Plant Based Boricua

Vegan Coquito

I’m continuing with the Christmas spirit, and I am sharing with y’all the recipe for vegan coquito. It’s not Christmas in Puerto Rico without coquito. Whether you like it with rum or without, this sweet, coconut-based drink is delicious. Without rum it is kid-friendly, although it’s very sugary, so only a bit at a time!

This recipe calls for condensed milk, but there are vegan options! There is a popular coconut milk-based option, and a soy milk-based option. It seems that the coconut-based one is more popular. However, since this recipe is coconut-based, I did not want to keep laying on the coconut. So I prefer the soy “condensed milk”. You can probably get it store-bought, but if you can’t find it, or just prefer to make it from scratch, I found this recipe and swapped the coconut milk for soy milk (see below for my take on it). It turned out great.

Making the Condensed “Milk”

To make this vegan version of condensed “milk”, you will just need soy milk and organic cane sugar. To make a bit more than 14 oz (about the same size as a regular condensed milk can), use three cups of soy milk and 1 1/3 cup of sugar. Mix them together in a saucepan, on low heat, until the sugar melts, about three minutes. Then bring it to a simmer, and let it simmer for 30 minutes. Be careful not to boil it or else the milk will boil over and make a mess. Do not stir during the 30 minutes, or else it can crystalize. After the 30 minutes are up, the milk should be a greyish brown color. Pour into a glass jar and put an air-tight lid after it has cooled. Store in fridge.

Making the Vegan Coquito

To make the coquito, blend one can of coconut milk (14 oz), one can of coconut cream (14 oz), one cup of the soy condensed “milk”, ½ tsp vanilla extract, ½ tsp ground cinnamon, a pinch of salt, and ¾ cups rum or to taste, using a large blender (I use this Ninja one). If you are not using rum, use ½ cup of condensed “milk” instead. It is very sweet and rum cuts out that heavy sweetness. Serve chilled, with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Buen provecho! 😉

Print Recipe

Vegan Coquito

Servings: 32 oz

Ingredients

Coquito

• 14 oz coconut milk (1 can)
• 14 oz coconut cream (1 can)
• 1 cup soy condensed milk 1/2 cup if not using rum
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• pinch salt
• 3/4 cup white rum optional

Soy Condensed "Milk"

• 3 cups soy milk unsweetened
• 1 1/3 cups organic sugar

Instructions

Coquito

• Using a blender, blend all ingredients until smooth. Make sure there are no chunks.
• Serve chilled with a sprinkle of cinnamon

Soy Condensed "Milk"

• Mix the soy milk and sugar in a saucepan on low heat, stirring often until all the sugar melts; about 3 - 5 minutes
• Bring milk and sugar to a simmer and simmer for 30 minutes. Be careful not to bring it to a high boil or it will spill over, making a mess. Do not stir the milk while it is simmering as it may crystalize.
• After 30 minutes, it should be a greyish brown color. Pour it into a glass jar and leave to cool for at least 20 minutes.

Alcapurrias! I have to say this is one of my favorite recipes ever. Not only is it super yummy, but it is very close to my heart. In Puerto Rico, family and traditions are definitely two of the cornerstones of our culture. Food is probably the other one. And for me, this recipe encompasses all of those. Not so long ago, when my parents and I lived in my hometown of Guayama, Puerto Rico, we would make this as a family. My grandmother, mother, father, aunt, grandfather, and I, all pitched in.

We would put music on and grate the “yautía”, made the “guiso” for the filling, and the white rice as a side. I loved that we were all together, cooking. It made such an impression on me that I can’t help but get really homesick when I make it. This “alcapurria” recipe in particular is not the same as the ones you will find around the island in the street-side “chinchorros”. It’s my paternal grandmother’s recipe, which she taught to my mom and then to me.

If you have never made anything like this, I suggest you read the recipe carefully so you can familiarize yourself with the steps. It’s a long process, but I suggest you bring in family and/or friends and make it a day! Also, if you have any questions, please let me know in the comments. I really hope you make it and love it as much as I do. 🙂

The recipe is broken out into several parts: a) making the “masa” or dough, b) making the filling, c) putting the actual alcapurria together, and d) frying it.

