The name “Empanada” literally defines this Latin America and Filipino cuisine. “Enbreaded”, as empanada was translated from Spanish, means wrapped or coated in bread. Made of a dough covered fillings, empanada contains meat, cheese, corn or other ingredients, which differ from culture to culture. Resembling turnovers, empanada, baked or fried, is similar to the Cornish pasty from British, the gujia from India, the calzone from Spain, or the pirozhki from Russia. Empanada is more like a type of food than a cuisine of a specific culture. That is, the variation of empanada is prepared in different regions and called by different names. For example, in Belize, empanada is called panade, a kind of empanada with corn dough, fish fillings. Panade is usually served with cabbage or salsa sauces. On the other hand, ‘Mpanatigghi is Sicilian empanada, stuffed with almonds, walnuts, chocolate, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and minced beef.
