In 2020, during the height of the pandemic, I started the Dining Traveler Cooking Series to recreate dishes from my favorite destinations at home. Of course, many of my recipes are from my favorite destination, Puerto Rico. I recently traveled to our Latino friends’ houses to cook together and hear about their experiences living in Europe. For this series, I headed to Den Bosch, Netherlands, to my friend Almi’s kitchen to cook a classic Puerto Rican snack, sorullitos de maiz (fried cornmeal rolls).
Almi uses her tia’s sorullitos de maiz recipe, which is simple to whip up and just as delicious. When you live abroad, it becomes challenging (but not impossible) to look for ingredients to make Puerto Rican and other Latin dishes. I love a recipe like sorullitos de maiz because you can easily find the ingredients at your local supermarket. This dish is accessible, allowing anyone to bring a taste of Puerto Rico to their table.
About Sorullitos de Maiz
Sorullitos de maiz serve as an easy snack (kids love them) or an appetizer. In Puerto Rico, you find them in most “picadera” (snack) platters at casual restaurants. They’re crispy, gluten-free, and only have six ingredients. The last ingredient is cheese, which gives them that extra flavor. Almi makes her sorullitos de maiz with parmesan cheese, which I love. Others use cheeses like cheddar, edam (queso de bola), gouda, and mozzarella. They’re delicious when served with “mayoketchup,” a popular dipping sauce made of a mix of mayonnaise and ketchup. In this video, Almi gives it a twist by adding sriracha sauce for an extra spicy kick.
Helpful Tips
When mixing the sorullitos de maiz dough, it will get bubbly in the heat. It’s okay to remove it from the heat for a few seconds and continue to stir to make a smooth dough. As you prepare to fry, you can check if the oil is hot enough for frying by pinching a tiny piece of the dough, and if bubbles quickly form around it, the oil is ready for frying. They taste best fresh off the fryer. To save time, you can prepare the sorullitos ahead of time and keep them in the refrigerator in an airtight container, and throw them in the fryer when you’re ready to eat them.
PrintRecipe: How to Make Sorullitos de Maiz
Sorullitos de maiz serve as an easy snack (kids love them) or an appetizer. In Puerto Rico, you find them in most “picadera” (snack) platters at casual restaurants. They’re crispy, gluten-free, and only have six ingredients.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 15
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 20–25 Sorullitos 1x
- Category: Appetizers
- Cuisine: Puerto Rican
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
2 cups of water
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter
2 cups of cornmeal
1 cup of finely grated parmesan cheese
Oil for frying (Canola, Sunflower or Vegetable oil works well)
Siracha Mayoketchup
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tsp sriracha
Instructions
Add 2 cups of water, butter, and salt in a saucepan and bring it to a boil.
Lower the heat to medium and add the cornmeal. Stir vigorously until it thickens and turns into a smooth dough. Remove from heat.
Add the shredded cheese and mix until it’s incorporated and turn into a ball. Let it cool for 15 minutes.
Fill the frying pan with vegetable or canola oil on medium-high heat.
While the oil heats, start shaping the sorullitos de maiz. Grab a large spoonful of the dough and shape them with your hands into short, 3-inch sticks. They will look like mini cigars.
Once the oil is hot, place the sorullitos and fry until they are nice and golden, around 2-3 minutes on each side.
Once done, place the sorullitos de maiz on a plate lined with a paper towel to absorb excess oil. Serve hot, preferably with mayoketchup. ¡Buen Provecho!
