are sopapillas the same thing as empanadas?

Question

are sopapillas the same as empanadas or are they different... i asked my step-dad if he could bring home some sopapilla and i had to show him a picture of what one was because he didn't know what it was and he is from mexico is it the same thing as an empanada

Answer 1

The sopapillas that I'm familiar with are more like fried dough square puffss dusted with sugar and honey, sort of like beignets, so it's more of a dessert type dish.

Empanadas are more like filled pocket pies who's origin is Spain.

Accroding to wikipedia, sopapillas are from New Mexico probably based upon a food item from South America. So it looks like it bypassed Mexico. Maybe that's why your dad is not familiar with them.

Answer 2

Sopaipilla

A New Mexican sopaipilla.
A sopaipilla, also spelled sopapilla or sopaipa, is a kind of fried pastry or quick bread.
The term is applied to either of two distinct breads, one typical of New Mexico in the United States, the other of areas in South America.

The word likely comes from American Spanish, a diminutive of the Spanish word sopaipa, which is used to indicate fried dough sweetened with honey. That word seems to have come from the earlier word "xopaipa", from the Mozarabic "xupaipa", which is a diminutive form of "úppa", "súppa", bread soaked in oil. It could also be from Old Spanish "sopa", food soaked in liquid. However, the term "sopaipa" is almost never encountered in practice in New Mexico, as the diminutive has replaced it in standard usage. They are sometimes nicknamed "sofa pillows".

Empanada

In Spain, Portugal, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Philippines, an empanada (Portuguese empada- a different dish) is essentially a stuffed pastry. The name comes from the Spanish verb empanar, meaning to wrap or coat in bread. Usually the empanada is made by folding a thin circular-shaped dough patty over the stuffing, creating its typical semicircular shape. Empanadas are also known by a wide variety of regional names (see the entries for the individual countries below).

It is likely that the empanadas in the Americas were originally from Galicia, Spain, where an empanada is prepared similar to a pie that is cut in pieces, making it a portable and hearty meal for working people. The Galician empanada is usually prepared with cod fish or chicken. Due to the large number of Galician immigrants in Latin America, the empanada gallega has also become very popular in that region. The idea of an empanada may originate from the Moors, who occupied Spain for 800 years.[citation needed] Middle Eastern cuisine to this day has similar foods, like simbusak (a fried, chickpea filled "empanada") from Iraq.

hope this helps. enjoy.

Answer 3

I'm mexican and have no idea of what you're talking about...?? I had never heard the word "sopapilla"..... empanadas aren't mexican either but we do know what they are: a small round piece of dough filled with meat or cheese or corn or other stuff and folded in the middle so as to create a "D" shape, then baked or fried. Is it the same kind of food you were trying to describe...???