Peruvian Cuisine

From the rich to the poor, from the jungles, the coast, the Andes, the high plateau and the immigrants from Europe, China, Japan and Africa, they are all living, working and most importantly eating together in a marvelous, noisy, inescapable chaos as vivid as the country that surrounds it. In my time living in Lima I came to love it like I have loved only a few other cities and encountered only one problem – hunger. I just didn’t have enough of it.



Most mornings I would cross the road in front of my house and head to the small two-wheeled food cart on the corner. There I would order a simple avocado sandwich and a glass of quinoa con manzana, a thick, warm drink made of the ancient Andean grain-like quinoa (now gaining popularity as a health food and in NASA’a sights as a part of astronauts diets) and apple puree for under a dollar. After very limited morning dialogues, I would stand, chew what may be the best avocadoes on the planet and carefully plan my day around where and what I wanted to eat.



I arrived in Lima blissfully ignorant of what the food world had been talking about for years, but took only a few days to dip my toe into the pool of potential culinary delights, grin and then swan dive into a passion that will stay with me for the rest of my life.



Even a basic list of the historical influences that make up the Peruvian cuisine is an exhaustive global journey; The Incan Empire united massive parts of the South American continent and their communications extended even further, some say to cultures as far as Mexico. Thus they brought together a massive variety of flavours and eating habits from colourful jungle foods, Andean diets rich in potatoes (Peru is the ancestral home of the potato and boasts some 2000 varieties) and mountains of fresh seafood gifted by the passing Humboldt Current – and the infamous ceviche. (Ceviche is the best known Peruvian dish, perfect in its simplicity - fresh fish cut into small chucks and ‘cooked’ only by a sauce of lime and chilli mixed with slivers of onion and served with sweet potato and toasted Peruvian corn.) Later came the Spaniards and their cuisine, itself with a long and varied history, and in the 19th century a wave of new flavours arrived with the Italian immigrants, Chinese and Japanese workers and African slaves.



While it is possible to eat your way around Peru in Lima alone, with restaurants and market stalls representing every region of the country, nothing will beat moving around and trying it locally – not to mention it will be considerably cheaper as food seems to decrease in price exponentially as you move away from the tourist centres.



Lima is however, your best place to eat ceviche and sample the now infinite varieties of that classic dish in top end restaurants run by celebrity chefs or a little gem, complete with plastic tables and paper printed menus in one of the coastal towns to the south of the city (Just ask around, you will get no end of suggestions on where to go – the best ceviche being one the most hotly debated topics in Lima. Try: Pescarte in Barranco – heaven for both the classic dishes and stunning innovations and one of my favourite menus in town, Pez Amigos in Miraflores, a well-loved neighbourhood icon that over lunch time buzzes with cheerful chatter and spectacular food, or head down to San Bartolo – about 40 min South – and ask around for the best cevicheria – you will not be disapointed).



In Lima you will also find the highest concentration of Chifas, restaurants serving a spectacular array of Chinese food, some recognisable to regular eaters of the food elsewhere, others completely Peruvian – the most common being the arroz chaufa, a stir-fried rice with a Peruvian flair. (Try Chifa Union in Barranco for their arroz chaufa especial – sitr fried rice with seafood.) Also not to be missed in Lima is the newest Peruvian cuisine – Nikkei – the Japanese-Peruvian blend most famous for the Tiradito – similar to ceviche but with the fish cut into fine flat slivers and without the onion and often flavoured with a different ají (chilli).



Also not to be missed are the criollo (national) dishes, the standards of the Peruvian cuisine with a mix of everything - Andean, European, African and Asian. The most famous being the Lomo saltado, a stir friend beef, and some other favourites: ají de gallina (a creamed chicken sauce) tacu-tacu montado (fried rice shaped into a log, topped with an egg and served with a thin cut of steak) and arroz con pato (rice with a basil pesto served with duck). These are best sampled as part of the daily lunch routine where restaurants offer a menu, a discounted version of their usual menu where you will get a starter, main and a drink for about S./10 (US$3) (Try Cortez in Miraflores for one of my favourite Lomo Saltado).



The other criollo classic is anticuchos – beef heart kebabs served with Peruvian corn and sweet potato. Tio Marios in Barranco is a grand old bastian of anticuchos and don’t forget to get some Picarones for dessert – fried sweet potato and pumpkin donuts with a dark sugary sauce flavoured with cloves and cinnamon.



To experience the best of the rest of the country in Lima, you need to do some investigation, ask a few limeños about their favourite huariques – little neighbourhood treasures of which everyone has a list and can name the best place to go for no matter what dish it is you are looking for.



The lists that can be made of food to try and flavour experiences not to miss out on are virtually endless,

but the true beauty of Peruvian cuisine is that there is something exceptional available at every price range, whether you spend S./100 (US$35) at Gaston Acurio’s newest venture or S./1 on a papa rellena (mashed potato stuffed with a touch of ground beef and fried) in downtown Lima - if you have spent enough time in Peru and your stomach is prepared – foreigners do have to be careful! This, maybe, was the essence of my passion for Peruvian food – it is a great leveller; come lunch time the wealthy sit down to ironed white linen and fine crockery and the poor sit on plastic chairs but the fork and spoon, be it cheap white plastic or polished silver is quite likely to be tackling the very same dish.



Peru tours come in all shapes and sizes, but regardless of where you go or what you do the food is always superb. Click the following link for information about vacations to Peru.