's normally in the area where you can find your ginger, turmeric and other roots.

• Salt

• 1 Cinnamon sticks

• 1/2 Brown Sugar or Piloncillo/panela: unprocessed cane sugar. This item is normally in the Latin America isle or International isle of your grocery store. If you can't find it at your local store you can find it on amazon as well for the same price.

• 1/2 tbsp Pure Vanilla extract

• Vegetable oil

• 1 cup of water

• Optional: Salvadoran hard cheese

• Optional: 1 egg

• Optional: 1 tsp baking powder

How do I make nuegados Salvadoreños de yuca, G?

First thing is first! Make the syrup, that way when your nuegados are done frying you can serve them fresh.

Kitchen tools:

• Blender or food processor

• Knife

• Cutting board

• Small sauce pan

• Small-medium frying pan

Syrup:

1. Place a small pot on medium heat

2. Carefully break your piloncillo into small pieces. The smaller the better so that it melts fast, otherwise it will take a bit longer to get it melted down.

3. Pour in a cup of water, half of the piloncillo, 1 cinnamon stick and 1/2 tbsp of vanilla into the hot sauce pan

4. Stir it everything until the piloncillo fully melts and the consistency desired. I like it to be similar to maple syrup consistency.

5. Once done set aside to cool

Nuegados:

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1. Cut your yuca root into small pieces and peel. The piece pictured above made 10 nuegados.

2. Once peeled cut into half inch small pieces so it's easier for your processor or blender to grind down.

3. Process the yuca and add a pinch of salt. The consistency should be similar to the picture show on the right. If you want to add cheese, or baking powder, add them before processing.

4. Once the yuca is processed, place some Saran Wrap down on a cutting board and start shaping the mix into round patties. Place the patties on the Saran Wrap so that they don't stick.

5. Grab your frying pan and pour in vegetable oil and set it on medium heat. It has to be enough, to cover the patties half way.

6. Once oil is hot, place the patties. You will fry them for three minutes on each side or until golden brown. Once done set them on a rack to slightly cool for about 2 mins.

How do I eat nuegados?

You can eat nuegados in a couple of different ways. My favorite option is to dip the nuegado in the syrup... probably the most dangerous one. Second option is to pour the desired syrup amount on top. Another common way you may find at some Salvadoran restaurants is the nuegado drowned in the syrup (Chilate). That is probably my least favorite because the nuegado gets a bit soggy and the crunch is gone. Try all three and see which one you like best. If you try them make sure to post a photo on IG or Ticktock and tags me: @flourishwithg, and follow me on either platform for more recipes!