Ingredients
The cassava
- 1.5 kgcassava root
- a sweet variety
- peeled thickly and cut into batons
- see the safety notes carefully
- or 1.5 kg frozen cassava
- water and salt, to boil
The chicharrón
- 1 kgpork belly
- with the skin on
- cut into 3 cm chunks
- 2 teaspoonssalt
- juice of 1 sour orange
- or 1 lime and half an orange
- water, to start
- 4 clovesgarlic, crushed
The curtido
- half a white cabbage
- shredded very finely
- 2carrots, grated
- 1onion, sliced paper-thin
- 150 mlwhite vinegar
- 150 mlwater
- 1 tablespoonsalt
- 1 teaspoondried oregano
- 1hot chilli, sliced, optional
To serve
- chismol or fresh tomato salsa
- lime wedges
- a hot sauce
- banana leaf, to serve on
Directions
- Discard any root that tastes sharp. Boiling and discarding the water helps further. Cut roots deteriorate very quickly. Cut one open before buying several. It should smell clean and faintly sweet.
- Cut it into manageable lengths. Cut both of the ends off each piece. Score the thick skin lengthways. Cassava skin is thick and brown. Use a sharp knife and peel thickly. Cut out the fibrous central core. Rinse the peeled flesh thoroughly. Put the batons in a large pot.
- Cover them with cold salted water. Bring it to a boil and then simmer. Simmer for twenty to thirty minutes. Cassava should be soft but not falling apart.
- Drain it and discard the cooking water. Do not use that water for anything. Cut the belly into generous chunks. Leave the skin on every piece. Score the skin if it is very thick. Season the pork chunks with salt. Add the sour orange juice to it. Let it sit for twenty minutes.
- Put the pork into a large heavy pot. Add water to come halfway up the pork. Add the crushed garlic to the pot. Bring it to a boil and then simmer. Simmer it uncovered for about an hour. As the water goes, the fat takes over. Stand back from the pot at that stage. Wear long sleeves if you possibly can.
- Use a splatter guard if you have one. Do not lean over the pot at all. Keep children out of the kitchen. Turn the pieces as they colour. Fry them until deep golden and crisp. That takes about twenty minutes more. Check that no piece is pink inside. Lift the pieces out and drain them. Drain them on a rack over paper. Keep the rendered fat if you like. It sets solid and keeps refrigerated.
- Shred the cabbage as finely as you can. A mandoline or a food processor helps. Grate the carrot on a coarse grater. Slice the onion as thin as paper. Pour boiling water over the cabbage. Let it sit for one minute only. It also takes off the raw harshness.
- Mix the cabbage, carrot and onion. Add the vinegar, water and salt. Add the oregano and the chilli. Toss it all together thoroughly. Pack it down into a jar or a bowl.
- Press it down so the liquid covers it. It is edible after about two hours. Keep it refrigerated after a day. Use a clean spoon every single time. Never put a used spoon back in the jar. Discard it if it smells wrong or bubbles. Lay a piece of banana leaf on a plate.
- Pile the hot boiled cassava on it. Lay the crisp chicharrón over that. Pile the curtido generously on top. Spoon over chismol or tomato salsa. Add a hot sauce if you want more heat. Squeeze lime over the whole plate. Serve it immediately while hot. The cassava should still be steaming.
Technique
- Cassava contains linamarin, which converts to hydrogen cyanide when the tissue is damaged, and poisoning is documented including konzo, a condition causing permanent leg paralysis. Sweet varieties, which is what shops abroad sell, need only thick peeling and thorough cooking. Never eat it raw, peel it thickly with a knife rather than a peeler, cook it right through, and discard any root that tastes bitter — bitterness is the warning signal. Discard the boiling water.
- Cooked cassava turns slightly glassy and faintly translucent; raw cassava is opaque chalky white. That change is a reliable indicator, and the pieces should be soft but still holding together — overcooked cassava disintegrates.
- The chicharrón technique is elegant: the pork simmers in water until the water boils away, then fries in its own rendered fat, all in one pot. The pot changing from bubbling to sizzling is the signal.
- That transition is the dangerous moment. As the last water evaporates it spatters violently through the hot fat. Stand back, wear long sleeves, use a splatter guard if you have one, do not lean over the pot, and keep children out of the kitchen.
- Curtido is not a garnish. The cassava and pork are both rich and something sharp is needed against them, which is exactly what it is for. Make it a day ahead — it is edible after two hours and much better after a day.
- Pour boiling water over the shredded cabbage for one minute and drain it immediately. That takes off the raw harshness while keeping the crunch, and many cooks in the region do it.
- Shred the cabbage as finely as you can. Coarse cabbage stays tough and raw in a quick pickle.
- Assemble only as you serve. The cold sharp curtido softens the crisp pork within minutes, and the contrast of hot and cold is the whole point of the plate.
- El Salvador’s yuca frita uses the same three components with the cassava fried rather than boiled, and both countries do both. The atlas records them as one shared tradition and cross-references rather than repeating — the border was drawn long after the food.
- The dish joins cassava, an indigenous American staple domesticated in South America, to pork brought by the Spanish. That pattern runs through Central American food, and it is not a neutral fact: the Spanish arrival brought conquest and a catastrophic collapse of indigenous populations.
Substitutions
- Frozen cassava, already peeled and cut, replaces fresh and saves real effort.
- Fried cassava replaces boiled, which makes it closer to the Salvadoran yuca frita.
- Fried fish replaces the pork and is a common variation across the region.
- Lime with a little sweet orange juice replaces sour orange closely.
- Chismol, a chopped tomato and onion salsa, can be replaced by any fresh tomato salsa.
- The curtido can be made without chilli for a milder version, which is common.
Variations
- Yuca frita in El Salvador is the close relative, with the cassava deep-fried rather than boiled.
- A version topped with fried fish rather than pork is common on the coast.
- Some stalls serve both boiled and fried cassava and let you choose.
- Baleadas, the Honduran filled flour tortilla, is the other great street dish of the country.
- Pupusas in El Salvador are served with the same curtido.
- Guatemalan and Nicaraguan versions of the same combination exist under their own names.
History
Sold from street stalls and fritangas nationwide, pairing the Indigenous staple cassava with pork introduced by the Spanish.
Frequently asked questions
What is Yuca con chicharrón?
Yuca con chicharrón is a street food from Honduras: boiled cassava topped with fried pork and pickled cabbage. Sold from street stalls and fritangas nationwide, pairing the Indigenous staple cassava with pork introduced by the Spanish.
How long does Yuca con chicharrón take to make?
Yuca con chicharrón takes 40 minutes plus curtido time of preparation and 1 hour 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Yuca con chicharrón?
Yes, within limits. Frozen cassava, already peeled and cut, replaces fresh and saves real effort. Fried cassava replaces boiled, which makes it closer to the Salvadoran yuca frita. Fried fish replaces the pork and is a common variation across the region. Lime with a little sweet orange juice replaces sour orange closely. Chismol, a chopped tomato and onion salsa, can be replaced by any fresh tomato salsa. The curtido can be made without chilli for a milder version, which is common.
What is the most important thing to get right in Yuca con chicharrón?
Drain it and discard the cooking water. Do not use that water for anything. Cut the belly into generous chunks. Leave the skin on every piece. Score the skin if it is very thick. Season the pork chunks with salt. Add the sour orange juice to it. Let it sit for twenty minutes.
