Colorfully-dressed Incas greet us with cups of hot tea as we enter the airport terminal. “¡Bienvenidos a Cusco!” A delightful welcome to the two-mile high Andean city, but the tea also serves an important purpose—the prevention of altitude sickness.
The tea we are offered at the airport, and again in our hotel lobby, is mate de coca—brewed from leaves of the coca plant. Coca is best known to North Americans as the source of the drug cocaine, which is actually a highly processed derivative of the coca leaves. Because of its association with the drug, coca is banned in the U.S. Continue reading
Have a thirst for a real native experience? While traveling in Peru, stop at a house displaying a red flag on a long pole. There you can join the locals in a glass of chicha, an ancient Andean drink made from fermented corn.
The strange-tasting drink, yellowish in color with a bubbly froth, is served warm for just a few coins, and is quite strong. It is not usually found in restaurants (a similar drink, chicha morada, made from blue corn, is sweet and sold everywhere like a soft-drink), but is sold by individuals, usually in the lower socioeconomic bracket, who have passed down the traditional recipes since pre-Inca times.
Recently, in the mountaintop city of Cerro Baul in southern Peru, archeologists from the University of Chicago unearthed remains of an ancient brewery dating back to the Wari Empire (AD 600-1000). It is believed that the brewery was used to produce massive amounts of chicha, which was used both for ritual purposes and festivities.
The ruins indicate that the last gathering at this brewery ended with a ritual burning of the entire facility. As the Wari’s threw their cups into the fire, the beams and thatched roof collapsed, leaving what was underneath in very good condition. Scientists have found remains of fire pits and fifteen-gallon ceramic vats.
The first step in preparing the chicha is boiling the fruits and grains (now corn) with water. After boiling, the liquid is transferred to fermenting jars and is ready in two weeks. It must be consumed soon after—it does not have a shelf life!
So, join your Peruvian neighbors in a glass of chicha, if you dare, and carry on the ancient tradition.
In order to promote Peru through the delicious cuisine we have, we’ve participated in the following festivals:
2006
# Peruvian Night – Washington, EEUU
The Peruvian gastronomy could be enjoyed by more than 300 guests in a event organized by PromPeru, Mincetur and the Peruvian embassy in USA, it was celebrated in the famous Capitol. Among the visitors, there were representatives of the American congress, who enjoyed dishes prepared by the Peruvian chef Maritza Guiulfo.
It appears in the 80’s, this kind of cuisine rescue all the typical ingredients of the Andean cuisine, but adapting processing and presentation techniques of the international cuisine. The recipes are strict but the food is delicious and well-presented, with few condiments, light cooking and almost no fat. Among dishes we have:
Entrees and soups: “antojos de queso en salsa de maracuya” (cheese cake and spinach), fresh salad of snails with quinua, cheese cream caramel and barley pancakes, yucca cake, apio cream and poro with barley pancakes.
Main dishes: Quinia taboule, grill alpaca, fish brine with algarrobina, “reventón ayacuchano” (cooked with the ingredients of the pachamanca and sancochado, but roasted in a clay pot, plus sauces), “risotto de quinua”, “carapulcra de yucca” and dry potato, lasagna con moron, broad beans stew, alpaca hotpot, stuffed trout, duck with pears and elder sauce, crab in coconut and pineapple sauce, “cabrito con pepian de choclo”, guinea pig in ostry sauce, squids with heifer calf.Continue reading
The heat of a firewood oven, clay pots are the main protagonists of many smells and flavors connected with the value of the land. Meat, tubers, grains and herbs are used to a great diversity of simple and delicious dishes.
Among entrees we have corn with Andean cheese, corn salad (tarwi), “mote con chicharron” (boiled corn with pork), “cancha” (toasted maize), “humitas” (grinded corn or maize and wrapped in their own leafs to be cooked), “papa a la huancaina” (slices of boiled potatoes with cheese cream and yellow chili) and inchik uchu (boiled yucca served with peanut sauce, chili and cilantro). Continue reading
The gastronomic tradition in the “White city” is enjoyed in the “picanterias” (traditional restaurants with firewood ovens). A great table is served with “rocoto relleno” (cooked chili
Rocoto Relleno
pepper with chopped meat, spices, cheese, eggs and milk), “soltero de queso” (just like the broad beans but with corn or maize, olives and chopped chili), “ocopa” (slices of cooked potatoes with peanut cream, onions and cookies) and “chicharrones”. Among the soups we have, the prefer ones like “caldo blanco – white soup” (lamp loin, potato, corn or maize, chickpea, chuño and spices) and the “puchero” (beef, pig and chicken with vegetables and spices).
Puchero
Among main dishes we have: adobo (pig loin soup, chili, onions and chicha de jora, served with bread), “picantes” (of pig or beef, lamp or duck), “locro” (dish of beef or lamb), “chupe de camarones” (chopped prawns in chili and cooked with broad beens, milk, rice, corn or maize and potatoes) and the “Malaya frita” (boiled fees and cooked).
Among desserts we have: the “buñuelos” (of flour, eggs and milk covered with chancaca hon Continue reading
Lima is well-known because of being the gastronomic Capital of South America, due to the originality of its cuisine. It inherited the pre-Hispanic and colonial culinary excellences, as well as the contribution of the oriental and occidental
cuisine. On the one hand, fish and seafood are the base of one dish like the “tiradito” (a soft version of the ceviche but with yellow chicli cream or chili pepper without onion), “arroz con mariscos”, “el pescado a la chorrillana” (onions, segments of chili and fried tomatoes), “conchitas a la parmesana” (baked “conchas de abanico” served with parmesan cheese), “chorito a la chalaca” (boiled mussels served with lemon, onions, tomatoes, chili, chili pepper and parsley finely chopped) and “jalea mixta” (shellfish, octopus and fish pulled mixture) and other delicacies. Continue reading
The amazonian food is full of exotic delicacies. As starter we have the chonta salad that is much tasty. The meat and the banana are always present in every moment as main dishes, like tacacho with dried beef (barbecued bananas with pig meat, chopped onion and dry meat) and filled banana (pastry of banana with stuffing of peanuts). Continue reading
Here the people are glad to be Peruvian and part of it is the demonstrations of their seasoning. The generosity touches us, the land has been bringing us all its infinitive delicacies in our hands since many centuries ago. The children learn the colors by seeing the chili and the fruits, and our mothers at home make the kitchen a laboratory of flavors and love. Because all these, I want to say that our country is a very rich place where you can find no end of flavors.
Let me introduce myself. Peru is my name, nice to meet you.
Peruvian Dishes
A great understanding of cooking abilities and the best cuisine is maybe the most widespread tradition between Peruvians. We eat everything and in any occasion. When someone is born, when someone dies, when the children become adults, when we want to tell the true or lie, to seduce, to convince or to love. A witness that don’t say nothing, a well-served table.
If sometime you hear a Peruvian say that our cuisine is the best one of the world, remember that we don’t say that because we like to brag, but we can say that two times. It’s true.
Our identity is represented in the cuisine: we are demanding companions at table, and many others, magic chefs. We live the democracy in our tables: there is going to be always a space where a cebiche takes place, a pisco sour or arroz con pato a la chiclayana (duck with rice – chiclayo style dish). Continue reading
