What's the Big Deal About Chipa?

When I first got to Paraguay, I, like many visitors or newcomers, didn't "get" chipa. What's the big deal? It's just bread. Why are these people so obsessed with it?

For the unfamiliar, chipa is cheesy bread. Good, fresh chipa is a little bit crisp on the outside, and chewy and gooey on the inside. It is made with corn flour, mandioca starch, eggs, queso Paraguay (and pig fat, or some secret ingredient like that). It can be in many shapes and sizes as pictured. It is sold EVERYWHERE here, in little bakeries but also from ladies with baskets on the street, and guys on motorcycles with loud speakers, announcing that they are selling chipa for all the world to hear! Like I said, I just didn't get it.

Then one of the members of the school board brought in bags of chipa from somewhere and...it was really good. But I went on with my life. Then, on a 6-hour bus ride, there was a vender selling "chipa caliente" and my friend bought a bag of 5 of them (they cost about $.0.25 US). Hey....this stuff isn't so bad! Suddenly mine was gone and I wanted more. Then a coworker told me what place had the best chipa in town, and I investigated. I'm hooked. I am SO glad they don't sell it at the school's cantina, or I'd have a major Chipa Belly to contend with!


Maybe I can convince a local to let me help them make chipa and add that entry to my cooking blog...but that will be another post, another day!


Here is a great link from the "Discovering Paraguay" website about chipa, and what to do with all that leftover chipa after semana santa.

http://discoveringparaguay.com/home/chipa/
http://discoveringparaguay.com/home/semana-santa-chipa/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Raja Ampat Part 4: Fam Islands

Image
 No trip to Raja Ampat is complete without visiting the picturesque Fam Islands. Pictures don't do them justice, but here are a bunch of pictures anyway! First we went to the main Fam Islands hike. It was short and steep and breathtaking in more ways than one!  See the islands on the left of the 100000 rupiah note? They should look familiar! We also hiked up to the Star Lagoon. This was a much steeper scramble, not recommended for the unsteady, the flip-flop wearers, or those with a fear of heights. 
Read more

Week in Review (updated with pix & video)

Image
You know life has been hectic if the Rockies made it into the World Series almost a week ago, I was at the game, and no posting has occurred yet! Okay. Monday. Got into a minor fender-bender on the way downtown which really delayed things. Then my battery died, from having the hazards on. At that point, I figured my day had to get better, because it really couldn't get worse. It did (get better, that is). :) The Rockies beat the Diamondbacks, 6-4, and SWEPT the series (again; more broom pictures to be posted later) to win the National League Pennant and a pass to the World Series, for the first time ever!!!! It was very exciting, needless to say. After the game, they presented the NL pennant and had a little ceremony. The game was really long, it started at 8:18pm and at 10:00 it was only the 4th inning. The only reason this was important was because...I had to pick Toni up at the airport AFTER the game! So that happened at about 1am, then I drove him up to his house in Lafayette.
Read more

Raja Ampat Part 2: The Resort

Image
 Listen, normally I am not the type of person to leave a whole post on a resort. Because,  1. I'm a teacher and I can't afford to stay nice places 😆 2. Actually I do budget a lot of money for travel but I'd rather go basic for 3 weeks than all-out for one week. This is an exception. When I checked into my room I felt like I should have been there on my honeymoon.  (There's always the future....Mr. Right, are you reading this right now?!?) Anyway I'm making an exception because otherwise what will I do with these gorgeous room pictures, right?? The place I stayed is called Papua Diving-and they have 2 places you can stay, Sorido Bay or Kri Eco Resort. Due to covid, Kri Eco Resort hadn't reopened-it might be where I had stayed if it was an option-so I stayed at Sorido! Without further ado, here are those pics.  While Sorido Bay had a couple of bungalows for families, I didn't see those. Most lodging is these smaller individual bungalows spread out along the b
Read more