To make the masa:

For the masa, I only use purple yautía. It’s also called malanga in other countries, and if you live in the US, that’s what it will probably be called at the grocery store. I usually get it at a latin grocery store here in Austin called Fiesta. But make sure it’s purple on the inside, and not white. You can discreetly chuck off a small piece in the grocery store to make sure.

Peel the yautías with a regular potato peeler, and grate them on the box grater (the part with the small, spiky holes) over a large bowl. Mix the grated yautía with the “sazón” or seasoning, and salt until evenly blended. Set aside for later. “Sazón” is used often in Puerto Rican dishes such as “guisos” or stews. See my blog entry on “sazón” and homemade recipe here.

To make the filling:

This filling is traditionally meat, however I use faux meat crumbles to make it vegan. My favorite is the Lightlife crumbles, but Gardein is also good. To make it, first, heat the oil in a medium saucepan on medium/high heat. When hot, add sofrito and vegetable bullion, and lower the heat to medium/low. After the sofrito starts getting fragrant, about 30 seconds, add sazón, olives, and sauce. Sautée for about five minutes. Add the faux meat crumbles and salt. Mix until it is completely covered with the sofrito mixture. Add the water and turn the heat up to medium/high, until it starts boiling, then lower back to medium/low and cover for about 10 min. Uncover and lower heat further to low/medium for about five min or until water is mostly dried up. Stir occasionally so it doesn’t stick to the bottom. Take off heat and set aside. For the tomato sauce and olives, my favorites are the Goya ones. You can either make or buy sofrito, click here for my sofrito recipe and store-bought recommendations.

Putting together the alcapurria:

Use either a plantain leaf or a small plate, and scoop ¼ cup of the “masa” or dough onto the leaf or plate. Carefully flatten it so that it’s a bit thin, but not too thin, creating a circle. Scoop 1 tbsp of the filling onto the middle of the dough circle. Scoop up the sides of the dough circle to cover the filling. You can see a short video I made of this step if you have never done it before, or you’re having trouble visualizing.

Frying!

To fry the alcapurrias, get a medium pot and heat on Medium/High about  2 – 2 1/2 cups of frying oil, or enough to cover half of it. When the oil is very hot, carefully slide each alcapurria in. Depending on the size of your pot, you will need to make at least two batches. After about one minute, turn the heat down to medium, and fry for about seven to ten minutes. Turn the alcapurrias occasionally. Scoop the alcapurrias out and set them on a paper-towel-lined colander.

Serve by themselves, as a great fritter, or alongside rice, beans and tostones, as pictured below. Yum! You can see the recipe for rice and beans here, and for tostones here.

Print Recipe

Family Time: Alcapurrias Veganas

Servings: 2

Ingredients

"Masa" or Dough

• 2 purple yautía/malanga It's called either way, but at the grocery stores in the US, it's probably called malanga
• 3.5 tsp sazón
• 1 tsp annatto

Filling

• 3/4 cup faux meat crumbles My favorites are Lightlife and Gardein
• 3 tbsp sofrito
• 2.5 tsp sazón/seasoning
• 2 tsp salad olives My favorite is Goya
• 1/2 cube/tsp vegetable bullion optional
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce My favorite is Goya

Frying

• 2 1/2 cups frying oil Canola or vegetable

Instructions

Masa/Dough

• Peel the yautías with a regular potato peeler
• Grate the yautías on the box grater (the part with the small, spiky holes) over a large bowl
• Mix the grated yautía with the "sazón"/seasoning and salt until evenly blended
• Set aside for later

Filling

• Heat the oil in a medium saucepan on medium/high heat
• Add the sofrito and bullion, and lower the heat to medium/low
• After the sofrito starts getting fragrant, about 30 seconds, add sazón, olives, and sauce. Sautée for about five minutes
• Add the faux meat crumbles and salt. Mix until it is completely covered with the sofrito mixture
• Add the water and turn the heat up to medium/high, until it starts boiling, then lower back to medium/low and cover for about 10 min
• Uncover and lower heat further to low/medium for about five min or until water is mostly dried up. Stir occasionally so it doesn’t stick to the bottom
• Take off heat and set aside

