Prominent in Chile, a completo is a variation from the renowned American hot dog, but with twice the amount and size. In Spanish, a completo can be translated to “complete” or “total” to signify the fullness of a single completo dish. In Chile, the completo is celebrated on May 24th for Dia de Completo or Completo Day for being part of the Chile gastronomic culture.
The completo is also part of the fast-food scene in Chile with its affordable price and a large portion, similar to that of burgers in the United States. The dish can be consumed as a whole meal and with its larger-than-life-size, it will surely fill your belly until you cannot eat anymore.
What is Completo?
Originating from Chile, the completo is made out of a hot dog bun infused with diced tomatoes, sauerkraut, mashed avocado, chopped red onions, sausages and mayonnaise. The completo is distinguished from your good ole’ American hot dog by its plentiful toppings that can be swapped out depending on your personal flavours and taste. The dish does not come without a challenge as with more toppings being added into the bun, the messier it will be to consume the delectable dish.
History of Completo
The true origins of the completo remains a mystery, even to the Chilean people. Despite its mystery, the completo remains as one of the most important parts of a Chilean’s life, as the dish has spread all over the streets within the region.
However, some believe that the completo was inspired by the American hot dog but with a twist of adding plenty of toppings.Early records show that the completo was first introduced to the public in 1920, by a businessman that opened a local cafe at that time. He was inspired by the American hot dog during his trip in the States and he decided to bring it over to Chile.
The major success that ensued resulted in different vendors creating their own versions of the completo to be sold and the dish spread across the city. Today, the completo has been embedded into the lives of the Chilean people as an everyday meal.
Types of Completo
There is a wide variety of completo that are available for your consumption. The names of the dishes, generally refer to the combinations of ingredients used in each respective version of the completo. The most popular and prominent completo is the “Completo Italiano”, which is loaded with ample of ingredients, such as mashed avocados, sliced tomatoes and topped with delectable mayonnaise.
The name of the dish “Completo Italiano”, came from the fact that the colours of the ingredients resembled the colours of the Italian flag. A simpler version of the completo is the tomate mayo (tomato and mayonnaise), as suggested by the name it only uses sliced tomatoes and mayonnaise as toppings.
Other versions of the completo include the Completo A lo Pobre, which can be translated to “the poor style complete”. With a low price point, Completo A lo Pobre is mainly composed of fried onions, fried eggs and french fries as toppings.
The name of the dish refers to the low-wage workers that would generally purchase the food that is used as the toppings in the dish, due to the low price point of the food but is high with calories.
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