Street Food · Fried Cheese Bread

Buñuelos

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These deep-fried cheese balls owe their springy chew to cornstarch and queso costeño, not flour.

A dough of fresh cuajada or costeño cheese, cornstarch, and eggs is rolled into balls and deep-fried until they puff into golden, cracked orbs with a chewy interior. Street vendors sell them hot in paper bags, especially around Christmastime.

Why it's made this way: The cheese-based dough reflects Colombia's dairy-rich Andean and Caribbean-coast traditions; frying whole cheese curds into a portable snack made it a natural fit for street carts and holiday markets.