Putting Together the Alcapurria

• Use either a plantain leaf or a small plate, and scoop ¼ cup of the “masa” or dough onto the leaf or plate
• Carefully flatten it so that it’s a bit thin, but not too thin, creating a circle
• Scoop 1 tbsp of the filling onto the middle of the dough circle
• Scoop up the sides of the dough circle to cover the filling

Frying

• Heat the oil in the pot on Medium/High
• When the oil is very hot, carefully slide each alcapurria into it. Depending on the size of your pot, you will need to make at least two batches
• After about one minute, turn the heat down to medium, and fry for about seven minutes. Turn the alcapurrias occasionally
• Scoop the alcapurrias out and set them on a paper-towel-lined colander

Sofrito is the base for a lot of Puerto Rican dishes. Namely, “guisos” or Puerto Rican style stews. Aside from being delicious, homemade sofrito is super special to me, since it is part of my life’s, my family’s aromas. I am transported back to my house in the mountains of Guayama every time I smell it.

To me, sofrito has always been one thing. However, since I moved to the US, I learned that some people add tomatoes, giving it a reddish color and call that sofrito. Wheareas when they add culantro (recao) they call it “recaito”. I (and most Puerto Ricans too) only know as sofrito what people here call “recaito”. So, from here on out in this post, sofrito will be the delicious, aromatic green mixture of veggies.

Having said that, there are several ways to make homemade sofrito. The way I make it is very simple and I learned it from my grandmothers. One of the ingredients that does give it a very good flavor are “ajíes” or sweet peppers. As far as I know, this veggie is not really grown in the US for wholesale. It is every in Puerto Rico and other parts of the Caribbean, but it has been near impossible for me to find them here. For this recipe, I would use about ¼ – ½ lbs seeded sweet peppers, if I could get a hold of them. I will omit them in this post, but please if you do find them, use them! It gives the sofrito that oomph that makes it great. Still, it comes out tasty without them.

Another one of the main ingredients is culantro (recao). This is not a commonly used herb here in the US. In fact, a lot of people I know have never heard of it. I typically find it in a latin supermarket called Fiesta here in Austin, TX. If you live in the US and have a latin supermarket close by, look for it there.

Homemade Sofrito – Making it

Cut up one onion and two green peppers into chunks and add them to a blender. Also, add a full head of garlic, peeled to the blender. Lastly, add a package of culantro (about one cup), washed, to the blender. Blend it all together, stopping to scrape the sides of the blender every so often, until everything is well blended. You might be tempted to add oil or water to the mix at first, but the onion will release a lot of liquid the longer it is blended. Store the homemade sofrito in a large mason jar, or any other glass container.

Store-bought sofrito

If you can’t find culantro, you can chop up some onion, garlic and green peppers and use that as a base. If not, I suggest buying pre-made sofrito. I have tried some really good ones that go very well with “guisos”. I have tried this sofrito (recaito) from Goya, and it is pretty decent and does the job. This is another sofrito (recaito) from Goya that is pretty good. I linked these to Amazon, but they are also available in latin supermarkets and sometimes even Target carries them. This one I recently found on Brands of Puerto Rico! I haven’t tried it, but it looks great. If you have a latin supermarket close by, I encourage you to go and search for any of these or other brands as well.

Please leave any questions you have in the comments!

Print Recipe

Basics: Sofrito - Naturally Vegan

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Total Time5 minutes mins

Servings: 24 ounces

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion
• 2 green peppers
• 1 garlic head
• 1 cup culantro (recao) Look for it in latin supermarkets

Instructions

• Chop the onions and peppers into chunks, peel garlic head, and wash culantro
• Add it to blender, and blend until smooth. Stop every so often to scrape the sides of the blender, until everything is combined and there are no chunks left.