Tungos Llaneros

Llanero·Easy·20 min

A dough of cooked rice and cuajada curd, sweet or salt, wrapped in bijao leaves and steamed. The obligatory accompaniment to carne a la perra and pisillo on the eastern plains.

Tungos llaneros are wrapped breads of the Colombian Llanos, made of cooked rice (or rice flour) mixed with cuajada curd, wrapped in bijao leaves and steamed. They are the obligatory accompaniment to carne a la perra and pisillo, and their rice base ties them to the rice-growing Meta. Tungos can be sweet (with sugar and bocadillo filling) or savoury, and belong to the wider Colombian tradition of hoja-wrapped breads, but with a rice-and-curd identity specific to the eastern plains.

Soft, faintly sweet from the cuajada, with a slight chew from the rice grains, the bijao leaf lending a green, herbal perfume. The sweet version, with bocadillo inside, is eaten with coffee; the savoury version soaks up the juices of a stew.

Cooked rice is mashed partially, then bound with grated cuajada and butter into a dough that is soft but holds together. The dough is portioned, wrapped in bijao leaves (which perfume it during steaming) and steamed until set. The cuajada provides both moisture and richness, so no extra liquid is needed, and the bijao leaf is essential for its aroma.

Variations

A sweet variant fills each tún with bocadillo de guayaba. A Casanare version uses plantain leaf instead of bijao.

On the Palate

Where Tungos Llaneros sits in the Colombian flavor cloud

Ingredients

Serves 8

400gRice

200gCuajada

60gButter

as neededPlantain Leaf

1 pinchSalt

to fillGuava

How it's made

6 steps · 20 min

1
4 min
Mash 400g cooked white rice partially, leaving some texture.
2
6 min
Work in 200g grated cuajada, 60g melted butter and a pinch of salt (or 2 tbsp sugar for the sweet version) until a soft dough forms.
Watch out
Work in the cuajada until the dough is soft but holds together in a mass — too crumbly and the tungos fall apart in the steamer; the cheese is your only binder.
3
5 min
For the sweet version, flatten a portion, place a strip of bocadillo in the centre, and reshape into a log.
4
5 min
Wrap each portion tightly in a softened bijao leaf, folding the ends under.
Watch out
Wrap each parcel tightly in the softened bijao leaf with the ends folded under — a loose wrap leaks and lets the perfuming aroma escape.
5
12 min
Steam the tungos over boiling water for 35 minutes until firm.
6
2 min
Serve warm; the savoury version alongside meat, the sweet one with coffee.

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Baking Sheet

Flat rectangular metal pan (sheet pan, half-sheet, quarter-sheet), 33×23 cm to 45×33 cm, with a low rim. The flat surface gives even heat for cookies, biscuits, roasted vegetables, sheet-pan dinners. Heavy aluminum sheets conduct heat fastest; non-stick coatings make cleanup easier but can warp over 200°C; rimmed half-sheet is the modern American restaurant standard.

Techniques

Steaming Kneading