I'm Thalia, a first-generation Salvadoran American. For me, Salvadoran food is all about family and community.
I grew up in a big family with lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins. We didn’t have formal meals at the table, but food always brought us together. At every gathering or visit, something was always cooking. These flavors matter to me because of the people who made them and who I shared them with.
Growing up in the DMV area (DC, Maryland & Virginia), I was always around Salvadoran food at family gatherings and restaurants, but I didn’t realize how much skill and time each dish took. When I moved to San Antonio, I saw how lucky I’d been. I couldn’t just go out for pupusas or easily find the ingredients I needed. No one handed me recipes, so I had to figure out how to bring those memories and flavors into my own kitchen and keep them alive for my family's current and future generations.
In San Antonio, I started experimenting and learned to recreate the flavors I grew up with by using local ingredients. I mixed Salvadoran recipes with Texas ingredients and cooking styles, finding ways to fit these time-consuming dishes into my busy schedule while working two jobs. Now I’m in Baltimore, still experimenting and improving my recipes.
This site is for anyone who wants to cook Salvadoran food but needs to use what’s available at their local store or make substitutions. When I visit El Salvador, the food is amazing, slow-cooked over open flames and made with ingredients often harvested that same day. But that's not how most of us cook in the United States. We adapt with what we have access to, and that's okay. These recipes honor tradition while working for real life, wherever you are and however much time you have. They're my way of staying connected to my culture with the resources available to me.
You won’t find me on social media for this project. I barely have time to cook, let alone post about it. Think of these tips as coming from someone right there in the kitchen with you.
-Thalia
