175 E 35th St, Garden City, ID 83714 wepaprcuisine.com

Dine-in · Takeout · Delivery Reservations: resy.com

In 1493, the Spanish colonized Puerto Rico. During this time, African people immigrated to Puerto Rico from the Canary Islands. After the 1898 Spanish-American War, Puerto Rico became an unincorporated territory of the United States.

Puerto Rican Cuisine
The sweet and salty profile of Puerto Rican cuisine has Spanish, Taino Indian, and Afro-Caribbean flavors. Dishes are flavored with basil, bay leaves, cilantro, parsley, oregano, thyme, and garlic. Sofrito, a mix of cooked aromatics (onions, peppers, tomatoes, herbs, garlic) is used in some recipes and served as a dipping sauce for others. Local beers and fruity rum drinks accompany meals.

Famous Puerto Rican dishes include:

Alcapurrias: Fritters made from taro, green plantains and picadillo (ground meat, tomatoes, raisins, and olives)

• Asopao: A hearty chicken soup flavored with Sofrito, green peas, and pimento-stuffed green olives, and served with rice and cilantro.
• Bacalaitos: Codfish fritters flavored with onions, red pepper, cilantro, oregano. Served with garlic aioli or sofrito dipping sauce.
• Mofongo:  Pickled plantains cut into pieces that are pickled, boiled, or roasted then mashed with olive oil, broth, garlic and salt. Traditionally, the mashing is done with a wooden pilón.
• Pasteles: Turnovers filled with spiced beef, pork, and shrimp.
• Pernil: Pork marinated in Puerto Rican spices and slow roasted.
• Tostones: Unripe plantains peeled, sliced and twice fried. Raw slices are dropped into hot oil for the first frying. The plantains are then flattened and fried a second time.