In Central America, curtido is often served with pupusas (corn cakes) and salsa roja. You could also serve curtido with cheese enchiladas, fish tacos, tamales, or any other food you might serve with coleslaw!
Are you familiar with sauerkraut (a German staple) or kimchi (a Korean topping made with fermented cabbage)? I like to think of this Curtido recipe as the South American version of those popular recipes. Curtido is a Salvadoran cabbage slaw or relish that is made with cabbage, red onion, carrot, oregano, and vinegar (you can make spicy curtido by adding jalapeno). It’s supposed to be a lightly fermented dish, meaning the longer you allow it to sit the more the flavors will compound and the more exciting it will taste. That being said, it tastes great as fresh slaw the day you make it as well. You will commonly find Curtido served with a popular Salvadoran dish called, pupusas.
cabbage red onion carrot jalapeno oregano salt vinegar
Rinse cabbage. Place cabbage in a fine mesh strainer. Very slowly pour boiling water over the cabbage. Rinse with cold water. Drain well, pressing out as much water as possible. Combine remaining ingredients. Add cabbage to a large bowl. Add carrot, onion, jalapeno, oregano, and vinegar and toss well to combine. Marinate. Curtido tastes best after it has marinated for several hours or days, but you can enjoy it fresh if you’d like. Store curtido in a covered container or mason jar for up to 1 week in the fridge.
Curtido can be eaten with anything that you might put cabbage on including pupusas, tacos, burritos, enchiladas, bratwurst, soups, sandwiches, and more! Consider things you might eat with sauerkraut or coleslaw and chances are, curtido would be a delicious substitution.
Yes, in fact it’s meant to be made serval days ahead of time and eaten slightly fermented. You can make curtido 1 week ahead of time. It should be stored in the refrigerator after 5 days (or from the day you make it if you prefer).
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